SA 2011: Complaining when our stomachs are full

Volunteering at a food bank farm plants new thoughts

By Gilbert Ayala a junior from  Madera Avenue Bible Church, Madera, Calif.

Editor’s note: Congregations were invited to select one student to serve as a CL student reporter for SA2011. Thanks to the 11 youth leaders who recruited student writers and to these students for their honest and inspiring reflections.

Monday morning my youth group along with kids from Kansas and South Dakota went to the local food bank and helped them on their farm. We had some people pulling weeds, moving rocks and tying tomato plant to sticks to hold them up straight. This was an amazing ministry opportunity to show us how they help people over there. We there for three to four hours helping the farmers.

After we finished, we went inside and had lunch. One of the ladies who worked there talked to us. She said they help feed around 50,000 people a week. It made me think: We have pantries and refrigerators full of food, but complain about not having anything to eat. Then we walk, drive or ride to the store and buy some more food. And there are people out there who do not even know when the next time they are gonna eat is.

Jesus fed around 5000 people with two fish and five loaves of bread, and yet we cannot make ourselves a sandwich or a meal and finish eating it while there are people who barely get any food. Why can’t we help these food banks with getting food or delivering the food to those people.

This ministry experience has made me want to help out food banks and those in need. Jesus never turned people down because of the situation they were in or got themselves into. He helped all. He did not look at the man on the corner and say, “He put himself in this situation—leave him. Instead, he goes and helps. Jesus told us that we should love our neighbors and enemies as we love ourselves and to be servants. Jesus did not walk around saying, “I am son of God, bow down.” Instead he was a servant unto others.

I want to be the servant who goes out to the guy on the street and buys him a meal or delivers him a meal. I want to get my church and my youth group to serve at food banks and business and offer to help, not for money, but out of kindness. I wanna start canned food drives and donate. I want to be known for what i have done out of kindness, not for what I was paid for.

I will start telling people about the struggles that others go through and tell them about the help that we can provide. My dad tells me that all you need to do is show people you care. That is the beginning, and we move on from there.