Reflections

This week’s Share HOPE blog is written by Tom Schneider who works with Feed My Starving Children, one of our partners in our fight against Hunger. Tom traveled to Eswatini in July of 2023 and the trip made a big impact in his life. These are his reflections.

To begin with I believe I have a strong passion for helping starving children because my wife and I know the pain of losing children shortly after our babies were born. I did not realize the passion came from our losses until about two years after working at Feed My Starving Children (FMSC). My heart kept going to the parents of the starving children and their pain of not being able to save their children. Of course, I have compassion for the starving children but I don’t know the pain of not having enough food. I do know the pain of being helpless to help save my children. 

I believe it was about May or June of 2022 when I started asking myself and staff members, “What am I going to do for the rest of my life?” I always enjoy and look forward to “working” at FMSC but I felt I needed something more. The staff members told me about Janine’s books and they bought me all three. The first book opened my eyes to the extent of the problem in Africa and Janine and Ian became an instant inspiration to me. The books led me to the Heart for Africa service trips and I signed up for July 2023.

This trip made all the good that comes from packing food at FMSC more real to me. Even when we are packing for some other partner/missionary the accomplishments I saw at Project Canaan come to mind quite often during the packing sessions. I am hopeful that I can inspire some of the FMSC volunteers to donate and pack on a regular basis.

Packing for Heart for Africa’s shipment is exciting and rewarding to me because I think of all the people they are delivering the Manna Pack rice to. I think of the church visits we went on and the one little girl in the red jacket that was the first child I saw come out of the kitchen with her plate and sat down and started eating the Manna Pack.

I think of the nine year old girl that was found three years ago living under a tarp with her two younger siblings with no parents.  

I think of the 4,500 people they feed every week. I think of the 371 children they saved and the beautiful place they now live with so much love. And I think of all our partners, all 800 million people in the world with not enough food and the six thousand plus children that will die today. And I think they DESERVE our help.

Tom Schneider, Feed My Starving Children and Heart for Africa Trip Volunteer