Children Feeding Thousands

New Photos & Video link

2010-05-03T10:12:00.000-07:00

Greetings! Here is a link to photos from the Mt. Olive volunteers...

Mt. Olive photos

Here is a link to a video interview of FVL senior Ali Van Heuklon on Your Good News Network...

Ali V interview

Your Good News Network will also be running an interview with FVL senior Sarah Sommer and Communications Director Dave Payne in the near future.

More Event Photos...

2010-04-27T18:50:00.000-07:00

Here are some links for photos...

Day 1 Photos

Day 2 Photos

Immanuel, Greenville Photos

St. Paul, Appleton Photos

Some photos of the event!

2010-04-26T10:43:00.000-07:00

Here are some other photos of different aspects of the event. The Appleton Post-Crescent ran a nice article summarizing the days in the Sunday paper. Here's the link: http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=20104250490

WE MADE IT! 285,000 meals for Zambia!

2010-04-23T15:02:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to everyone involved in the Children Feeding Thousands effort -- AND PRAISE THE LORD!
Today was a big day - we packed lots of meals and were able to ship the full load to Zambia! Here is one of our FVL students from the Steering Committee closing the door to the container after our packing sessions!

The shipping container was picked up about 4 p.m. to be trucked to Chicago - and then to Norfolk on the East Coast. From there it will cross the ocean to the seaport of Beira. It takes about 6 weeks for the trip to be made!

Thanks to everyone who made this event possible - what a wonderful way to put our faith in action!

Packed over 125,000 meals today - more tomorrow!

2010-04-22T15:09:00.000-07:00

What an exciting day! Great presentations by Abbie Fischer who grew up in Zambia and Ramon from Impact Lives and lots of food packing - over 125,000 meals are already in the shipping container to go to Zambia! Here's a photo of some of the action! More fun tomorrow! To God be the glory!

WE MADE IT!

2010-04-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

Praise the LORD and thanks to all of YOU who have supported the Children Feeding Thousands effort so faithfully since it was unveiled last fall!

Fox Valley Lutheran High School met their goal of $9000 last week and that pushed our total of sponsored meals past the 285,000 meal mark!

Only two days away from all the meal packing -- the semis from Impact Lives should be arriving tomorrow. I hear the tents supplied by our friends at Trinity in Brillion will go up tonite!

I have also heard that the Kids Connection video will be sending a crew to cover our event on Friday. Should be a fun and active couple days!

Looking forward to seeing you all here in the VERY near future!

ALMOST THERE!

2010-04-07T07:48:00.000-07:00

FVL Schools Chairman Phil Punzel reports that our current count of sponsored meals -- as of April 2nd -- is 274,828 meals!

That means we are only 10,172 meals away from hitting our goal of 285,000 meals. We need a little over $1500 to real that milestone.

.Thanks for all your work! Let's strive to reach that goal! To God be the glory!

Over 265,000!

2010-03-26T09:28:00.000-07:00

We are closing in our goal. Did you realize our Packing Event is less than a month away??? As of March 25th our total meals sponsored is now at 265,669 meals. Please do what you can to help us reach our goal! To God be the glory!

The Gap Narrows!

2010-03-22T08:46:00.000-07:00

The total sponsored meal count stands at 232,393 meals as of March 19th! Thanks for all you've done to make this event a reality.

To God be the glory! We press on toward our goal of 285,000 meals!

Closing in on our Goal!

2010-03-15T10:19:00.000-07:00

Our count of sponsored meals as on March 12 is now 220,928 meals. Thanks to all for their generous support! Our food packing event is now only a little over a month away...

Check out some of the beautiful cards our preschool students have already supplied...

St. Paul-Green Bay students meet the Challenge!

2010-03-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

In February a member of the St. Paul Lutheran congregation offered a Challenge Grant to the students of the school for the "Children Feeding Thousands" effort. This donor offered to match the students' offerings dollar-for-dollar up to $100. The students responded with an offering that week that totaled $286.10! Everyone was excited to see over $386 donated to help us toward meeting our goal! We were also happy when the Ladies Aid of St. Paul donated $50 toward "Children Feeding Thousands" as well. Thanks to all for their generous support for the starving children in Zambia.

-- reported by Principal Ken Kasten - St. Paul Lutheran School

Nearly 211,000 meals!

2010-03-08T11:06:00.000-08:00

Thanks for your continued efforts on behalf of the children of Zambia. Due to your efforts we now have 210,828 meals sponsored! Praise the Lord and let's pray for the children and families these healthy meals will bless. To God be the glory!

Over 200,000!

2010-03-02T10:37:00.000-08:00

Congratulations, we have just crossed the 200,000 meals sponsored mark! The latest total as of February 27th is 201,408 meals! Let's keep working toward our goal of 285,000! To God be the glory!

If you have photos or fun stories to share from your school, please submit them - we'd be happy to post!

Email any info to dpayne@fvlhs.org

Approaching 200,000 meals sponsored!

2010-02-22T09:09:00.000-08:00

As of February 20th, the latest total of meals sponsored is 199,186 meals.

The 200,000 level should be crossed by next week. I recently heard that the students at Bethlehem Lutheran School in Hortonville are involved in a hotly contested Penny War between the odd & even classes.

To God be the glory!

Nearly 160,000 meals sponsored!

2010-02-15T08:20:00.000-08:00

Congratulations, everyone! Our latest total as of February 15 is 159,920 meals! Thank you for being involved in this wonderful service opportunity. Let's keep going to reach our goal of 285,000 meals!

