(kids from Son of God orphanage… sadly they are holding the wrong flag… Go Buffs)
In only 20 or so days I will be embark on another journey to a foreign land to love on the unloved of the world. This time my walk with the Lord will take me to Haiti to an orphanage called ‘Son of God Orphanage.’ Son of God is home to over a 125 children ranging from new borns to teen agers. Like most orphanages around the world Son of God has struggled to get enough food for the children. Timberline Church has teamed up with a non profit organization to ensure that the children have enough food every day. But even if the orphans of the world have food they rarely eat as well as you and I eat. That got me thinking what would it be like to eat like an orphan for 5 days…
(me eating at “Black Cat” in Vietnam… not exactly what an orphan eats)
When I first felt compelled to do what I call the “Orphan Fast” I wanted to find statistics about what the average orphan ate. How many meals they received a day. What kind of food they ate most often…. but then I realized I didn’t need a statistic from a website to know what an average orphan eats, I have seen it first hand all around the world. I have visited orphanages in Nicaragua, Vietnam, Ghana, NIgeria, Serbia, and Romania. I have lived in the houses with them. Slept where they slept and ate what they ate (sadly they often cooked seperate heartier meals for us). But I have never eaten this way while surrounded by American Culture… Let alone American culture around the holidays. So I decided to do the “Orphan Fast” to remind myself why I am going down to Haiti, why my heart is broken for orphans and to remind myself to pray for them every time I get hungry or crave food.
(Sunday eating rice and oil in Abiye orphanage in Nigeria)
The most common meal I saw for orphans all around the world would be rice and soup. There were variations in central america they would have rice and beans. In Africa they would have rice with oil on it, Europe it was always soup and in asia it was most often rice or noodle soup. When the meal was soup it would often be a broth base with some rice or noodle, minimal vegetables and rarely protein. They would most often eat twice a day. So that is what I will eat too…
For 5 days (11/27-12/1) I will not be eating Delicous Thanksgiving leftovers but rather I will be eating:
-only 2 meals a day
consisting of
-Turkey broth soup with some rice, minimal vegetables and little to no protein
I would normally say please be praying for me during this time but I would prefer if you took the time to be praying for the orphans or the world. Specifically the orphans at Son of God Orphanage in Haiti that God would prepare their hearts for our visit and that God will protect them from all the harm that is happening all around Haiti right now.
I will keep you updated as the fast progresses.
Much Love,
Josh
