The 30 Hour Famine

I believe in humanity; simply, I believe that the good outweighs the bad. That belief and my faith steer me to show people who I am. As people, we should strive to be the best we can be, to help others, and to live morally. So why does hunger exist when some people have the ability to spend a hundred dollars on a single dinner? I am a firm believer that even though the world is often in a time of crisis with different humanitarian situations such as trafficking or hunger, we do try to help each other and live ethically. The world has complicated problems and the simplicity of a single solution is nonexistent. We as people spend too much time agonizing, enduring, and complaining over a problem instead of finding an answer to fix a situation. The sad fact is lots of problems are out of control, immediate control that is. Poverty is out of our immediate control, but that doesn’t mean it is

unfixable.

However, the true fact is one small group of people or even a single person can make a difference.

I participated in an event my church held called the 30 Hour Famine. The purpose behind this event is to raise money for hunger in individual families or even whole countries around the world. People that participate in it fast for 30 hours straight with nothing but water and occasional juice to drink. From experience, it is not easy. You experience this faint feeling that you aren’t accustomed to. Your body tells you that you need food, and that your energy is running on empty. The emptiness and the feeling of surrender you experience fasting is like when your car is almost out of gas and it needs that teeny little extra push on the pedal to make it move. The 30 Hour Famine is not about being able to say “I can go 30 hours without eating.” It is about gaining perspective on what hunger feels like for so many people in all parts of the world, and empathy with all of those who experience it daily.

Together during the 30 hours we grew closer as a youth group and united to stop hunger. When hour 30 finally rolls around, you begin to see the weary come back to life because they know food is on its way. By fasting for 30 hours, our small youth group was able to raise thousands of dollars. Imagine how much money we would raise to help fight and end hunger if every youth group did that. As a group, we learned how much God provides for us, how truly blessed we are, and how it is our duty to help those in need. “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in” (Matthew 25:35.) This one verse is the summary of the famine and the core of my belief. We as people do such horrific things: wars, shootings, imprisonments, but this short verse shows that isn’t all we do as humans. When someone is in need, we help them. The solution is that simple, but how to increase the magnitude of the solution that is what is complex.
The problem of hunger is important to me because it is an opportunity to show the world what Christians or any group of people can do to help. We shouldn’t shy away from monstrous problems such as hunger; we should rise to the occasion and fight for those who are struggling. Our blessings and wealth are not meant to be contained; they are meant to be shared for all of those in need. Hunger is a continuous problem in our world today that will not go down without a fight.