I have been very fortunate in my life to have two things to bring me comfort. One is family and the other is friends. Facebook is a great reminder for me as to how many people God has brought into my life in one form or another. As many of you know Facebook can be addicting and people spend countless hours on here "liking this" and "liking that" as well as responding to more posts than anyone dare count. Recently though God has really burdened me to take a Journey with my friends. I pray this includes you.



There are people in this world that are also comforted by two things; food and water. Food and water are taken for granted by most people that live "average" American lives. In Centralia more than 70% of students are on Free or Reduced lunch, which means most of the families in our community, my community, and likely your community live at or below the poverty level. Because of this many children rely heavily on the schools to provide them with the nourishment that they need each day.



It is this stark reality that pushed Centralia First Baptist Church to begin the Brown Bag Program. This program is designed to meet the most basic need at the most basic level. Twenty months ago we piloted a program to take a bag of food to kindergarten students at the Field Kindergarten Center. We began by taking 30 bags weekly. After meeting a homeless student at the school (or deemed homeless due to residential status) last year we decided we could not risk any Kindergarten student not getting bag of food. Last year the program ballooned to reach more than 350 students in 6 buildings in Centralia and reach into 1st and/or 2nd Grades. This is a non-discriminatory program in that all are welcome to receive a bag. The bag of food contains 10 items and has roughly 1400 calories in it. The items are easy for the students to handle and would require little assistance from the parents to eat. The cost is roughly $2 per bag and is distributed over 40 weeks throughout the school year. Hold that thought!!!



Every day nearly 30,000 children die globally from preventable diseases. Most of which could be helped or stopped by simply providing clean drinking water. Can you imagine drinking water that would cause you to be nauseous? No quips or jokes here! This is serious stuff and in today's world it is hard to imagine. There are many organizations that have decided to begin the process of drilling wells in remote regions around the globe to provide clean drinking water to hundreds of people in remote villages. One such organization is Charity Water. (www.charitywater.org) This non-profit organization can provide clean drinking water to one person for 20 years for just $20. They also use 100% of public donations to directly fund water solutions. This seems like such a small amount. Is there any reason why anyone shouldn't be able to get clean drinking water?



So my Journey is to provide food and water to those that need it and to bring as many people on this Journey as I possibly can. Yes Mr. Collins this is about getting the right people on the bus. It is my dream to see 500 students in Centralia receive a bag of food each week. And I would like to see wells provide 500 people with clean drinking water. So I am seeking sponsors. The cost to sponsor one student for an entire year is $80. The cost to sponsor one person with clean drinking water for 20 years is $20. Are you one of 500 sponsors I need at $100?



If yes please contact me and I will get you the appropriate information.



If no would you consider finding someone that will be a sponsor? Or would you consider sharing a seat with a friend on this bus as you combine to change the world for students around the world?



Now some of you are going to wrinkle up your nose and say, "there goes that pastor asking for money." That is true. I am asking. I am asking you to commit only what I am also committing to. The first sponsor is me. I told our students tonight in Youth Group that they had the power to change the world. SO DO YOU!!!



Thank you for taking time to read this and for considering joining me on My Journey!