HourChallenge

I recently wrote about a garage sale the boys had dreamed up to help with a national hunger campaign that our church is participating in. This post is a follow up to that article.

The boys raised $428.00 today! We just pulled the last signs down and dropped off the remaining items at Goodwill. It’s been a hectic couple of days but now we’re sitting back feeling really grateful to all those who made the event possible by donating items, making and putting up signs, selling, organizing and cleaning up when the traffic died off late in the morning. It’s exciting to see so many come together to support a great cause. Great job boys!!!

Below are some early morning pics of the event.

My good friend has a blog that is worth reading.  It’s especially interesting to those of us who wish we could figure how to live more simply.  Check it out when you have a minute.

He recently posted an article that is relevant to this discussion -

More Opportunities to be Charitable

Another charitable organization has come to my attention, MicroPlace.com.  Like Kiva, MicroPlace allows people to invest through microfinance in the efforts of “hard-working poor people worldwide” so that they can move beyond poverty.  MicroPlace seems to have an excellent team in place and is an eBay company.  I expect we’ll see MicroPlace - and everyone who participates - doing some great things to end poverty.

There are so many great opportunities online to help the poor that it is becoming a kind of side theme of StuckInStuff to write about them.  And lots of thoughts come to my mind as I do.  More soon…

We thought we’d pass along an update on the fires here in San Diego. The family is safe. We’re one of the few who were not evacuated. Please pray for my sister. Their home in Pauma Valley is threatened at this very moment.

Many thanks to so many of you who called, IM’d and emailed to check in.

Grace and peace,

The Verners

186 people in three Escondido events were part of a record breaking 38.8 million people around the world who stood up to indicate their desire to eradicate extreme poverty and urge leaders to fulfill their promises in support of the MDG’s.

Click here to find out more.

Each year our church participates in a denominational-wide hunger campaign to raise awareness to extreme poverty and hunger. Families spend several weeks reading a devotional that offers action steps to make a difference in the fight against hunger.

Our boys each received a plastic fish that is used to save change that will be donated to various ministries at the end of the campaign. They decided to have a garage sale to earn extra money to put in these fish. Here’s the text from a flyer my oldest created to advertise the sale to friends at church (very cute huh):

“Peter Fish
Fundraiser

Hi we’re Levi and Luke! We are trying to raise money to go in our peter fish. So we could raise a lot of money to help the poor, we thought we could have a garage sale. We’ll have coffee and doughnuts starting at 7:35, and lemonade at 11:20.

It’s Saturday, November 3rd, 2007 from 7:30 till 1:30 at our house.

Bring donations to our house!”

I just contacted Senator Boxer’s office to ask her to support the Jubilee Act, S.2166. It took me all of 3 minutes to prep for the call (read the instructions below), dial and speak with a representative. It was easy, painless and hey, Bread For The World even provided a toll free number to make the call!

Debt relief is a key component to ending hunger and completing the MDG’s. And the bottom line is that these calls will save lives, literally.

To call your member of Congress and ask them to cosponsor the Jubilee act:
1. Dial 1-800-786-2663 and listen to the automated instructions
2. Use the talking points below to help you on your call
3. Register your call using the form to the right

• As a constituent and member of the ONE campaign, I urge you to co-sponsor the Jubilee Act, S.2166 / H.R.2634. The Jubilee Act provides for greater responsibility in lending and expands debt cancellation for impoverished countries that owe the U.S. and international financial institutions.

• Currently, for every dollar African countries receive in aid, they spend $2.30 to pay down debt.

• Debt cancellation is one of the most effective ways to help those living in extreme poverty. For example, when Tanzania received debt relief, the government spent the savings on education and eliminated school fees. Almost overnight, an estimated 1.6 million children enrolled in school.

• Please co-sponsor the Jubilee Act (S.2166 / H.R.2634) so that impoverished countries can stop repaying debts and start investing in education, housing and healthcare. (Please visit Bread For the World for more info.)

Learn more about debt and the Jubilee Act click here.

In a recent post, after watching a troubling video on globalization, I mentioned that I would be willing to “limit my consumption of certain products that exploit the poor and marginalized”.  I confess at the time I had no idea how difficult this would be.

Since making that statement I’ve been doing some (fairly light) research and thinking on this matter.  Modifying our buying habits seems to be one of the key ingredients to changing the systemic problems that cause injustice and poverty.  If we refuse to buy products that harm people, then fewer products that harm people will be made.  Simple supply and demand economics…

Sounds easy right?  Wrong, not at this point.  I decided to experiment with the purchase of a fair trade tee shirt.  This seemed to be a good idea on many levels, 1) it’s a common item 2) a necessary item and 3) in Southern California tees can be worn year round.  Enough said.   Problem is – I’ve searched around quite a bit and still have not made a purchase!  Most of what I’ve found falls into one or more of the following three categories: too cool, too expensive and, well, should I say it – cheesy?  Frankly, I don’t have $59.00 to spend on a tee right now even if it does make me look like I’m in college again (well not quite).

