30-Hour Famine project helps feed thousands

 The Bethel Alliance Church Youth Group will learn life-long lessons over the next month as they fundraise to help the starving people of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
    World Vision’s 30-Hour Famine project helps young adults “learn the truth about hunger, poverty, and injustice, then overcome it all with love,” according to the organization’s website.
    “This is an exciting venture for our kids,” said Nick Lutzo, youth pastor at BAC. “We’re going to be spending those 30 hours sharing thoughts and ideas, crafting, growing our relationships with one another and finding a deeper spiritual relationship as well.”
    According to World Vision, each and every day hunger-related issues and malnourishment kill nearly 11,000 children under the age of 5.
    That means that there is one child dying every eight to 12 seconds. Some actually starve to death, while others die because their immune system is too weak to fight off other deadly diseases, some of which are preventable..
    The youth ministry at Bethel Alliance Church wants people to know there is something they can do.
    The teens in the youth group are not only raising funds to help support World Vision’s 30 -Hour Famine, but will go without food on Nov. 9 and 10 so that others will be able to eat.
Students are asked to begin their fast after they eat lunch on Friday.
    After school they will arrive at church for the famine events to begin“We have movies to watch, discussions about humanitarianism, we’ll be playing games, we’ll be performing some community service projects for the church and they will have some free time to get to know one another better,” said Lutzo. “It’s going to be a fantastic time.”
    Following the Friday and Saturday famine event, the youth group will present to the congregation on Sunday morning during Hope Sunday.
    “I am excited to see what the teens take from this exercise,” Lutzo said. “I’m excited to see what they can enlighten our congregation with on Hope Sunday. I think it’s fantastic to be able to provide them with a safe and fun environment in order to have the opportunity to fellowship, build relationships with one another and God, and to learn that even when you’re on the other side of the world, you can make a difference.”
    For about $1 a day, sponsors will help provide access to life-saving basics including nutritious food; help for families to grow healthy crops, raise livestock, and store food to ensure that their children are nourished year round; access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (which can cut a community’s child death rate by more than half); healthcare, immunizations, checkups, and other basic care that can protect children from deadly diseases; education; and economic opportunity, such as small loans and business and financial training.  
    Over the years that BAC has participated in the 30 Hour Famine the church has raised more than $8,000.
    Anyone wishing to donate may send a check payable to Bethel Alliance Church (with ‘World Vision 30 Hour Famine” in the memo line), to P.O. Box 806, Bethel, ME 04217.