Day 30: Finish line

I'm utterly grateful for the last-minute outpouring of support that not only helped me reach my goal, but surpass it! Tonight we got up to $10,750 for 21 scholarships! I honestly had my doubts, because this is the 3rd time I've blogged on this almost identical subject, and my usual base of support might justifiably be burnt out on my harping on this cause. But because of your passion for these children and your desire to raise awareness among your own circles of friends and co-workers, we really made a difference.

Internationally, I was amazed at the outpouring of support, with contributions coming in from Poland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Romania, Canada, Australia and Brazil—and web visits from dozens more countries around the globe. It's a picture I love, that of the nations coming together to repair a broken world.

Tomorrow, I'm leaving on a journey that will take me to two of the project locations where we reach out to children recovering from child labor and malnutrition, helping them become integrated into a life of wholeness in education, nutrition and mentorship, through our Children's Hope Centers. I'll be traveling to Nepal and India. I look forward to following up with you through my public Facebook, Instagram and Flickr posts in the days ahead. I'm particularly excited to share with you our progress in Kathmandu, Nepal, where our new Children's Hope Center is really starting to make an impact.

As I've blogged about before on my previous "day 30" posts, this of course is always a time of introspection, of being grateful for the abundance in my life, being thankful that I have a finish line to cross. However, I really hesitate to gloat too much in the "finish" because I am so heavy-hearted for those who know no such "ending" to their suffering.

It is for them that I do this challenge, but again and again I remind myself how it is but a shadow of their very real and ever-present challenge to survive on the same amount or even less, on top of all of the hazardous conditions of the slums—no electricity, rainstorms and leaky roofs, exposure to extreme temperatures, flooding, cholera, disease-bearing mosquitoes, crime, violence, snakes and worse.

And for the children, whom I so often find alone in the colonies, while their parents are away looking for work. For the brave children of 9, 10, 11 years of age, taking care of the little ones as in this scene in Kathmandu.

Yes, poverty is a real problem in our own back yards around the world. However, we should all feel compelled as global citizens of God's creation, to stand up for these who have no voice, who are being taken advantage of, forced to work at young ages in very hazardous conditions, trafficked across borders into deplorable, unthinkable labor and prostitution situations. We should all feel compelled to "speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute."

We must all come together to do something for the destitute children of the developing world. It cannot be a national effort whereby every nation is expected to take care of their own children. Local governments in the developing world are often bereft of funds, and what little funding is available is squandered by corrupt officials. So you cannot simply say, "let their governments take care of them"—it's simply not going to happen.

So here ends another of my 30 day challenges. I'm not sure I'll do such a challenge again for some time. It's a a bit of a strain planning out three meals a day that require quite a bit of "puzzling" together with limited ingredients, on top of blogging and all that comes with raising awareness to try to reach a fundraising goal, while also trying to juggle all of my other responsibilities, for 30 days!

So this may very well be the last time I attempt such a "public" food-based challenge. Again I'd like to say a huge thank you to all of you who supported me in this effort, whether just through your encouragement, your spreading of awareness and/or actually giving toward the scholarships. I am extremely grateful, but more importantly, the children whose lives will be forever changed due to your action would surely offer you their sincere gratitude if they knew of your support.

Here's what I came up with for my final day of food on the challenge, living on just $1 of food per day...

Breakfast. Similar to the way I started the challenge, wrapping up the final breakfast with an egg-topped oatmeal, with my final banana and raisin rations. ▼

Lunch. With my one remaining egg of the 48 I had for this challenge, along with the remainder of my pasta rations, I made a noodle/egg-fried rice with cabbage, boiled potato cubes and a bit of brown rice. Seasoned with season-all, ramen seasoning and pepper, it was not bad. ▼

Dinner. I dedicate this, my final "meal" to those who must often skip meals, not to diet, not to fast, not to raise awareness—but simply because they cannot afford to eat. ▼

Take Action!

1) Please consider giving toward scholarships for children of the slums. Every little bit helps! We've met the goal but don't let that stop you, there's always a need to rescue more children.

2) Please visit my unofficial sponsor, Amazon.com through this link. 7% of your purchases made through the link are given to Peace Gospel. If you're in the UK, use this link.

3) If you're compelled by my effort here, please share it with friends. One of the main goals is awareness. So if you can help with that, huge.

4) Leave me feedback. Please comment on this post, especially if you have any ideas about what I should try to cook with these ingredients I have available. I love hearing from you! It really helps!