Although it is May here in Colorado, the weather is still reminiscent of winter. As I write this, it is about 40 degrees, sleeting and overcast.

For a Texas girl, this is quite unusual. I can’t help but long for summer. Those three blissful months of heat and sunshine are all I can think about lately. I can’t wait for long drives with the windows down, cookouts with friends at a local park, and nice refreshing afternoons spent in a pool. But I have to stop and think:

Long drives = car

Cookouts = food

Pool = clean water (enough for me to swim in!)

As I look forward to my favorite summer activities, I am reminded that my life is so different from the majority of the world’s. I don’t feel guilty (at least I try not to), but I do take a moment to stop and think about:

• How thankful I am for my life — my experiences, friendships, opportunities and family.
• How grateful I am for Compassion’s ministry. All over the world, we are developing and empowering children so that they and their families are relieved from worrying about food, water, education, etc. and can stop and enjoy “summer.”

As summer approaches and you anticipate all the fun things you have planned, take a moment to be thankful.

They will celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. — Psalm 145:7 (NIV)

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You can also view this “reality cooking show” video on YouTube.

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There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land. — Deuteronomy 15:11 (NIV)

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Food kits are put together in the Dominican Republic and delivered to our Port-au-Prince warehouse via large trucks. In high-risk areas, we use security assistance from the U.S. Army, though at times this draws unwanted attention. As food and relief supplies become more readily available, there will be less of a need for this.

Smaller vehicles from our Haitian church partners come to our Port-au-Prince warehouse to pick up the food kits.

Each food kit gives a family of five one meal a day for two weeks.

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About 500,000 Kenyan children are missing school due to lack of food.

According to the World Food Program, in countries where school attendance is low, the promise of at least one nutritious meal each day boosts enrollment and promotes regular attendance. Where that is not offered, hunger interferes with the children’s concentration in class, affecting class performance. As famine takes its toll across the country, a growing number of students are staying away from school altogether to help their parents look for food (The Standard, Sept. 23, 2009).

Drought and famine have led to an increase in the high school dropout rate primarily in schools in the Njoro and Nakuru areas. While 29 percent of children in Nairobi are malnourished, that number increases to 42 percent in the Eastern Province (Daily Nation, Oct. 7, 2009).

The United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has stated that malnutrition is the major barrier to universal primary education in Kenya.

Famine conditions have also affected livestock in the rural areas of Kenya, undermining the primary source of income for pastoralists, especially the Maasai population.

Malaria continues to be another source of concern, and an increase in cases is predicted because of the El Niño rains expected to pound the country. Malaria is the leading cause of death in Kenya, affecting mostly the rural poor, particularly young children and pregnant women. Most cases affect children under the age of 5 (Daily Nation, Oct. 7, 2009).

While mosquito nets have made a difference in squelching the malaria epidemic, researchers are discovering that mosquitoes are now feeding earlier in the evening, which reduces the effectiveness of the nets. While there has been a dramatic reduction of malaria in children under 5 years, the disease appears to be shifting to older children (Daily Nation, Oct. 30, 2009).

Other threats to Kenya’s children include the H1N1 virus, child abuse and abduction, and neglect. The number of orphans in Kenya has risen to more than 2.4 million. In 2008, 38,325 children were described as neglected and 2,753 were abandoned by their parents (The Standard, Sept. 29, 2009).

The effects of poverty are felt most severely in the country’s rural areas, where half of the population lives on less that Kshs. 1,560, versus the more urban areas where people earn an average of Kshs. 3,000 per month. Of the 40 million people living in Kenya, 16.6 million survive on one meal a day and are most likely to die of disease, hunger or political violence (The Standard, Oct. 29, 2009).

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You can help them have a happier ending – compassion.com/youcan

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Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.  – Matthew 14:16-17, NIV

Jesus saw the multitude and that the multitude was hungry. His attitude was not to leave their well-being up to someone else. He took responsibility and He wanted His disciples to assume this responsibility as well.

His disciples, however, could not see past their own limitations.

“We don’t have enough food for all these people” and “we don’t have the money to buy food for all these people” were the excuses Jesus heard.

The disciples wanted to send the hungry people away to fend for themselves, passing the responsibility of feeding the hungry back onto the hungry themselves.

Jesus, however, was not deterred by the physical limitations of the situation. He had bread the disciples didn’t understand. He understood the limitless nature of God’s provision, a provision not encased in the physical reality around us, but in the supernatural reality of God.

Is our response not much the same as the disciples when we are confronted with the need of the hungry?

