To feed a child

Submitted by Kevin, Senior, SFSU

30hour famine really forced me to not eat. I never fasted before and my intentions going into it were very relaxed. I told myself that it wouldn’t be so bad because it was just for a day and that there would be plenty of sleeping and possible naps. But as the day wore on, I started to feel the effects of what it was like not to have food. I was low on energy and I could really feel it taking a toll on my body. But I remembered what Will said in the morning before we began our day, about why we were doing it and that when we start to feel the effects of hunger we needed to just pray to God and ask Him to provide that extra strength. As I went to bed going into the last few hours of the fast, I thought everything would be fine because I would be able to sleep off the hunger and regain partial energy by the next day. But it was very difficult for me to even fall asleep and to even get a good night sleep because I kept waking up in the middle of the night.

I am thankful that I had the opportunity to take part in this experience, to starve myself for just a day to see how many people in this world survive without food. Just to have food available at all times and sometimes overeating, my heart really goes out to those who do not have the same resources as I do. And I really thank God for what He has given me because I am so undeserving of all it. I cannot even imagine how other people go on without food for days because my experience with physical weakness due to the lack of food for a day was hard enough for me. I was unable to concentrate and even moving around was such a drain. I really do hope that by starving myself for a day did indeed help someone and I now really appreciate what God has given me.
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Submitted by Jenn, Junior, SFSU

One way that I was really thankful the 30 Hour Famine was through the experiences I had in asking for donations. I told my coworkers that I would be participating in the 30 Hour Famine and asked for their support. Upon hearing this, one of my coworkers got really excited. She told me that she sponsors a child through World Vision (similar to how many of our church members sponsor Compassion kids) and continued to encourage me as the day got closer. Another coworker began to ask me about how I had heard about the 30 Hour Famine. When I told him that it was through this church, he asked me a lot of questions, like what kind of church it was, how I had started attending, etc. He said that his father had taken him to church when he was growing up in India, and that he had been hesitant about attending church here. I shared my testimony with him, and at the end of our conversation, he said that he was really amazed at how God works in our lives, and he decided to start attending a church near his home! I was really thankful for this opportunity to be able to share my faith with my coworkers and for the meaningful conversations we had.

Participating in Gracepoint Berkeley’s 30 Hour Famine also really opened my eyes to how comfortable a life I live and how truly blessed I am. Some of us went to the SF Food Bank to sort, clean, and organize cans of food. The three hours we spent there flew by so fast that I was really surprised and shocked when the supervisor there told us to wrap up. He then took us on a tour of the food bank, showing us what they had and how these cans of food could be someone’s meal. I realized that while I don’t think twice about being able to buy something to eat, this is something that so many people around the world worry about and cannot do. I was once again reminded of how blessed I am and committed to stewarding these blessings well so that I would always be thankful for these things and not take them for granted.