Writing Ideas, Day 3

Talk about a special cause and why it's important to you.

My special cause... hmmm. It's been so long since I've legitimately had time to do anything for any of the causes that I believe in... But one of the ones I used to advocate every year was world hunger.

Every year in February, through high school and my freshmen or sophomore year of college, I participated in the 30 Hour Famine through World Vision with my best friend's church.



We went to everyone we knew and asked them to sponsor us by donating their choice of money per each hour we spent doing the famine (30). Some people would do under a dollar/per hour; some would do more.

The point was that all that money would go to World Vision to help with world hunger, so every bit was important, no matter how small or large the donation.

For anyone who hasn't heard of the Famine, it goes like this:

We started fasting around noonish, I think. It was definitely around lunchtime, on a Friday. We had our last big meal just before that, and for the next 30 hours, we had nothing but water and fruit juices (gotta keep that blood sugar normal). After school, we met up at the United Methodist Church in our hometown, and we stayed there for the remainder of the 30 hours.

We played games, had dedications and bible lessons related to what we were fasting for, and we prayed. It was a really powerful experience that made you realize just how lucky you really were to have what you have.

The wheelbarrow race.  I obviously kinda failed on the way back because Nate's legs were too heavy for me.
In our part of the world, most of us have so much more than we realize, and we usually take that for granted every day. Things we might not normally think about, like the fact that we can just turn on a tap, and BOOM, clean water comes out - right inside the comfort of our own home. And then, let's back up a step. Not only do we have clean water, but we have the plumbing to get it to our homes and still preserve that cleanliness. No going to the community well (if one is even available) and carrying water back home for us. Then there's our homes in and of themselves. Even the smallest, quaintest homes in America could probably seem like mansions compared to those seen in most third world countries.

Those are just a few of the things I remember talking about.

Also, we usually did some kind of community service project. One year we made blankets for a local charity. That may have actually been the last year I participated...



At the end of our 30 hours, we had a great home-cooked meal. The church ladies came in and spent the last few hours of our fast making homemade chicken noodle soup, ham and cheese or turkey and cheese sandwiches, and cookies. By that point we were all starting to drag a little and were getting a bit cranky. It took a lot more effort to remain enthusiastic about the activities we were participating in because all we wanted to do was lay around. The smell of homemade soup wafting in from the kitchen (which was next to the room we spent most of our time in) didn't help matters much, as it only made us hungrier and more impatient.

The five seniors. :)



 But boy was it worth it when that 30 hours was up and we finally got to have our last prayer and eat! Everything was delicious and tasted even better than usual because we hadn't eaten anything in more than a day.

I loved this cause and how we approached our part in it. It's something I have a lot of great memories attached to and that I miss dearly.

I would definitely recommend it to any young person who wants to make a difference and to learn a little more about themselves. Every time I participated I had some kind of epiphany about myself and understood myself a bit better.

There's just something about the experience of making a difference in the world with your friends and God that can't be beaten.

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