While we may not think of ourselves as cold and unfeeling, generally our attitude is something like that of the disciples: “I don’t have enough food to feed all these people, and I don’t have the money to buy it, so they are on their own.”

And yet the words of Jesus ring true today: “They need not go away, you give them something to eat.”

The hungry are our responsibility, and passing the buck is simply not an option in God’s eyes.

Too often our vision is limited to the physical world, and we fail to see the limitless potential of God’s provision. Had the disciples grasped that five loaves of bread and two fish could be miraculously expanded to feed the multitude, would they have tried to pass on their responsibility so quickly?

If we really understood the power of God’s provision, a provision not limited by the physical reality around us, would we so easily dismiss the cry of the hungry?

Would that our eyes would be opened, that we would see beyond our own physical limitations into the infinite potential of our Savior. Would that our first response would not be to push their needs off on someone else, but that the eyes of faith would look first to the provision of a supernatural God.

When this happens, our response to Jesus will not be “I can’t,” but instead, “Tell me how, Lord, and I will do it.”

The words of Jesus echo through today’s hungry world as well: “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat.”

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México’s economy is not in good shape, and although México has not had a major food shortage; the main problem has been the constantly rising food cost and the distribution of the grains. Families can no longer afford to buy supplies for their children.

According to the social development secretary of state, most poor families in México spend more than 70 percent of their income just to feed their family.

Considering the cost of such basics as corn, beans, rice and other supplies, families have very little and barely any money left to cover the rest of their needs.

Rising costs, fuel costs and natural events, such as the drought in the north and central part of México or the floods in the south, harm the crops and leave the communities devastated.

Economy is normally measured with two basic indicators, income and expenses, and for these families, their income is lower and their expenses are higher.

Lack of employment, low wages and rising food prices have combined to worsen the plight of families here in Tabernillas and everywhere in the country.

The program director and other leadership from the Gethsemane Compassion-assisted program are clearly aware of the difficult situation the families here face and have taken the initiative to provide an answer to their community.

The church received some information about a food bank working in a city nearby, so they applied for assistance and have been able to receive regular support to help the families in the program and the community.

Mobilizing child development centers to find and utilize resources already available within their own community is one of the ways we have responded to this crisis. In this way, the local community is empowered to find local and long-term solutions.

The food bank is an organization that works in association with the main grocery stores, markets, producers and food distributors in the country.

Whenever there is extra stock of any product or when a particular article is not selling well, it is donated to the food bank in the area. The food bank has different beneficiaries in the most needy areas of their region, and the food is donated to the organizations with a commitment to take it to the most needy families. Gethsemane is a beneficiary of the Toluca Food Bank.

Each week the church receives whatever one of the largest grocery stores in the city has in stock for them. Sometimes they receive dairy products, fruits and vegetables, canned food, and other products close to expiration but still good to eat.

The church director and some other leaders pick the food up from the food bank and bring it up to the community to distribute among the Compassion-assisted families and the rest of the community. They always have some pastries and bread, which are very valued among the families here.

Families often buy groceries, fruit and vegetables for only a fraction of the regular price. In the community store, each piece of bread costs 30 cents and is not affordable, but here families buy three pieces for the same price.

Even after the six months the food bank has been working here, children at the child development center are still able to enjoy good, nutritious meals twice a week. While they are in the program they receive tutoring, and on Saturdays all the children come for an entire program that includes sports and Bible classes.

Our church partners have been challenged to continue providing excellent development opportunities to their children in the midst of this unprecedented economic crisis. The challenge rises up like a huge obstacle, but we know there is nothing impossible to God.

The food bank is one response that has come like the bread falling from heaven in the times of the Israelites.

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The father just came back from a busy morning at the farm, bringing some beans that would be used for lunch, the only ingredient of the first meal of their day.

The global food crisis has hit so many people. Guillermo, father of three Compassion-assisted children and another who isn’t registered, used to have a steady job making bricks. But now he is no longer permanently employed. He lost his job because there wasn’t enough demand for bricks. He found another job at a farm taking care of beans and a corn plantation. Those two partial jobs together make an income of about $37 per month for Guillermo and his family.

Ventura, Guillermo’s wife, in her effort to help the home’s income, baby-sits her granddaughter, making about $75 per month with which they have to find a way to cover all of the family’s expenses such as food, clothes, water service, school supplies, soap, toothpaste, etc.

Since the family cannot buy as much as they used to, what they have in a normal day for breakfast is a cup of coffee with bread or just coffee.

For lunch, beans, a piece of cheese and tortilla that Ventura makes. And for dinner, most of the time is just another cup of coffee.

