30 Hour Famine

The weekend of May 1-2, twenty-six of our students and several adults participated in the 30 Hour Famine. This is an event created by World Vision to raise awareness and funds to battle world hunger.
Starting after lunch on Friday, May 1, these students dedicated themselves to go without food until 6:00pm on Saturday. Around 6:30pm on Friday, we gathered at the home of Dave and Karen Benedict. Friday evening we spent time hanging out, studying God’s word, worshiping, praying, and played a game of hide-n-seek with a unique angle. Students were also divided into “tribes” that represented nations in South America where hunger is a major issue.
Our Bible study that evening focused on Jesus’ preparation for ministry through fasting. We looked at Matthew 4, and discussed how fasting was central to Jesus’ ability to resist Satan’s three temptations as well as prepared Him for the start of His ministry. We also looked at Acts 13 and 14, where we see fasting as a crucial component for selecting leaders or preparing for ministry.
We played a game called “Hide” where most of the students hid in the house while five “guerilla soldier” searched for them. This game brought to life for our students the reality that many in some countries deal with every day where gangs hunt down their rivals.
We woke up the next morning and began a day that was focused on serving others. After our morning juice break, we loaded up and headed out to Michigan Christian Youth Camp, where we spent a few hours helping prepare the camp for the summer. Several of the students commented about the challenge to work while not having eaten for almost twenty-four hours. It gave them a new appreciation for those who often go without food for that period of time.
After returning to our “home base” (the Benedicts), we went out into Clarkston for a canned food drive for God’s Helping Hands. In the course of a little under an hour, our students gathered 345 food items and $39 for GHH. We were all amazed at how much God provided in that short time period. The people in the community were so generous.
After returning to the Benedicts we held a few more competitions between our “tribes” that taught our students more about the plight of those in countries challenged by extreme poverty and starvation. I enjoyed watching students, some of whom barely knew each other at the start of the weekend, working together in teams.
Shortly before 6:00pm, we all gathered in the living room for a time of sharing. Students shared how God had been speaking to them throughout the weekend. It was incredibly encouraging for me to hear how so many of them had been touched in a variety of ways. I can’t begin to express how impressed I was with their insight and how proud I am of the ways they allowed God to work in their lives over the weekend.
We broke our fast together by sharing communion, praying together, and heading out to the kitchen for our first meal in 30 hours. Many students expressed how much they now appreciated the food they usually take for granted and how good it was to eat. Thank you to Bob and Susie Wilson, Dave and Carolyn Palmer, and Barb Huey for preparing our food. They were a huge part of this weekend – just ask the students!
Through 30 Hour Famine, our students raised over $1000 to battle world hunger (and some of them are still collecting funds), collected 345 food items and $39 for God’s Helping Hands, collectively served over 50 hours at MCYC, and were shaped by the working of the Holy Spirit in their lives through fasting, prayer, and service. It was a great weekend where God came to life in a powerful way for many of our students. Thank you to those who donated, those who prayed for us, those who served, and the parents who are the primary ministers for their children. You are all a part of a community that is working together to develop our teenagers into followers of Christ.

shine!
Jason