Days 19-21: What If We've Just Lost Sight of the Goal?

Today I'm contemplating the very real possibility that we as a society have simply lost sight of the goal of our journey on this little blue orb we call earth.

We know that without a goal, we will wander and become forgetful of our purpose. 

And quite simply, wouldn't you agree that a clear goal for humanity should be to make sure that all children have a fair chance to be free from slavery, hunger, and abuse? To be granted a basic education to learn to read and write? To actually have a childhood? 

At the end of the day I realize that I am just one man. And alone there is very little I can do. But I can be a voice. I can stand up for those who have no power to stand on their own. I can speak up for those who have no way to make their voice heard. And in so doing, I can inspire others to do the same!

And if we all choose to stand up, take action, and speak up for these innocents, our voice and our actions can become an overwhelming force of change in this world, when we work together. 

And that is exactly the point of our little "heart-chart" experiment here. It's a beautiful example of hearts coming together to be unified for a singular purpose with exponential ramifications!

I'm so happy to report that three more of you have stepped up to be a voice for the voiceless, to take action on behalf of those who have no power stand up for themselves.

You have stepped up to give something which costs you almost nothing, to mean everything to these who have almost nothing. 

Filling these next three hearts brings us up to $584/month to add toward our effort to stand up and care for trafficking survivors, orphans, and for impoverished children at risk of being trafficked! With most of our "monthly team" members giving for at least five years or longer, we could assume that, on average, these faithful donors will go on to give for at least five years.

Multiplying this $584 monthly out across five years, we will reach a staggering total of $35,040 just from our little 30 day experiment here! 

In any economy, this is a considerable amount of money, but especially in a developing world economy, it represents an astronomical figure to the average person. When applied properly to programs seeking to prevent injustice, empower at-risk children, and restore survivors to a life full of hope, it holds the power to transform and save lives!

Several of you have told me you are thinking about which heart to sponsor, so I am hopeful we will see much more movement on the chart in the 9 days remaining in the challenge!

Ready to join in on being a part of these miracles? Here's how:

Just tap on this chart and then on the next page choose the amount of the heart you want to sponsor, choose the day of the month you want your donation to be charged each month, enter your details, and you're done!

Then on my next blog post I will fill in your heart to represent the progress we're making!

I'm dedicating day 26 to these children at our rural primary school in Uganda, who have very little access to consistent nutrition outside of our school. It is not uncommon for children to go on one meal a day in this village and surrounding areas, especially when food shortages hit Uganda and prices of basic ingredients can quickly double.

You will see large bowls of rice and beans in some of these photos, and with your Western eyes you will think that this is not adequate nutrition. But I can tell you that in the midst of my hunger, and having to ration my beans down to 1/3rd cup per day, their meals look delicious, and copious. And beans and rice are a complete protein containing several key nutrients. Let me just tell you, these kids are happy to be eating rice and beans!

I read a great quote today:

“The life I touch for good or ill will touch another life, and in turn another, until who knows where the trembling stops or in what far place my touch will be felt.”

― Frederick Buechner, The Hungering Dark

I would imagine that often times I'm misunderstood in what I'm trying to accomplish here. I would imagine that this challenge would appear to be overkill and the blog perhaps disjointed. You're probably right on both counts.

But I'm trying to get down to the heart of the matter, for myself, and while doing so, hoping to write about it in an inspirational way that brings you along with me.

For me personally, I find the 30 days on $30 challenge extremely demanding, very uncomfortable, a huge hassle, but extremely rewarding. (This is my sixth time to do one of these).

Benefits. And why you might want to try this, or perhaps a shorter version of it. 

• There's a complete reset on all your perceptions of food, period. Every morsel becomes treasured. You gain gratitude for simple pleasures. 
• You become connected with the poor in a way that is profoundly empathetic and deepens your compassion for humanity. 
• You realize you have the ability to create something out of what almost seems to be "nothing." 
• You lose weight if you have some to lose. 
• And since you're cooking with very simple raw ingredients that are full of fiber, you're by default doing a 30 day cleanse that I think alone might make it worth it. 
• It's sort of a body-mind-and-soul reset, a fast with a clear goal in mind; one that takes determination, dedication, discipline and creativity. Those are good qualities to sharpen. 
• If you attach a charitable goal to the challenge, you're inspiring others beyond awareness into action, multiplying your "touch" that Buechner alludes to above.

Meals for Days 19-21. Making it work! Here's a look at what I and my girlfriend have been cooking up the past few days with my limited list of ingredients. (She's doing her own unpublished challenge with a similar list of ingredients, and it's been nice to cook with someone facing the same challenge!) Certainly I miss many of my favorite foods, but when I keep in mind why I'm doing this, it makes it all very tolerable, and in many cases, quite enjoyable, on just $1 worth of food per day!

Take Action!

1) Please consider helping me reach my goal to find 50 new "Sustainers"— donors willing to give a small amount each month toward our work helping vulnerable children and trafficking survivors. Go here and enter the amount you would like to give monthly!

2) Please visit my unofficial sponsor, Amazon.com through this link. 7% of your purchases made through the link are given to the work of Peace Gospel's programs helping orphans, at-risk children of the slums, and human trafficking survivors.

3) If you're compelled by my effort here, please share it with friends. One of the main goals is awareness. So if you can help with that, huge.

4) Leave me feedback. Please comment on this post, especially if you have any ideas about what I should try to cook with these ingredients I have available. I love hearing from you! It really helps!