Chicken Flavored Soy or Soy Flavored Chicken? Serving with Feed My Starving Children

The following was written by Rogers Ozone Director, Christine Janssens

6         30      216    6,480  17      2

Children all over the world are not getting adequate nutrition. What do these random numbers have to do with starving children? One thing we believe the Lord has been calling our ministry to do is to serve not only our community, but to reach out to those around the world that need help. How on earth can a bunch of students help such distant problems?

Feed My Starving Children is an organization whose mission is "to feed God’s starving children in body and spirit."  Their goal is to reach those children who don’t get adequate nutrition and feed them a well-balanced meal of rice, soy protein, vegetables and chicken, so that their health can be restored.  This wasn't real chicken though. The bags of food are vegan friendly, meaning the chicken was just a soy-based flavoring that added a little extra life to the food! It brings joy to know that the organization took the time to consider the taste of the food for these families! The most important, and impressive, part to me was that these nutrients are designed to save the lives of severely malnourished and starving children. Not only that, but the ingredients also improve the health, growth and physical well-being of children who are no longer in immediate danger of starvation.

So on February 25th as we joined with Feed My Starving Children, this was our job. To pack bags that contained each of these ingredients. One person manned the chicken in one hand and the vegetables in the other. Another was in charge of scooping a big scoop of soy and a big scoop of rice. Once funneled into the bag in the correct order—chicken, veggies, soy, rice—the bag was weighed then sealed. When 36 bags were completed, they were strategically placed in a box. Then the really fun part began. The whole group had to do a cheer so that a runner could come and pick up our box of rice! Since Camp War Eagle chow hall cheers are loud, fun and easy to remember, we stuck with those. The other teams, and our own, seemed to really like the cheers about Joy, Jesus and others! It was an experience that everyone enjoyed and definitely something that will be on the agenda for next year!  

Let's go back to those numbers. Now that you know a bit about who FMSC is and how we helped, I’ll clue you in on what great an impact the Ozone group had!

6—The number of meals in one bag of Rice        

30—The number of boxes the Ozone students packed

216—The number of meals in each box

6,480—The number of meals Ozone Students packed on February 25^th

17—The number of children who will now have food for a whole year, packed by our own Ozone students

           

2 –The number of hours it took out of our day.

This was a group effort that allowed our students to bond and have fun, but ultimately to help those who are in need. It was a true eye opener for me and for all the students to see how the Lord has blessed our lives here in the United States. It was a true blessing seeing the hearts of our students and their desire to spread Jesus’s love.  It was also exciting to see them live out what is written in the bible, “Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action” 1 John 3:18.

Please visit the FMSC website: http://www.fmsc.org to learn more.  They are a loving organization that is living out the Word of God, and we were so happy and blessed to be a part of it! 

A New Spin on Parent Meetings

This semester Ozone Ministries used the old “Bring Your Child to Work Day” formula and turned it on it’s head. Instead of a student donning his cleanest button down and tie and stepping into the office, parents were the ones experiencing a new environment.

Beginning with Lifeline on January 21, “Bring Your Parent to Club” invited parents to join in with their children during club, to play and learn as the child does, and then be informed about Ozone amidst the fun of being a kid for an hour and a half. “Bring Your Parent to Club” days continued on January 24^th and 26^th with the Primetime and Ozone meetings.

Each club represented what a usual meeting looks like, full of games, energy and learning, but as students separated for small group discussions, parents joined together for a short, informational meeting with the directors. The past semester, with all of it’s joys, changes and successes, was discussed, followed by the future of Camp War Eagle 365. Parents learned more about programs available to them and their children, and even how they can serve Ozone!

“Bring Your Parent to Club” was a successful way to blend fun and information and will without a doubt happen again in the future!

At The Table

Cram a gym or a classroom full of 30-40 middle school students, let them run and play for an hour, and you’re guaranteed to get a request for snack time. Primetime Ozone students have food on their mind after an exciting time at their weekly meetings.  Once a month in Springdale and Rogers, hungry Primetime students get to gather "At The Table" for a home-cooked meal.  This meal is provided by the Northwest Arkansas not-for-profit group At The Table. From their website:

“At The Table provides freshly prepared meals to low-income neighborhoods and specialty groups while bringing them together as a community, primarily in an outdoor setting.
At The Table provides healthy meals in a family-style setting where everyone that desires to eat is served without regard to race, nationality, gender, or appearance of need.”

Meals have included BBQ sandwiches, chicken strips, and even some delicious Hamburger Helper!  They have graciously equipped our students with take home goodie-bags full of snacks.  We’ve been so blessed by their partnership.  If you’d like more information about their organization, including details on how to get involved with time or finances, visit http://www.atthetablenwa.org or contact info@atthetablenwa.org. CWE365 is so thankful for At the Table!