Each 25 cents you give helps produce one nutritional meal and provides hope through evangelistic outreach to children and families facing hunger. Start a campaign today! (Photo courtesy of GAiN USA)
USA (MNN) ― A simple trip to Pennsylvania can make a difference for the Kingdom of God. That's what Brooks Corners United Methodist Church of Sears, Michigan, did when it sent 18 people to the Global Aid Network distribution center in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania.
Team member Joyce Henry said the group included 5 teenagers and a number of retired people, and they helped with a wide variety of tasks at the center. Some helped sort clothes by size, checking whether each item was in good repair. Some of the ladies knitted and crocheted items such as blankets for orphanages, while others made Gospel aprons and bracelets based on the wordless book.
"By the thousands they do those [aprons and bracelets] and give them out as a witness. So it is humanitarian aid, but with a witness," Henry explained.
The group also packed food to feed starving people.
"Our favorite thing was being able to help the group brought in from Feed My Starving Children (FMSC)," Henry said. "They are out to try to reduce the number of starving children around the world. 18,000 people a day die of starvation!"
GAiN USA is partnering with FMSC to send nutritious meals to starving people. Volunteers at the distribution center put together a nutritional mix developed with the input of scientists from major food companies in the Twin Cities area: rice, soy nuggets, vitamins, minerals, a vegetarian chicken flavoring, and dehydrated vegetables.
Henry said about 75 people helped "fill plastic bags with a particular food that's been engineered to be highly nutritious and just what you need to survive," she explained. "We did an assembly line, and for an hour and a half or two hours we did this. Each person dipped something into the bag; then it was sealed, weighed, and packaged and ready to go."
Thankfully many people have signed up to pack meals for GAiN USA, and no more help is needed in the month of June. But Brook Corners United Methodist is already excited to help with the project again in the future.
"That was so rewarding that we want to do it again," Henry said. "They have a place in Aurora, Illinois, and two in the Minneapolis area that you can go to and work.... Chicago would be a little closer for us than going clear to Pennsylvania."
Henry encourages other people to help at the center, saying there's something for everyone to do.
"What I liked about Global Aid Network was that there were jobs for everyone. If you were unable to walk or stand on your feet, there were sit-down jobs that you could do--a great many things that you could do for the Lord and to be helpful. It doesn't always take a lot of money; you just need to get there and use your hands for the Lord," she said.
"There are just all kinds of opportunities out there, incredible ways to serve the Lord," Henry continued. "We're retired, long retired, and still feel that we're useful to the Lord. It's just so rewarding. People are hurting around the world, and we get to be of help to them."
Learn more about how you can help at the distribution center.
