FEAST DAY

This Sunday was feast day.  Since I got to feast, I thought I'd let you feast too - with some pictures of these wonderful kids with whom we have the privilege of working in the Philippines.  Enjoy!

What to do When the Beans Go Bad

On Thursday evening I opened the refrigerator to an awful smell.  What could that be?  It smelled rotten.  I looked to see if there were any old leftovers that my son and husband had not eaten and could not find any.  I was stumped, until I opened the pot of beans to prepare my evening meal.  I had prepared a weeks worth to make sure that I stayed within my $1 a day limit for the whole week. But the beans had gone bad.  I didn't know that black beans could go bad that quickly in a refrigerator.  I had brown rice, a few tomatoes and a little bit of greens for dinner, but no beans.  I survived it, but what does one do when all one really has is $1 a day for food and you've spent your whole week's worth and the beans go bad?  The poor with whom we work in the Philippines don't have refrigerators and so how do you store things without risking the little food security that you have? For us who don't have to deal with that kind of reality, if the beans go bad, you just go get more beans.  But what if you couldn't? 

Eating Out of the Trash

 I am 6 days into this "fast" of eating on $1 a day and now that I am feeling a bit better (not so sick anymore), I am getting hungry - I can't say that its the "I'm truly starved for nutrients" kind of hunger - I am not sure I would even know what that was - the closest thing I can imagine to what that might feel like would be times of hunger when I was pregnant. Toward the end of my pregnancies, there were times when I felt like I was in a "hostile takeover" situation and if I did not eat at that moment, it was not going to be pretty! As those close to me can attest, when I said, "I need eat," I meant NOW and it had an urgent feel to it.  But the hunger I am feeling in the midst of this is not even that - its a "my stomach is growling" kind of hunger - uncomfortable, but not life-threatening.  And I know a reprieve is coming - Saturday night - Sunday night is a 24 hour feast day.  But right now, I feel hungry a good part of the day.  Yesterday, in the midst of my feeling "hungry," I surprised even myself as I watched someone throw half of a perfectly good hamburger into the trash.  As I watched, I thought to myself, "I could eat that.  It would taste good and it has lots of protein."  I didn't do it, but I thought about it! Maybe for the first time ever, I can imagine a scenario in which I would be willing to eat out of the garbage.  I don't want to ever have to do that  - so why do I find it acceptable that others have to do that?  That one is going to take some chewing on....  

What if I didn't have a choice?

A friend of mine asked me today, "How are you feeling?"  I told him that I was feeling fine except for this this bad cold or virus - whatever it is.  He then asked me if I thought that my fast had brought on this cold.  It didn't - it just happened to coincide with it - they started together.  So then he said to me, "Well maybe you should delay this until you are well and then start." Believe me, I have thought about that, but people who actually have to live on this much food don't get that choice and somehow they manage to survive and most of the time even get well.  That is pretty amazing to me.  So, it just seems like I need to stick this out as long as the fast is not making my condition worse - its not.  The choice to get off of it if I need to for health or other reasons does kind of change the dynamic though - I have a choice about all this - that makes it much more tolerable.  What if I didn't? And why is it okay that there are people in this world of such abundance who don't have that choice?  I am definitely guilty of the twin sins of over-consumption and waste - When I look at what I am eating and think about how much food I throw away in a week - people could live on that food. I am not advocating cleaning one's plate because people somewhere in the world are going hungry - my eating more than I need does not help them.  I am, however, advocating awareness about over-consumption  so that we begin to pay attention to the distribution of resources and consider what could change the imbalance so that all of God's children and creatures have what they need.

That does not mean that we cannot feast from time to time.  You will notice that I have built in a feast day every 7th day - partly so I can survive this and do the things I have to do in the midst of it - but also because the poor actually do that in the Philippines and its usually through the church - on Sundays everyone brings what they have - whether its a lot or just a little and everyone eats and for that meal at least, everyone has enough, with enough to send home with those who will struggle to make it through the next week.  It is extravagance in the best sense of the word. God's wonderful extravagance for all, given through all by doing their part.  I think that is cool. Perhaps we could learn something from them. 

Day Four - How Do Sick People Get Well on this Much Food?

When I was a kid, my grandmother used to say "Starve a cold, feed a fever."   I don't know whether or not that was good advice, but I can tell you this, I don't know how people, especially children, who are not healthy to begin with because of lack of nutrition, get well when they get sick and are eating on a dollar's worth of food a day.  I feel terrible - not because of the amount of food I am eating but because of this virus I have picked up.  It laid me flat for two days and even today, working was a struggle.  I  was healthy and well-nourished when I got sick so I don't think my eating less is causing me to stay sick longer, but it definitely has challenged my energy level - trying to function and get well at the same time takes energy and I would think at least adequate nutrition.  I am getting adequate nutrition for a short term fast.  I have the luxury of actually choosing brown rice with far more nutrients than the nutrient depleted white stuff that most of the poor in the Philippines eat and I'm eating beans that are high in protein.  And this is a short term fast - it will end.What do you do when you can't choose nutritious food, even in limited quantities?  What do you do when the "fast" has no end? I know this is short term and so its tolerable and I have plenty of clean water with which to flush my system - my body will do its work - but what if I didn't have plenty of clean water and my body was already worn down from just fighting to survive each day? When there are no reserves from which to draw? 

Struggling Through Day 2

Yesterday was a tough day.  I have been traveling a lot and woke up yesterday with what felt like flu symptoms with diarrhea.  Not fun!  I had the luxury of staying in bed all day and drinking lots of clean water to stay hydrated - I don't have to buy clean water.  I can get it out of any public or house faucet.  It made me stop and think about those in the Philippines who have the choice of drinking non-potable water or having to buy it - thus reducing what they have available for purchasing food and other things.  I also thought about the fact that I can go to a pharmacy and buy something to help with my flu symptoms and the diarrhea - which I did.  I also did not need to be on the street selling products or otherwise trying to earn today's income so that I and my family could eat - I actually get a day off and a paid sick day if needed. I wept (yes, probably partly because I felt bad, but also because of the realization of the great privilege in which I live and how much I take it for granted.)  Thank you to all of you who are praying with me.  I am a little better today.  The diarrhea has stopped.  I still have a bad head cold and cough but I have enough and time again today to rest and clean water with which to stay hydrated.  Thanks be to God! 

What Does $1 a Day Look Like?

I went shopping last night for a week's worth of food for $6 - that was a challenge.  I can't imagine how families with only $1 a day to spend per person figure out what to buy.  Here is what I will be eating for $0.99 a day this week:  1 cup of cooked brown rice three times a day, 1/2 cup cooked black beans three times a day, 6 cherry tomatoes and 1/2 cup of mixed greens three times a day - that gives me protein, carbohydrates, some vitamin C and some leafy greens.  I still have to figure out how to get some calcium.  (I bought bulk rice and beans which cut down on the cost and bought mixed greens and tomatoes that were getting close to going bad so they were marked down for quick sale.  Here is the breakdown of costs per day:

3 cups cooked rice:  $.018
1.5 cups cooked black beans: $.018
6 cherry tomatoes: $0.34
1.5 cups mixed greens: $0.29

Total: $0.99 per day