So, I’m on the look out for a cool, but not too cool, reasonably priced, fair trade tee shirt.  It doesn’t need to say “close the sweat shops” on it or have starving children.  I just want to make a responsible purchase.  Is that too much to ask?  Apparently so.

The podcast is still in progress, but, in the interim I’ve posted up a 2-part lecture by George N. Monsma titled What Does the Bible Say About Economic Justice?  George is Professor Emeritus of Economics at Calvin College.

To answer the question “What does the Bible say about Economic Justice?” one should first turn to the biblical text itself.  This presentation concentrates on biblical principles important for understanding economic justice.

Download  the lecture at ChristianAudio.

“A poor person’s field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away.” (Proverbs 13:23)

People of faith throughout California are calling Senator Feinstein by Oct. 23 and asking for farm bill reform for poor and hungry people. Please join the effort through prayers and phone calls.

Please ask Sen. Dianne Feinstein to reform the farm bill so it:

• makes our commodity system more fair and equitable for all farmers, especially those of modest means.

• adequately funds vital needs in nutrition, rural development and conservation programs.

Call the Capitol using Bread for the World’s toll-free number.
1-800-826-3688

The farm bill is one of the most important pieces of legislation Congress is considering this year. We have a historic opportunity to reform it, in order to better serve all God’s people.

1-800-82-BREAD / www.bread.org

WHY IS THE FARM BILL IMPORTANT TO ME?

The farm bill affects everyone in our country – everyone who eats and especially those who struggle to have enough to eat. Whether it is the quality of our food and the farmers and land that grow it or the ability for hungry families to have access to fresh fruits and vegetables, this piece of legislation has significance for all Americans. It also affects farms and families in developing countries. Individually, none of us can feed the world’s 854 million hungry people. But together, and across many faith traditions, we can raise our voices for hungry people in our own communities and around the world.

WHY DOES THE FARM BILL NEED REFORM?

Approximately 14% of rural Americans live in poverty.
The farm bill could increase funding for vital rural development programs that can better serve rural America.

2/3rds of farmers in America receive no federal support.
The farm bill could make our nation’s commodity programs more equitable for all.

Almost 11.7% of California households are at risk of hunger.
The farm bill could increase funding for crucial nutrition programs, like food stamps, which help feed hungry families.

9/30
Sunday off

10/1
Today was a productive day with many little things filling up my hour+.
I met with a friend to catch up over breakfast. It was an engaging conversation that, of course, included some talk about poverty, global issues and even politics (you can only do that with a good friend).
Time spent = 40 minutes

Dropped in on one of the churches who is sponsoring the market and caught up with the pastor there on upcoming events, etc.
Time spent = 30 minutes

Emailing, trip planning, and church calls
Time spent = 25 minutes

10/2
Met a friend to talk about upcoming events and to catch up on her efforts to meet with local churches and “get them on board”.
Time spent = 15 minutes

I spent a boatload of time tonight in the studio working on the 1st set of audio lectures that has come in for the podcast. Between installing software, testing and editing…
Time spent = 3.5 hours

10/3
Today I spent some time catching up with our CEP president – Su Kraus. We discussed many possibilities including bringing the AIDs experience tent to San Diego, how we might partner with World Vision to bring San Diego churches together for a common development project…
Time spent = 20 minutes

Looks like we have the go ahead to record George’s book Beyond Guilt. I’m hoping we’ll be able to offer a FREE audio version in the next couple of months.
Time spent = 5 minutes

Spent a lot of time on the phone talking with the agency about our adoption. This is a difficult time as the wait times in China continues to spiral out of control. Please pray that we will have wisdom and clarity right now as we decide how to move forward.
Time spent = 1 hour

10/4
Had a relaxing dinner with friends. We mostly enjoyed each other but we also spent some time discussing global issues, poverty, theology and whatever else came to mind.
Time spent = 1 hour

Reading and calls
Time spent = 30 minutes

10/5
I carpooled with friends to a dinner event this evening put on by PeaceMark.org. Our very own Mark and Lori Vermaire presented! They’d recently visited the Middle East with others from the Christian Reformed Church to assess the Israeli-Palestinian conflict first hand. I was appalled to hear of the systematic oppression and injustice that has been levied on the Palestinian people. Visit Sabeel.org, fosna.org and CMEP.org for more information.
Time spent = 3 hours

10/6
I participated in an all day retreat at the San Luis Rey Mission led by Larry Warner of b – believing, being, becoming. We explored the invitation and challenges contained in The Lord’s Prayer paying particular attention to the phrase “our Father”. I was challenged and refreshed as I contemplated all who are included in this wonderful statement. Our last exercise included passing around a warm (just baked!) loaf of bread to consider those who are also loved by God but do not have food. We then broke bread together.
Time spent = 6 hours

Tonight we prepped for our third Sunday school class. We’re finishing up a discussion on AIDs.
Time spent 2 hours