Monkey Do Project

Fantastic guest post from my friends at Monkey Do Project today!

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Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. – 1 John 4:11-12

I’ve read the above words many times, but when I read them again last week, they really struck me. If we love one other, God’s love is perfected in us! Isn’t that amazing? What an awesome thing, to think that the love we show each other testifies to the love God has for us. It’s a powerful motivation to go out and serve others, and to share even a tiny piece of the love, grace, and mercy that God has shown me.

God has provided me with an amazing opportunity to share his love through my position on the board of the Monkey Do Project. The Monkey Do Project is an organization that is dedicated to feeding and assisting people in the poorest area of the country, the Appalachian region. Some parts of Appalachia have poverty rates over 150% above the average rate of poverty in the United States. Many people in Appalachia live in conditions that we imagine only happen in third-world countries.

Many children in Appalachia only have balanced meals when they are at school, where government programs have made these meals inexpensive or free. When summer comes and school ends, the regular meals end, too. This leads to the problem of summer starvation – kids going the whole summer without regular meals. It’s a problem Monkey Do Project wants to fight. Six out of seven children participating in school lunch programs won’t have access to regular meals over the summer. That’s a startling figure.

We’ve partnered with local food banks in Appalachia to provide regular food for these children and their families. We’re asking others to help us by making a financial pledge to fight summer starvation. Your donations, big and small, can help feed hungry children who have no other options over the summer months. And you have a powerful opportunity to show love to someone else, by providing something most of us take for granted.

Talking to people about poverty in the United States is a tricky thing. People have very strong opinions about things like government assistance, welfare, health care, and what people “deserve” help. These are complex issues with no easy answers.

But when I open my Bible, I see a Savior who has given me a love that I didn’t (and don’t) deserve. And that’s my motivation to serve. What the government does doesn’t really factor into it. I’ve been called to show the same love I’ve been given. I’m thankful for the opportunity to do just that.

Your motivation may be different than mine, but if your heart breaks thinking about children going an entire day with no food, please consider making a donation. You may think that what you can afford to give is too little is too much; it’s not. I believe in a God who can feed 5,000 people with five loaves and two fish. He can take whatever you can give, and He can use it to bless someone in a mighty way.

Find out more about the Monkey Do Project and make a donation here.

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Friends - You know that childhood hunger is also an issue close to my heart.  I've got mad love for my friends at Monkey Do and the work that they do to offer aid to part of America's most impoverished people.  If you feel called to do so... I'd invite you to click on that link up there and make a donation.  Even $5 goes a long way!