Sojourn: Day Twenty Two

  Today, I interviewed Chris Coakley, my friend from college who started a non-profit organization called Grain of Hope 58:10 to feed hungry people in Burkina Faso Africa.  His work inspired much of what I am doing here on this fast.

1. What caused you to desire to start Grain of Hope?

There were times when I was younger that I wasn't sure where the next meal was coming from. I always knew I wanted to help with things like that. When I found out how ramped hunger was in Burkina I knew that The Lord said to me that this was it. Now is the time to step up.

2. What is the hardest part of running Grain of Hope?

The hardest part of Grain of hope is not being able to help everyone. This past summer while I was there we did 3 food distributions and there where hundreds of people we had to turn away simply because there was not enough food. At the end of each distribution it was my job to go throw the crowd and pick who got the rest of what was left. I was told to find the oldest first. It was hard because we had more older people than we had food. I had to turn away people like my grandma that I simply could not fee.

3. What is the most rewarding part?

The most rewarding part is the ability to tell people about Jesus while standing in front of the food. We tell that this gift of food came from Jesus and not us. We had Muslim men come and accept food from Jesus. That is awesome.

4. Why should and How can people get involved with Grain of Hope?

We should help with originations like this because if you are a Christian helping the poor is not an option.

Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice. (Proverbs 31:9 NLT)

The godly care about the rights of the poor; the wicked don’t care at all. (Proverbs 29:7 NLT)

Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. (Isaiah 58:10 NLT)

So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth. (Job 5:16 NIV84)

This is not an option. We also need to remember that the opposite of poor is not wealth. It is JUSTICE.

How can you help.

Pray. Pray that the poor will recover justice. Not just the hungry but the thirsty. The forgotten. The trafficked.

Go. Go on a trip with us and experience first hand what The Lord is doing.

Give. Give of your resources to help us. This does not just mean money. This means your resources. We need a website. Cards. Banners. Shirts. Everything a business needs to promote itself to gain more exposure to help more people. And you can just give money.

I encourage those of you reading my blog to consider helping in this great venture!  Thanks for following my journey.