Sunday, April 6, 2008
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
FOUR MONTH FAMINE PLANNING GUIDE
FOUR MONTH FAMINE PLANNING GUIDE
Four months from your Famine event:
You should have schedule your Famine event on your group’s calendar
At this point you should have ordered your Famine materials. Your materials are typically shipped between 3-4 months before your schedule Famine event.
If you have NOT yet ordered Famine materials, please call 1-800-7FAMINE (1-800-732-6463) to get your FREE Famine kit sent to you.
Three months before you Famine
If you’re going to do the Famine as a lock-in at your church (or other venue), it’s not too early to make those arrangements now with the proper people.
Take a few minutes to review the Famine Leaders Guide. Familiarize yourself with the layout so as your planning progresses, you’ll be able to quickly find what you need.
Do the same with the 30 Hour Famine web site, www.30hourfamine.org.
Two months before your Famine (items from here on out are listed in the 2008 Famine Leaders Guide on pages 12-13).
Hold a kickoff meeting with your group. This is a great time to show the Famine Preview video (part of your Program DVD that came with the Famine materials). Hand out the famine Guides, and with your group, set a fundraising goal. Ideally, each person will commit to finding 12 people who will pledge $1 for each hour they go without eating. This will equal 12 sponsors at $30, or $360. That is enough to help provide basic food and care to a child for a year.
Appoint some Famine coordinators. This will help lighten your load. Some areas they can help manage:
Planning activities and group fundraisers (if you choose to do any),
Promoting you Famine event within your church or wider community
Planning Famine Sunday
Arranging for group’s ‘Break the fast’ meal at the end of your Famine.
Meet regularly with you coordinators.
Now is the time to order Famine gear from the official provider of the 30 Hour Famine, Uth Stuph Clothing. They can be reached at 1-800-242-9166 or at www.uthstuph.com.
Start planning your Famine weekend, using the ideas listed in your Leaders Guide and in the Leaders area of the Famine web site.
If you’d like, coordinate with other churches or groups in your area. You can find them through the Famine Directory in the Leaders area of 30hourfamine.org (you must be a registered user to access the Directory). IMPORTANT NOTE: If you do gather with other churches for the Famine, it is VERY important that each church still sign up on their own, and that each church sends in their own funds. This is necessary for us to be better stewards of the resources we have.
One month before the Famine
Download the entire Fuller Seminary 30 Hour Famine curriculum from the Famine web site.
Begin the 30-day countdown to your Famine event. Have Participants start reporting on their fundraising efforts – you could even give prizes to the top fundraisers so far.
Show the Famine video to your congregation to get them excited (and to help support your participants’ fundraising efforts). This is found on the Famine Program DVD.
Start planning for Famine Sunday. Ask your pastor to designate a time during the service on Famine weekend so your group can share their Famine experiences (see pages 28-29 of the Leaders Guide).
Continue to meet with your coordinators.
Start asking parents or other members of the congregation to help with your event. While you’re at it, remind them to ask their employers about matching their Famine donations. Someone in your congregation might even offer to match what your participants raise.
If needed, start downloading parental consent forms from the Famine web site, and have your participants get them completed.
Share the Famine with others. Use the three Sundays before your Famine weekend to tell your church what your participants are about to do. Download bulletin inserts and other promotional materials from your enhanced Famine Program DVD, or from the web site.
Famine Weekend
Collect the funds your participants have raised so far. You’ll use the large USPS envelope to send these in right away. Don’t worry, your kit includes another smaller envelope for sending in late collections from your group members. NOTE: checks get ‘stale’ after just a few months, and cannot be cashed by the bank. In order to keep your sponsors from getting upset with long outstanding checks and to make sure all the hard-earned funds make it to the children they’re supposed to help, please send all collected funds in to World Vision in a timely manner.
BE HUNGRY! And have fun – you’ve planned a terrific event. Enjoy it.
Share your experience with the whole congregation on Famine Sunday. And be sure to invite them to help change a life through child sponsorship (see pages 28-29 in the Leaders Guide).
After the Famine
Finish collecting the funds your group has raised.
