Hungry for Change: Part 1

So, yet again, another year has passed with only a few posts on my ever-neglected blog. oy. I always say I will get better about blogging and never do. You know what they say about good intentions...

Well, what prompted me to hop back in the blogging saddle is the HUNGRY FOR CHANGE challenge that Brian and I are undertaking this week. What's that, you ask? Well, let me give you the official run-down:

From TRADE AS ONE's site

Hungry for Change is a group experience designed to help people stand in solidarity with the global poor in a powerful way.

Hungry for Change is a 5 day challenge which allows you to experience something like the type and level of consumption of food and drink that half the world’s population, who live on less than $2 per day, experience on a daily basis.

Food for Five Days: The pack, which costs $25, contains enough rice, beans and oatmeal to sustain one person for five days at the typical calorific intake of those on $2 a day.

Equip and Reflect: The program is fully supported with a detailed instruction and information booklet, and with a week of thought-provoking and reflective emails sent directly to each participant to encourage them on the journey and to help them turn their thoughts towards God’s purposes during the experience

Provide Food for the Hungry: Through its partnership with Food for the Hungry, Trade as One has designed the pack so that each one purchased also supplies beans that, when planted and grown, will feed one person for a whole year in the developing world.

Provide Dignified Jobs: The rice in the pack is fair trade certified and provides dignified employment to rural farmers in Thailand that keeps communities together and prevents urban migration.

Calculate (and Donate) the Savings: Participants are encouraged to calculate the difference between what they would normally spend on food and drink in 5 days, and the $25 cost of the Hungry for Change pack. Churches and groups then encourage their participants to give towards some designated cause that is close to their hearts and related to issues of poverty. An average amount saved per person over 5 days is around $75.

In about 2 months, as part of our HOLE IN OUR GOSPEL teaching series, we will be challenging the people of Vintage Faith to undertake Hungry for Change, so a small group of us from the GlobalTeam are "trying" this thing out before we promote it to hundreds of VFC-er's. By doing this ahead of the rest of the church, we get to see what it feels like, to experience the process so that we can more effectively express what it's like and hopefully encourage others to take the leap and give it a try.

So, true confessions? I am TERRIFIED of this whole deal. Like, sort of freaking out. I REALLY love food, I love eating, I mean like love love love it, so being restricted and feeling hungry for five days is really daunting to me. All week, I have been subtly dreading this, and now it is here.

Tonight, Brian and I had our first "dinner" - about 1/2 cup of rice, 2/3 cup of black beans and a simple tomato paste sauce. The food actually tasted quite good and I didn't feel deprived in the flavor aspect of the challenge *(in the instruction booklet, Nathan and Cath George- co-founders of TAO and creators of HFC- make the case that though the world's poor eat very little food, they often figure out ways for it to be flavorful, thus the ability to add a bit of sauce and spices to the food we eat this week).

After dinner, we then portioned and prepared our food for the next few days. As we calculated the amount we could eat for each meal, I began to panic a bit. Each scoop felt so small, and I imagined myself eating it, the hunger not going away, having to face the emotional and physical demands of a busy work day while my stomach ached and went unsatisfied. That feeling of dread set in and I scraped every loose grain of rice up and made sure it was all accounted for in our portions. The sinking sense of wanting and not having was already taking over my mind and it was deeply uncomfortable.

As we finished the preparations, my emotions swung from desperation and self-pity to a growing awareness of how very much I have. I looked at all the kitchen tools we used to prepare this food, at the food we already had in our fridge and cupboards, at the luxury we experience compared to the people around the world who eat like this all the time. Guilt swept over me, and I sort of hated myself for feeling nervous and even dreading having to eat this way for a short 5 days. I am sure this first evening's emotions and anxieties are just a microcosm of what this week will be like, but I am already becoming aware of how much it will stir up in me, hoping that beyond my own selfish response to this challenge, I can reach a place where I am able to focus my heart on the people who this is really about, and ultimately, to take up the challenge to respond to God's call on my life to serve and love the least of these.

Here's hoping...