“I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “No one who comes to Me will ever be hungry, and no one who believes in Me will ever be thirsty again.” -John 6:35

This spring, Blaine High School and Andover High School FCA Huddles in Minnesota banded together for a 30-Hour Famine. Students fasted, fellowshipped and served to raise awareness for those suffering from hunger around the world. Derived from World Vision, students increased awareness while listening to various speakers, held a candlelight prayer service, and learned how countries combat hunger.

“The purpose of the weekend was to show the students what it’s like, why we give back with what we have,” Jeff Richards, Blaine HS Huddle Coach, explained. “God is good and we need to spread our wings and share with as many people we can with service projects and discipleship.”

Students from Blaine and Andover with tie blankets made for a local women's shelter.

This was the sixth year the high schools coordinated the event, raising over $1,200 for World Vision to help the hungry.

Students checked in early Friday evening, set out their sleeping bags and played games to ease into the night, followed by worship. Richards invited participants in Teen Challenge, a substance recovery program, to share their stories. Afterwards, Nic Simpson, Blaine HS senior and Huddle leader, spoke about spiritual hunger, which resonated with the students.

“This year was really cool because I got to speak and share my heart with the group,” Simpson said. “I talked about the needs God has for our lives, and if those needs are met, we should be satisfied and fulfilled.”

Hanna Stratton, junior at Blaine High School and another Huddle leader, thought Simpson’s message hit the hearts of classmates in an impactful way. “It was super cool the way he talked about hunger and related it to our life, and how he talked about our physical and spiritual needs and how we need to fill our spiritual needs before the physical. I liked looking around at the kids around me nodding their heads and getting it.”

Perhaps the highlight was the candlelight prayer service. The students gathered in the dark and lit candles, discussed the sobering facts of extreme hunger, and as prayers began, every six seconds a candle was blown out, symbolizing a life taken by starvation.

On Saturday, the group woke to devotions and juice, and made tie blankets they donated to Alexandra House, a shelter and support program for women of domestic violence. They then went out in the community to gather food, collecting over 2,500 items for school and community food shelves. The event ended with pizza and sandwiches provided by Chick-fil-A, giving thanks for their meal a new meaning.

“It’s a great experience for the kids,” Richards noted of the event. “I pray they took away compassion and servitude and discipleship. They’re doing all those things for others and know what it’s like and hopefully get hungry for the Word.”

“It takes a village to get any of this stuff going,” Richards admitted about the preparation. “I don’t know how long we’ve been planning. It’s work, but definitely worth it when you see kids hugging and crying and sharing their faith and testimonies and talking to each other- that’s what it’s all about.”

-FCA-

Photos and video courtesy of Brett Theisen