30 Hour Famine

This weekend, about 30 youth and volunteers participated in the 30 Hour Famine (www.30hourfamine.org). Everyone was supposed to eat their last meal at lunch on Friday and then gather at church at 6:30 Friday evening. For the next 24 hours, Nathan led the group in various activities including times of worship and personal devotion and journaling. He taught several lessons and educated the kids on poverty around the world.

Josiah and I hung out during the weekend.

The kids played ridiculous games.



The kids built cardboard structures outside to sleep in.



These are the final 4 structures.



Nathan tested them...
And decided that only teenagers were worthy of sleeping in them.
So I took the mattresses out of the cribs in the church nursery and Josiah and I enjoyed a very comfy, cozy, and warm night of semi-rest.

The next day, the kids organized clothes at a Christian thrift store. Later in the afternoon, some of them baked cookies as an additional fundraiser for the 30 Hour Famine. Not eating for 30 hours isn't so difficult when you are loaded up on high fructose corn syrup from Gatorade, so we added the cookie smell just to make them hurt a little. :)

They also made a paper chain to show every dollar raised for starving kids around the world.
Over $2,550!!!
We broke the fast with soup on Saturday evening at 6. Though very exhausting, it was a great weekend and praise God for the money raised and the hearts that were impacted!