Over the Weekend

I love weekends when everyone is in town together!  Last Thursday-Saturday, our church was the hosting site for Mobile Pack/Feed My Starving Children.  Their mission is to pack manna meals that consist of vitamins, dried veggies, soy protein, and rice.  The meals are then sent to places like Africa where all they have to do is add water in order to have a complete meal to feed their little bellies. Growing up, it was so discouraging to hear about the hungry children all over the world but not really have a tangible way to help them.  That is why I love this organization!  The meals are packed on a volunteer basis only...no machines involved whatsoever. 

We spent a couple of hours on Friday night packing meals as a family (minus Asher because the lil dude would be trying to eat the food instead of pack it.)  They had stations set up in assembly line style.  We would scoop the right portions of foods into the bags, they would be weighed, sealed, and put into boxes.  The music was loud and fun and we were all dancing and singing.  Afterwards, we prayed for the meals to be delivered safely and that the children might be receptive to the gospel after their little bellies got full.

After our two hour slot was over, they told us that the people in the room for that session packed enough meals for 153 kids to have a meal a day for a year!!!  Over the three days, volunteers packed over 500,000 meals!!! Over half a million meals! 

That night was one of my favorite memories as a family.  It is something we will definitely do again! It is hard to prevent desperation and hopelessness from settling deep down when you turn on the TV and see all the horror and tragedy and hunger.  This was one simple thing we could do as a family where we know the fruit of our labor will make a difference!

 

 

Next on the weekend was soccer and baseball games...a whole lot of each. Asher and I managed to see a game of each, in between naps.  Perhaps that has been the hardest part of having a baby at home while you have older children.  In order to keep the lil guy on a schedule, I've missed a whole lot of the older children's events.  But, as Asher gets bigger, he will get drug to every athletic event in town!  I have a feeling we will more than make up for it on the sidelines here soon!

 

Oh, and sunshine?  Please come. It is April, after all!  :)