Send your group’s funds in to World Vision. Don’t forget to include a copy of your Control Sheet (and keep a copy for yourself) with your group’s rewards order (see your donation toolkit and pages 30-31 of the Leaders Guide for more details).
Thank everyone for participating. Be sure to do something special for your coordinators.
Encourage your group to learn from this experience and to find ways to continue helping people in need.
Continue to pray as a group for the children you’ve helped.
Mark your calendar for the 2009 Famine on February 27-28, 2009, and April 24-25, 2009!
Things needed for 30 Hour Famine
Food and Drink tent: juices, tea, water, light fruit (for those who are fasting from something other than food)
service projects leaders: car washes, service projects (cleaning up yards of elderly in our congregation...etc.) helping at Loaves and Fishes, door knocking (to raise money for 30HH, and/or can food drive for Loaves and Fishes)
T-Shirt table - (help hand out and make t-shirts during first night) white t-shirts with the words HUNGERY on the front in black sharpy
portable toilet rental - we need 2 toilets and a sink
stage / media set-up
Drive by ministry -
FACTS ON FASTING
FACTS ON FASTING
WORLD VISION’S 30 HOUR FAMINE
The average, healthy person is able to go without food for 30 hours without any ill effects. Exceptions are the following:
- children under the age of 12
- the elderly
- pregnant or nursing women
- people with other specific medical conditions (past or present) including diabetes, reactive hypoglycemia, other medical conditions that are associated with or could precipitate hypoglycemia; eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia).
If you have any health-related questions about the 30 Hour Famine or are regularly under a doctor’s care for any of the above medical conditions, you are strongly advised to consult your family doctor before taking part.
What is fasting? Fasting is the act of abstaining from food. There are various types of ways to fast, but the most popular and the one that is part of the 30 Hour Famine is a juice fast.
Why is fasting part of the 30 Hour Famine? It’s an opportunity for participants to focus their thoughts, prayers and efforts on things most important to God. It’s a way to draw near to God. It also allows participants to feel what real hunger feels like -- a hunger that is felt by many of the boys, girls, men and women who are being helped by the funds raised during the 30 Hour Famine.
What does the Bible say about fasting? There are many scriptural references to fasting, in both the Old and New Testament. The following is not a complete list but is a good place to start.
Matthew 6:16-18 Matthew 9:16-17 Matthew 17:20-21
Daniel 9:3, 20 Ezra 8:21-23 Isaiah 58
Judges 20:26-28 Psalms 35:13 Mark
For further study, please consult a pastor, Bible scholar or Christian bookstore. Another excellent source of information about fasting is found in the
What are some alternatives to fasting? A 30 hour fast is not required for those participating in the 30 Hour Famine, but it is a recognized component of the 30 Hour Famine. Again, most people can go without food for 30 hours with no ill effects, but it should be a personal choice. If, for any reason (medical or otherwise), someone cannot participate in a 30 hour fast, modifying the Famine is accepted. Some suggested ways to modify a fast include:
- skipping a meal (or two)
- abstaining from something (i.e. chocolate, soda pop, etc.) for a period of time
- fasting from talking for a period time
- fasting from media (no TV, movies, videos, radio, music, etc.) for a period of time.
How should we break the fast? Breaking your fast can be a meaningful time for the group, but it also should be done gradually and sensibly. A big pizza feed might sound like a great idea, but something a little easier to digest, like pasta or rice (lots of carbohydrates) might go down a little easier. (For more ideas on breaking the fast, check out your 30 Hour Famine Leader’s/Activity Guide.)
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This document was prepared by World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine staff. It is not designed to replace a physician’s guidance but is provided to answer common questions regarding fasting.
30 Hour Hunger Thank You
Dear _____,
Thanks for sponsoring me in World Vision’s 30 Hour Famine! I went 30 hours without eating, and it helped me understand a little bit better how it feels to be hungry and not be able to eat. It was still very different for me than for some of the people in underdeveloped countries, because I knew that I’d be able to eat anything that I wanted at our Break-fast Saturday evening, and I think it makes it easier to put up with something if you know when it will end. Many people are hungry and they really don’t know when they will get their next meal or even IF they’ll get their next meal. My youth pastor told me that a child dies from starvation somewhere in the world every 3 seconds. That’s almost every time you take a breath!
