Every week at Kids International Ministries, a group made up of short-term missionaries, permanent missionaries, and Filipino staff visit 9 villages. One feeding occurs every Monday and Friday morning and afternoon, with food donated by Kids Against Hunger, and prepared by Filipinos from the community who now work for KIM.
All the kids must bring is the container in which we can pour the food into. Whether that be a bowl, a mug, a metal container, an old cup from McDonalds, and if nothing else, a plastic bag.
They come bearing their bowls and spoons, lining up…
They wait in eager anticipation of a meal, the first one they may have had in days…
More and more come, and prior to scooping up this warm meal, we pray a prayer of blessing for these people and for the meal they are about to eat.
The food is scooped out, one scoop a child, or a scoop for each person in the family.
We scrape the containers clean, with the last child only receiving a spoonful or two, but who walks away, with a "Thank you" on his/her lips.
They savor each bite of this food, even the littlest one will eat a whole plateful and look longingly at the child next to him, who is still eating, hungry for more.
But there joy knows no bounds. Their hearts overflow with thankfulness. We don't just bring them food for their bellies, we bring them food for their souls, we love them as Jesus loves us and has called us to love them.
“Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35)
