By Lori Dixon

27 November 2017—The familiar scramble of last minute preparations for our Thanksgiving meal is past. For many, the day was filled with sensory overload, from the mouth-watering aromas wafting from the kitchen to the sights and sounds of family and friends gathering for the celebration. And now our refrigerators are loaded with leftovers. Yes, we have so much to be thankful for. This year as we express gratitude for all that we have, we also have an opportunity to make a difference in lives of children who experience hunger on a daily basis.

As a child growing up in Nicaragua, Guillermo Herrera understood what it meant to do without. There were always too many mouths to feed and not enough to go around. Pastor Guillermo has a passion for feeding the children in his community so they too can grow, develop, and give back to their country. Childhood has enough challenges without worrying where your next meal will come from.

Much of the world experiences food insecurity, or the lack of consistent access to enough food for a healthy life. Nicaragua, the poorest country in Central America and the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, is one of those places where most children worry about where their next meal will come from. The Church of God in Nicaragua, started by Pastor Guillermo, serves in poor communities dealing with challenges from food insecurity to addiction. Will you partner with them?

Volunteers from the local church prepare and serve meals for these amazing children once a week. They have a goal to increase the meals to three times per week, substantially raising the nutritional value for the children. Pastor Guillermo’s passion is to not only provide physical nourishment but spiritual nourishment as well—“to continue to share God’s love, not just with words, but also with our actions.” Each meal costs just $.60 per child. The goal is to serve 100 children each meal for 10 months (40 weeks), the total cost for the project is $7,060.

That’s 12,000 meals provided for children in need in one year! Many of us just spent $150-$300 to feed our tribe one meal for Thanksgiving. Would you consider making the difference in the life of a child this year? Gifts given through the December 31 may be eligible for the matching gifts fund. Click here for more details.