Tentative Famine Date

For those of you who have been wondering when the actual 30 Hour Famine will take place, we tentatively have July 6th & 7th set aside. However, we are in the process of securing a host church. Once we have a venue, then we will be able to nail down a definite date for the Famine. Keep checking the blog for future updates. And thanks for going on the journey with us. We appreciate your support!

Fund-Raising Pizza Night

We're having a pizza party Thursday, May 28th from 6-9 PM to help raise money for World Vision's 30 Hour Famine. So bring your family and friends and meet us at Shakey's. While we're there, Shakey's will donate 25% of the menu price of any food purchase we make to support the Famine. If you have a hectic schedule, you can still help because take-out orders count too. Call ahead, and you can pick up dinner on the fly! Beverage receipts and discounted menu items will not count toward the 25% donation. Coupons will not be accepted either. Receipts should be placed in the box provided at the register.

1422 N. Azusa Ave.
Azusa, CA 91722
(626) 966-5819

See you there!

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Testimonies From Last Year's Famine

World Changer #1, age 11

I had a lot of fun learning about people in other countries. I hope that I can help a lot of them someday. It made me feel lucky to be alive at 11 years old, when some kids are starving. I have so much that they don’t. While I was at the 30 hour famine, I felt that God really wanted me to be there, and really wanted me to learn about kids in other countries so that I can help. I can help by raising money, collecting food, and by fasting and praying. Over the years, I’ve been touched by God after I had a lot of doubts. Now, I feel that He’s drawing me closer and closer to being a pastor, because I know that I could help a lot of people if God shined a light through me. It was fun hanging out with friends while learning about God.

World Changer #2, age 14

When our group leader gave us the list of activities we could do as a missions class, the 30 Hour Famine sort of jumped out at me. So in the five minutes or so that we had to look over the activities, I was campaigning hard for the 30 Hour Famine. I didn’t know what it was or what it would entail, I just knew I wanted to do it. So I convinced most of the group to make it one of the two choices they were entitled to and we began to plan out our 30 Hour Famine.

However, as time passed and I began to realize that I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I thought it would be as simple as not eating for 30 hours, but what would anyone get out of that? But then I was given my World Vision Student Guide and my donation envelope and was told to ask everyone I could think of for a donation. As I began to understand that this was not going to be some quick and easy assignment, I became angry that I’d been so ignorant and not correctly informed myself on the task at hand. Though it seemed modestly high, the donation goal I set for myself was one I knew I could achieve without much effort.

Something I noticed while I was receiving these donations was that everyone would always tell me that I was “doing good” or doing the Famine and knowing all of this information at my age was “amazing.” It wasn’t really that great. Not because I don’t agree with their comments, but because I wasn’t really a willing participant. Had I heard about the Famine from one of my friends, I probably wouldn’t have done it. So to put it in clear words, up until the day of the Famine, I had no real desire to help these kids. It was more about self-recognition.

The day of the 30 Hour Famine, I arrived knowing that I wouldn’t be able to eat for 30 hours. I also knew that I would be locked in a building with a dozen people who, under these conditions, could make me a very irritable person. Yet, as we began our tribe game, I realized that I should be the last one to complain. The child I was to portray for the next 30 hours has been in and out of slavery and was so emotionally scarred from it that he couldn’t bring himself to talk. Most of the tribe games were fun (except maybe the one where I was pelted with a dodge ball repeatedly), but the mix and match game was by far the best. In terms of it being entertaining, it was the worst. But in terms of it being educational, it was the best. I had heard the statistics before, but because we had to remember what they said, they began to imprint on my mind. After the game, I laid down in a corner and tried to read a book, but the thought that 29,000 children would die while I slept made me rethink why I was doing the Famine. It wasn’t about me! If there was one thing the Famine wasn’t about, it was me. The purpose and the plan for the 30 Hour Famine was to help these kids and to get a very small taste of what they go through.

I would recommend that everyone do this. I don’t care if you’re upper class, middle class, lower class, or whatever. It doesn’t matter. Compared to these kids, none of us can truly understand poverty and suffering. But this tiresome and exhausting 30 Hour Famine that World Vision has concocted will at least give you a small taste of their lives. I promise, that if you have a heart, this event will impact you in one way or another.

World Changer #3, age 12

I thought that the famine was a great experience. It gave me more of an appreciation for the starving children around the world. They have to go through that every day, not knowing when they’ll eat again. I would definitely do it again next year because it was fun, even though I was hungry the whole time. It was also educational and it helped me draw closer to God through worship.

God's Chosen Fast

"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of
injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed
free and break every yoke? Is it not to share your food with the
hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—when you see the
naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and
blood?....and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy
the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the
darkness, and your night will become like the noonday." Isaiah 58:6-7,10

Did You Know...

30 Hour Famine!!!

Before this day is over, 26,000 children under age 5 will die--most of them from preventable causes like hunger, poverty, and disease. 14,000 will die from causes related to hunger alone. That's one child every seven seconds.

Park Academy Missions Class (PAMC) is participating in World Vision's 30 Hour Famine to fight hunger and save lives. We are currently planning fundraisers and the activities that will take place during the Famine. As a group, we are trying to raise over $5,000. Last year, we created a short video clip that brought in a good percentage of our donations. In the upcoming weeks, we plan to do a series of short videos to promote this event. We're all really excited about this and hope you are too. We'll keep you posted.