5-Day Challenge "Celebration of Hope"

happy monday! ok so my hubby, my son, my daughter and i are on a 5-day challenge to identify with the poor. though this is my 3rd year doing this with our home church, www.willowcreek.org, it's still not an easy thing to do, but since the 4 of us are doing it together... it will be easy to support and encourage each other =) for those of you who are new to this challenge i'd like to give you an idea of what this 5days will have to be like:

5-Day Food and Water Challenge
As an act of solidarity w/ our brothers & sisters around the globe fighting hunger and thirst, we challenge you to eat for five days as half the world’s population eats every day. Eat the meals of your day using the options below. Set aside money you would have spend on additional groceries & donate it to Celebration of Hope 2010 to support those who struggle w/ hunger, thirst, & sickness.

Meal Options
• Plain oatmeal or Cream of Wheat
• Rice & beans
• Rice w/ bits of fish or chicken
• A small portion of carrots, cabbage, onions, tomatoes, squash or broccoli
• Tap water

Food Portions
Portion sizes around the world are much smaller than those of a typical American meal. One cup or 8 oz is a generous portion. Meat is a luxury; the average African consumes less than an ounce of meat per day- about the size of a small chicken nugget. Fresh fruit & veggies are rare, available only if grown locally & in season.
While these meals seem small by American standards, they actually represent diets in the broad middle when compared to the rest of the world. Half the world’s population lives on no more than $2 a day. Approximately 1 billion people live on even less- only $1 per day.

Tap Water
Public water systems in the US generally provide adequate, accessible, clean water for the common good in environmentally sustainable ways. For 5days, we challenge you to drink only tap water & remember the more than 1.1 billion people who don’t have access to clean water.

ok, so now u get the idea... i pray for whoever's taking this challenge, that we will feel the true message and lesson that God wants us to learn from this. that the Lord will break our hearts for the needy and that it will stir our hearts into a different meaning of how truly blessed we are and how extending help to the needy really makes a whole lot difference in someone's life.

DAY ONE: all 4 of us ate oatmeal for breakfast. i still need to figure out what to eat for lunch, but i know for sure oatmeal again for dinner =)

to God be all the glory!