While we were fasting my youth group and I did some community service work and we played games that illustrated what it might be like to live in a poor village. Someone had to wear a backpack that was filled with heavy rocks to simulate what it would feel like to be so worn down and tired all the time. Someone else in my youth group had blindness as their disability. They kept getting lost and bumping into everyone. It was kind of funny. Even though we had fun we still got the point though. It’s hard to REALLY know what it would be like, but I think we all have a better understanding.
As a result of your donation I was able to raise $________. It’s hard to believe the effect just a few dollars can have on a person’s life. This money will feed and care for ____ children for _________!
Thanks again for encouraging me and for helping feed hungry children. To find out more about the 30 Hour Famine and World Vision go to www.30HOURFAMINE.org
You’ve definitely made a difference!
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
UNIMIX Recipe
UNIMIX Recipe
In response to a great many requests, we have found a recipe for UNIMIX, a ‘food’ that is often provided in emergency feeding centers to extremely malnourished children. Due to their fragile digestive systems, children are given this type of food that they can easily absorb into the body until their strength starts to return.
Many groups have asked about using UNIMIX (or some variation) for the Break the Fast meal. That’s a great idea, whoever, please understand that UNIMIX is not exactly a delicacy, if you take my meaning. In both taste and texture, it’s not the nicest thing to eat for a person who is used to the food of Western culture.
The following recipe is based in percentages. I have not been able to locate suggested quantities for relative serving numbers.
30% maize (or corn) meal
10% oil
10% milk powder
40% beans (mashed or ground)
10% sugar
I have also read where some people make it with actual milk instead of milk powder.
Have fun…
Service Project Ideas
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Visual impact Project...build and paint crosses white. have them set for a certain # of children who die every day of starvation. Find a high visibility spot to set them up.
We took 3' wood lathing strips from the local lumber store and cut them down into 8" and 6" lengths (you can get 3-8" and 2-6" lengths from 1-3' strip). Then nailed a 6" onto an 8" to make a cross. We made 1,208 crosses (this is how many children die each hour) and stuck them into the ground along the sidewalk/grass and curb/grass so they outlined the whole church property. We then made a sign that said "This is how many children die each hour - Pray for the children" and posted it along the main street in front of the church. Many people commented on this project and the church community told us what a huge statement that made when they saw it. The local paper came out and took pictures of them and put an article in the paper. We are using these crosses as reminders to the congregation this year of what they felt when they saw them last year. We will give each congregant one of these crosses as they come to church on the Sunday we kick off the 30 Hour Famine this year.
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Category: Famine Activities
Keywords: prayer,community needs
The most memorable and favorite Famine activity for our youth last year was a Prayer Walk. About 10 PM (when it was really dark and really cold!), we ventured out of the strip mall where our church meets and walked around our town. We stopped at various places throughout town, representing a number of different needs in our own community. At each spot, I shared with the youth the significance of stopping there, the need represented, and then three youth and one adult prayed at each site. For example, we stopped outside a firestation to thank God for the volunteers who serve our community and to pray for the families of three firemen who had been injured in a recent fire. We also stood at a car wash and prayed for the teens who hang out there on the weekends, often sleeping in their cars during the cold winter nights. Other sites included a local bar, the Coffeehouse (ministry to street kids), a convenience store, city park, school district administration building, VFW, and a housing project. Between sites, we walked in silence or sang worship songs to keep the prayerful attitude of the walk. At the end, we gathered in our church's worship center to pray for our church leadership and various ministries. We broke the chairs into sections, and we physically touched and prayed for the people who would sit in each chair that weekend. It took quite a bit of time, and it was very cold, but the prayer walk really set the tone for the rest of our famine activities.
SPECIAL NOTE: If you live in a town where there is an enforced curfew for teens, a quick call to the local police department to explain what you are doing is a good idea. We found the police to be very cooperative and helpful.
