FMSC

As I mentioned in my last post, I spent a week working on the mobile pack for Feed My Starving Children.  Our church, along with 18 other faith communities from the South Metro, decided to unite to try and pack 3 million meals in one week for Feed My Starving Children. 

The numbers from the week are impressive.  In the end we had 3,009,312 meals, 10,800 unique volunteers, and 8,200 some odd kids will be fed for a year.  We went through 152 TONS of EACH the rice and the soy in those six days.  The event itself was equally impressive to behold.  Every square inch of our massive church was used to set up 39 packing stations, hold ingredients, and prep and prepare the packages to leave this country and get on the way to Nicaragua as quickly as possible.  With some 20 FMSC staff and some 40 trained volunteers at each shift, we welcomed 800 people three times a day for 6 days for their 2-hour packing shift.  The music would pump through the building as the volunteer packers would get energized and pack away.  The screams for rice and soy could be heard through the building in between renditions of “We Will Rock You” and “Sweet Caroline.” Several all time FMSC records were broken through the week, as no event in the 25-year history has been this big.  In our final shift, over 1400 boxes of food were packed in 2 ½ hours!

I worked hard all week until every muscle in my body ached and; I was more exhausted than I have ever been in my life.  But, there was no time to complain because I was too busy being inspired.  I honestly smiled all week, despite my aches and pains.  I joyfully worked hard along with several new friends who also gave it all for this cause.  And, I really cannot wait to do it again.

I think often about what it means to be a Christian.  There are so many definitions out there.  There are people who spend so much time arguing and studying and talking and arguing some more, trying to convince the rest of the world that they know the one true way to God.  But, I believe this event showed me what it really means to be the hands and feet of Jesus.  It was in the joyful way so many volunteers asked, what do you need?  And then gladly helped.  It was in the smiles.  It was in the little ones who packed meals with extra love and kisses.  It was in the high school student who refused to stop working even though his glasses broke in half.  It was in the grace that was shown to someone who was overwhelmed by the mess and could not see how things would ever return to “normal.”  It was in Philipians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength” when we were all bone tired.  It was the 67-year-old gentleman who worked along side me all week lifting boxes and smiling all the time, never once complaining.  It was the helping of over 8,000 children we will never meet find hope and a future through a simple meal.  It was all this and so many more little things all week long.

Colin asked me last night why I am spending so much time away from home helping other people.  Why would I do this FMSC event at all?  And I told him many of the things I said here, but I also added…”because it feels good to do something that really matters.  It feels good to feed kids, over 8000 of them, who would not have a meal.  And, all I had to do to help was give up one week of my time.”  And he thought about that and agreed, it was a pretty cool thing.