“The crisis has affected our health. We cannot improve our home or buy new kitchen utensils. My husband is working extra but still getting the same,” says Ventura.

Many parents of registered children from child development center NI-147 lost their jobs at the factories. Bernarda, the center director, says,

“The majority of the people in our community used to work at the eight factories located in the area, but with the crisis, six of the factories have closed. By now almost 80 percent of the population is unemployed.

“The factories closed between July and August of 2008 as a result of the economic crisis in the U.S., the factories primary importing country. Alternative jobs have appeared like fishing in Lake Managua, selling firewood, domestic work, going to the dump, street sellers and farms.

“Families are desperate because they don’t have food for their children. Kids get sick for not having a balanced meal, the local health center doesn’t have medicine, and finances are not enough to pay a medicine at the pharmacy.

“Our country has been impacted significantly. Many people are leaving to go to Costa Rica, the United States or Spain to find a job to support their family and to have a better way of living.

“As a student center, we have not given up because of the crisis. We have faced it and continued on.

“In the short term, activities like monthly birthday celebrations have been reduced to one celebration every three months, field trips, camps, mother and father’s day have been cut to be able to solve the food situation. We are very interested in that our children get some food at the center.”

Reina, the partnership facilitator says,

“One of the reasons for this crisis in Nicaragua is unemployment. There are very little opportunities to find a job. Amendments have been made to the development center budget in order to reinforce the food area.”

In the long term, student center staff hope to receive a special funding to give a daily meal to the children. The center is open three days a week. Last year, two of those three days, children received a meal and one day a snack.

As a consequence of the food crisis, this year children have one meal and two snacks. The meals include rice, chicken or beef, salad, tortilla. The snacks are cookies or sweet bread with milk or orange and carrot juice. The student center staff tries to give the best food they can to the children because they know these children need it.

Despite all the worries that parents and student center staff go through to feed these children, the children happily play and enjoy each other’s company after having a good meal.

At the beginning of the year the registered children get school supplies, shoes, and a uniform. This is a great help to the parents, especially those with many kids like Guillermo, who has four school-age children. Their oldest daughter works at a factory and with the little she earns; she pays her own school fees.

Unable to cover the entire home expenses and without a good economic forecast for next year, Guillermo’s family feels discouraged. However, in the midst of it all, Ventura says,

“We thank God for the staff, for Compassion and sponsors for helping the children of our community.”

Out of Guillermo’s children, Esmeralda is the only one sponsored. She likes to go to the child development center because she learns to color, pray, sing and she likes the food there.

Her sister Maria likes to go because she listens to the Word of God. Moses’ story is her favorite. Auner, their brother, likes to sing and to eat at the student center. Bernarda says,

“Through this ministry, the dreams of the children will come true. If it wasn’t for the ministry many children might be involved in gangs, but now they have a new vision to excel, to learn values. They won’t grow in the same mentally poor home.

“Children know that things are possible in the name of Jesus. I thank God and Compassion’s ministry for opening the doors to our church, trusting to partner with us.

“Thanks to the sponsors and donors for the support that makes this possible. Keep making an effort to help these children. God will bless you abundantly.”

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A few months ago, I was visiting with my aunt. We were reminiscing about my childhood when my aunt suddenly became very quiet. She turned to me, her eyes brimming with tears, and took my hands in hers.

“Your mother made so many sacrifices for you,” she said quietly. I nodded, but said nothing. I knew she wasn’t finished. “We knew things were hard for her, but we didn’t know how hard. Brandy — she would not eat so she could buy you food. She would do anything for you.”

I sat on my aunt’s porch, unable to speak. So many of my childhood memories involve food. Of my mother tearing up pieces of chicken on a bright pink plastic plate. Blowing on a bowl of steaming potatoes dotted with butter and pepper. Stirring a bubbling pot of spaghetti sauce on the stove.

I was too young to notice that sometimes her own plate was empty.

I know that my mother’s story is not an isolated experience. I know that too well. I’ve read dozens of stories and reports about families literally starving to death. Of mothers sacrificing for their children day after day. To the point of death.

I’m not a mother yet. I don’t know what it’s like to love a child that completely — that sacrificially. But I do know that my mother had family who stepped in when things were bad. Sadly, mothers in poverty-stricken communities often don’t have that same kind of support.

I will never be able to repay my mother for the sacrifices she made for me. But I can learn from her sacrifice. I can skip eating out and donate to a local food pantry. I can forgo my coffee shop visits and give to mothers desperate to feed their children.

I can give food to those who are hungry. Just like my mother did.

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