I Was Hungry and You Gave Me Something To Eat

"I was hungry and you gave me something to eat..."


How often have we taken these words of Jesus as figurative and not literal? Despite the fact that very few of us have ever known hunger, there are people in our communities who are regularly hungry. We're not talking about a hunger for something better to eat or a wish that dinner could be at 5:00 instead of 6:00. No, there are people who go days without a bite to eat. They are hungry. Jesus says that He is that hungry person. When we feed them, we are feeding Him. When we intentionally ignore or fail to consider the hungry around us, we ignore Him.

The good news today is that by supporting the Mission District with your prayers and finances you can feed the hungry. Pastor Jorge and Teresa Guarello recently shared how the small church in Leon is involved in this outreach. There are several large government hospitals in Leon as it is one of the main cities for the entire region. When patients are hospitalized, families are forced to not only see to the needs of the patients but also to find food and lodging despite not being able to work due to the distance from their homes. Many of these family members simply go without food and sleep in the entrances to the hospitals for as many days as is necessary. Last week, the Guarellos and 2 other couples prepared small sack lunches (tortas, apples, and juice for the detail-oriented among you) and served around 150 of these people at the hospitals. We wish that you could have seen the surprised smiles on the faces of these people who were on the receiving end of a free lunch- that's grace at work, isn't it?

And the better news is that not only were these Christians able to feed the hungry but they were also able to pray with some of the families. Pastor Jorge reports that this is a wide open mission field and that the authorities, instead of questioning their motives, invited them to come into the hospital to share the food with those inside. We are praising God with our brothers and sisters in Leon for this open door. Won't you pray with us that the physical and spiritual hunger which is so obvious will be satisfied by these sack lunches and by the Holy Spirit? And won't you keep your eyes open as you move in your city for those who are hungry and for the One who says, "Do it for them and you're doing it for me!"