Starving to help others

Editor's note: Due to newspaper deadlines, this story was written before the 30-Hour Famine began.

By Carrie Bartholomew

Southeast Missourian

By now more than 60 teenagers from First General Baptist Church in Jackson are hungry and restless. They may also be more compassionate toward those less fortunate than they were two days ago. These teens voluntarily went without food, cell phones and video games to raise awareness about global hunger during a 30-Hour Famine.

"The kids do a lock-in every January. This year we decided to step it up a little and make a difference," said Pam Cook, youth ministries director for First General Baptist Church.

Chandler Wendel, left, and Jessica Randolph spray paint a piece of cardboard Wednesday as they prepare for the 30-Hour Famine at Jackson First General Baptist Church.

At 6 a.m. Saturday morning, the teens were set to get a "good breakfast," Cook said. An hour later they would be allowed fluids, but no food. She said a registered nurse would be on hand in the event of a medical emergency.

"I have been floored by their attitudes," Cook said.

She said the only hesitation she saw in her youth group was when they were informed last week that they would have to give up cell phones for the 30 hours, too.

The church planned a variety of activities to keep the group's mind off their hunger. Some of those activities involve a variety of community service projects for local groups and members of the church.

After completing their service projects, the teens will construct a cardboard "homeless village" in the church parking lot. Cook said participants would spend a couple of hours in the village to get an idea of what it would be like to live in that environment, but they are not required to spend the night outside.

During the weeks leading up to the event, participants raised money for the famine's sponsor, World Vision, an international Christian organization dedicated to overcoming poverty and injustice in both the United States and abroad.

"Every $30 they raise will clothe, feed and educate a child for one month," Cook said. "It is a chance to make a difference."

She said one of World Vision's primary goals was to make clean water attainable throughout the world.

Cook did not have an estimate of how much money the group raised, but she said one fundraiser generated more than $800. She said events like this were important in teaching compassion and breeding empathy. She hopes the experience will give her youth group an understanding they did not have before the fast.

"The next time I take the kids to a St. Louis soup kitchen to serve, they will be able to remember when they were cold and hungry," Cook said. "We are fortunate. We know that we will eat in 30 hours, others don't."

It was gaining this new perspective and helping others that drew 15-year-old C.J. Johnson of Jackson to the event.

"I am excited to do for others who don't have what we have in America," Johnson said. "We don't know how others are feeling. It is important to take a second to realize that."

The Jackson High School sophomore said she "eats a lot" and not having food on hand would be difficult, but not impossible. To maintain her focus, she thinks about the reason for the fast.

"Food isn't on my mind as much as people think it is, because I know why I am doing this," she said.