Here we are in the dog days of summer and I’m wondering how yours is going. Did you have an exotic getaway to some foreign land, a time away from home at the lake, mountains, or beach, or maybe a “staycation” right at your home? No matter the activities, we hope your summer has been invigorating and exactly what you needed to carry you into the fall season.
It’s hot and humid in NC, and summer for FtH has been quite awesome. These are some of the highlights we’ve experienced so far:
All-American Packathon in full swing. Back in the spring, we asked friends of the ministry to help sponsor meals for our All-American Packathon during the month of July. We praise the Lord that over $80,000 has been given (and more is still coming in!), allowing us to pack 300,000 meals! Packing began in early July and we will complete the event on August 8th. It’s truly been exciting, as about 85% of the people who volunteered to pack had never been to a packing event before. We’re thrilled about being able to provide all these meals, which will be distributed to Americans in need. Sadly, there’s been an increase in demand for assistance for hurting Americans, and we also think it’s prudent to have food ready for the next crisis when it comes. Please stay tuned in the coming days to see exactly how many meals we (and some of you!) end up packing.
June Jamaica trip. It’s been over a year since we’ve been down to Jamaica to check out the children’s feeding programs there, so we took a team of seven travelers for a visit. What a blast we had interacting with nearly 400 three- to six-year-olds across the island. In addition to helping serve food, we colored, sang, made balloon animals, read Bible stories, jumped rope, and did so much more with those precious children! We were even privileged enough to witness the Lord working in a mighty way, calling fifteen unbelievers to Him during one of the church services on Father’s Day. (Most notably, one of the fifteen was a gun runner in a small fishing community in southern Jamaica.)
Progress on building a “clean room.” We decided to maximize usage of some warehouse space by building a room where we can store equipment and bulk ingredients used for our packing events. A very committed volunteer and a couple of staff have worked throughout the summer to build this room, which is now nearing completion. We are still looking for a proper name for this room, but for now, the “clean room” works!
Asia Mission Trip. It’s been a couple of years since we’ve visited our ministry partners in Asia, so Melinda took three others with her to Nepal and Sri Lanka. They just returned yesterday, but so far we’ve gotten brief updates saying that the trip was wonderful. We’re looking forward to the full trip report on their activities in the coming days, so stay tuned!
It’s been a very active summer for Feed the Hunger, and we’ve barely started August. We are thankful to the Lord for each and every day He provides, and we truly hope that we have been found faithful in serving Him this summer. May the same be true for you as well.
Jim Gurley | Director of Development
