My Forgo

Every day I am exposed to the heart-wrenching stories and captivating images of children in need around the world—I work for Children’s Hunger Fund (CHF). When we began the Fast2Feed project, I realized what an innovative and potentially revolutionary concept FORGO is, but I didn’t realize how this project would grip my own heart.

Midway through the project I was directed to the blog of an amazing woman named Kirsten. She beautifully explained her heart for hurting children and her plan to engage her family. Instead of serving dinner, Kirsten set the table with empty plates and glasses of water and used dinnertime to explain to her family about the suffering children in Zimbabwe (where all of the Forgo donations will go). They watched some CHF videos and prayed for the country. Then they donated the money they would have spent on dinner through forgo.it. The idea was brilliant! I was inspired to steal Kirsten’s idea and do the same thing.

So last night, my husband and I sat down for dinner. We Forgo’d our planned meal and instead, I set our table with cold, clean water, empty dishes, and photos of children in Zimbabwe. And we prayed. We prayed for the country. We prayed for the children. We prayed for CHF and for Forgo. We prayed for CHF’s Mercy Network partners in Zimbabwe and for the container of food that is being prepared for shipping as I write this.

My mind began to drift…to the large glass of chilled water in front of me. Ironically Zimbabwe is now experiencing a drought. Typical droughts in Zimbabwe last for 2 years. That means these people will have no crops for 2 years, which also means nutritious food will be even more difficult to come by.

And my eyes welled up with tears…as I prayed for the country of Zimbabwe, it really hit home. My husband’s parents are missionaries in South Africa and they have “adopted” a boy who came to them from Zimbabwe after leaving the country because food was so scarce. And there are so many kids who don’t find the solace of a loving home like my “brother” did.

I praised God for the abundance of resources we have here. And I thanked the Lord with a full heart for my job at CHF and for my involvement in this Fast2Feed project. Then we visited forgo.it and made our donation. My hope now is that many others will be moved to do the same.