Harvest of Hope is the educational branch of the Society of St. Andrew, an organization that exists to help feed America's hungry because of the Biblical mandate to do so. Check them out here when you get a chance: www.endhunger.org. It has been a couple of years since I've had the chance to do this work so when I was contacted to serve as the event coordinator for a week-long event in Montross, Virginia, I was pretty pumped. This was my 15th HOH event and I can say unequivocally, it was the best HOH event I have ever experienced. In fact, as I tearfully (geez I get so mad at myself when I blubber in front of a group of people) gave Saturday morning's message from the beach of the Potomac River, I spoke the truth in telling this crew that it was the first time I wasn't ready to go home at the end of a HOH event.
So why and in what ways was I wowed?
1. This group of high school aged teenagers and their leaders were the most courteous (if you've read my last blog post you'll know I'm a bit OCD about that), hardworking, dedicated, caring and flexible group of kids I've ever worked with. One young man shared that it felt like the group of 53 of us had become a family. And he was right. It was incredibly rewarding to see them reaching out to each other across church group lines. We had groups from North Carolina, Michigan and Virginia present. And no matter what obstacles we faced, changes in schedule, mealtime mishaps and stifling heat, this gang found any and every road over around and through, to accomplish our purposes. They will probably never know the depth of my gratitude for that.
2. I was wowed once again (I feel like I'm starting to sound like Barbra Walters) as I was required to share statistics of hunger, both globally and in the U.S. Right now, in our own backyards and communities, 1 in 5 U.S. households with children is considered food insecure. And to learn that we as a nation, waste 96 billion pounds of food annually. Yet we spend 53.3 billion dollars each year on pet supplies. Some things remain unfathomable to me. Like the 580 billion dollars spent on December holidays in 2012. If I'm not careful, my statistics become a sledge hammer. Because what can we do about it, really? Well, let me tell you.....
3. The aforementioned group of 53 teens and adults managed to harvest and glean 21,000 pounds of corn and 1,000 pounds of potatoes! THAT'S what we can do about it! All of that food had already been distributed all over the state of Virginia to homes needing fresh food by the time we packed our bags and headed for home. Words cannot express the feeling I have when I think about being part of something that to some people, was a monumental moment. How do I know it meant that much to them? Because I've been on the other side. I've been the recipient of food donations. And just as I cannot describe the feeling of purpose I gain from doing this gleaning work, I cannot adequately express the feeling of humiliation, embarrassment and failure that comes when one has to accept charity. (sidebar statistic - 1 out of every 2 children in America right now, at some point in their life, will need supplemental nutrition assistance). Add to that, the myriad of conflicting emotions when you open one of those cans to find rust, mold, and completely unpalatable food. So I simply stood amazed and humbled watching a very large box truck fill up with crate after crate of fresh sweet corn.
4. As I mentioned, this is the 15 HOH in which I have participated. So I've seen lots of groups come and go. And I've seen a wide range in work ethic. These kids and their leaders worked harder than any group I've ever seen. The runners, as they were called, took their duties quite literally and were RUNNING through the tall stalks of corn to get empty crates to the pickers and the full ones to the truck. The full ones ranged in weight from 20 -50 pounds. Unbelievable! Now, my suspicion is that at home, it's quite possible that the moms of these kids can't get them to pick their own socks up (a theory based entirely on what was experienced in my own home with my own children who went on mission trips) but for that week, they were unstoppable.
5. The reasons and ways it came about that we would be at that particular place at that particular time are probably what touch my soul the deepest. These would be the 2 men who started the Northern Neck Food Bank.....and the farmers who plant portions of their fields specifically to have gleaners come to get the food for the needy, and the people who made it possible for us to stay in the beautiful Westmoreland State Park, and the folks at the GTL test site (we got to see the actual crash dummies) that allowed us to cook, serve and hold educational sessions in their facility, and the churches who fed us fantastic lunches.........they all did what they did, because they were so happy we were there to do what we were doing!! Talk about having some meaning in your days! Wow.
6. This stuff is all around us. The need, I mean. I bet you have someone in your own circle of influence who is struggling to buy food.....or pay the utility bills......or get their own kids the necessities of going back to school in a few weeks. One night, still rather high on the memories of the week's experience, I made a phone call to someone in my own life to just check in. Hearing their plight of not having food in their house (with the exception of flour, sugar and some butter), and no income expected for the better part of a week, and not enough gas in the car to get them to their local food pantry, I've got to say my emotional balloon was more than deflated. Because although I had helped to provide thousands of servings to food to folks in Virginia, this was someone I KNEW who was beyond my ability to help......in a different state.....and my own wallet quite thin with this summer's lack of work. And I felt helpless. From WOW to.....wow. It hits so close to home. Mine and yours.
It's been tougher for me to re-enter "real life" this time. And I'm glad about that. I hope I don't lose the pricks of tenderness my heart has been experiencing these past few weeks. I'm not proud of how small and self-focused my world became over the last several months - at least about the unimportant things. I hope I continue on this quest to do more.....to keep seeing the "bigger picture"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9Yasgzjc0w
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