180 Plane Crashes Per Day

This is equivalent to the number of children dying every day from preventable causes.  Do you realize how real this figure is?  Couldn’t it be prevented if we all did our part to help?  

Yesterday, I joined Brock Gil in his “Rice Challenge” to eat only one cup of rice all day.  Here are some of my thoughts from the day:

1. A question assailed me:  when is the best time to eat one cup of rice?  
2. I was not terribly uncomfortable, but I was certainly aware when others were eating.
3. I heard some people, with food in their mouth and hands, saying, “I’m starving!”
4. It caused me to think about hungry children all day, and to pray often for them.
5. In only 24 hours, my rice challenge ended; for many children, it never ends.
6. Fact:  many children do not even have 1 cup of rice per day.
7. I wondered what kind of nutrients I would be missing if I ate only rice daily, and then found this fact.
8. Many caring people posted meaningful blogs about the Global Food Crisis.
9. In 13 years as an Advocate for Compassion International, I have nearly reached 500 sponsorships, but that is only a little more than 3 rescued airplanes of children.
10. The Bible is full of scriptures commanding that those with plenty give to those in need (more than 2,000 verses). 
11. I thought of the 476 friends I have on Facebook at the moment.  What if every one of them sponsored a child?  And then what if every one of their friends would sponsor?  It wouldn’t take much to bring this number of “airplane crashes” down.  My friends alone could handle three airplanes, although it’s true that many of them already sponsor children.  
12. I recalled the empty shelves and cabinets of kitchens we visited in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.  
13. I noticed there was an abundance of food in our home that was, sadly, off-limits for this day.
14. Most Americans are used to eating something every time they come into the house, attend an athletic event, sit in front of a TV or ride any distance in the car.
15. I didn’t waste a single grain of rice, but after eating my 1 cup, I wanted more.
16. I also wanted variety to my meal.
17. Americans seem to be obsessed with unnecessary food — it appears at athletic events, bridal showers, Sunday School classes, Bible studies, coffee breaks, funerals, movie theaters, airline flights, in classrooms and as samples in grocery stores.  
18. My health and well-being was not affected one bit by this challenge; only my comfort level.
19. I was blessed by the experience and  received a small hint of the type of suffering children undergo in third world countries.
20. I went to bed hungry, like 300 million children do every day.

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Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

• 77 Plane Crashes Per Day
• Something’s Missing
• Five Kernels of Corn
• Good Eats

~ by Juli Jarvis on March 11, 2009.