Fun Photo from Martin Luther School in Neenah

2010-02-08T13:49:00.000-08:00

Here are 1st and 2nd grade students from Martin Luther School in Neenah counting money they collected for the Children Feeding Thousands effort!

Thanks for being part of this team effort and putting your love into action!

We're over HALF WAY!

2010-02-06T00:16:00.000-08:00

Our February 5th meal total bring the Children Feeding Thousands effort to over half our goal of 285,000 meals.
The sponsored meal count is now 144,265!

CONGRATULATIONS! and let's keep working toward that goal...

By the way, you can help FVL win $1000 to put toward this effort. The details are found on the FVL home page at www.fvlhs.org Our school is in the FINAL FOUR of the School Datebooks Cover Design Contest. The winner receives $1000 and is determined by online voting. Supporters can vote as often as they want - the link is found on our homepage. We have our work cut out for us because we don't have school on Friday and the voting continues until Friday at 11 am. If you can help vote us victory, check out FVL website or you can go directly to the voting site by clicking on www.schooldatebooks.com and clicking on their "Cover Contest" link.

Thanks for your help!

Emanuel Schools gets in the CFT Spirit!

2010-02-03T09:55:00.000-08:00

January 31st meal total = 131,410

Students at Emanuel Lutheran School in New London celebrated Spirit Week and supported the Children Feeding Thousands project by holding Penny Wars all week. All grades participated in the penny collecting! The battle raged between the 5th through 8th graders. The goal was to put pennies in your class' jar and to put as many silver coins in the other classes' jar to slow their progress. This is a fun contest students at Emanuel have enjoyed in past years as well.

Below is a photo of the festivities on PJ Day. The money collected in going in the milk jug...

Thanks, Emanuel, for sharing the fun with us!

New Total breaks 130,000 meal mark!

2010-02-02T11:18:00.000-08:00

FVL Schools Chairman Phil Punzel reports that -- as of January 31st -- the total of meals raised has now risen to 131,410.

Congratulations! And let's keep aiming for that 285,000 meal goal! To God be the glory!

Newest Total

2010-01-27T12:41:00.000-08:00

January 27th = 91,622 meals!

Keep on working toward that goal. To God be the glory!

FVL Chapel Presentation - Jan. 25th

2010-01-27T11:42:00.000-08:00

Principal Paul Hartwig shared a chapel devotion that highlighted our school's efforts to help the starving in Zambia. He started by asking everyone if they were a "Difference Maker." This service project gives us all an opportunity to be a "difference maker" in the lives of people who have so little.

Next, he interviewed about six students who had kept track of their "extra" food expenses over the last week. The range was from about $6 - $30 with the average about $13-$15. Many had stopped at the local Subway or other area restaurants or fast food spots over the past week. With Children Feeding Thousands, $15 equals 100 meals for starving children.

Mr. Hartwig was joined by students who shared short skits about typical scenes in the lives of students and families. Check out the photos of those scenes...

Breakfast at home on the way to school -- I don't have time! Or, I don't like what we have! Or, I'll catch something on my way to school!

Lunch at school -- What extras have you purchased? I'll pay for him! My parents never check my lunch account! I need it -- I'm really hungry!

Hanging out after school -- Snacks, soda, extra meal - How often is food part of our social life?

"Africa Scene" -- This scene symbolized the plight of so many African families. The newborn baby in the mother's arms learns the lessons of starvation and malnutrition at an early age. Many never survive infancy.

Your support of the Children Feeding Thousands effort can save lives for real infants and children in Zambia.

Thanks for your help!

FVL Student Council Thanks!

2010-01-20T14:28:00.000-08:00

January 14th = 82,378 meals!

At last night's Red Smith Awards Dinner, the FVL Student Council manned the coat check room and earned about $185 in tips. They decided to put the money toward the Children Feeding Thousands effort. That's over 1200 meals!

Thanks, Student Council!

Special Speaker Lined up for Children Feeding Thousands!

2010-01-18T14:13:00.000-08:00

FVL Schools Chairman Phil Punzel has just announced that a special speaker with ties to our missionary work in Zambia has been lined up for our April 22-23 event. The speaker will be Abbie (Gunn) Fischer who grew up in Zambia as the daughter of missionary Jeffrey Gunn. Here are some preliminary thoughts she wanted to share with the supporters of this effort...

"I am so pleased to have this opportunity to share some of my love for Zambia with such a large group of children. I had the privilege of being raised in Zambia as the daughter of a missionary. My father began his missionary years in Zambia in 1982, when I was just six weeks old. His first position was at the bush medical mission in Mwembeshi. When I was in kindergarten our family moved into the capital city of Lusaka, where my brothers and I could attend the American Embassy School. My father continued his mission work serving as a pastor and a teacher at the seminary in Lusaka. The summer before my eighth grade year my family returned to the United States.

Zambia now holds a special place in my heart. The people there are full of love and are very welcoming. Many Zambians live a prosperous life, but many still live in poverty. I know that your gifts will be well received and will help many who are in need.

Thank you!

Abbie (Gunn) Fischer

Devotional Thought

2010-01-15T06:47:00.000-08:00

Here's a shortened version of a chapel devotion shared with FVL students by Pastor David Wenzel recently...

Each January our churches celebrate the festival of Epiphany. Epiphany marks the visit of the Wisemen or the Magi. We read about it in the Bible in Matthew chapter 2: “After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.”

Under our family’s Christmas tree this year, there were clothes for the girls, a Medal of Honor video game for the boys, a bracelet for my wife and a couple of “really cool” sweaters for me. What was under your Christmas tree? Some of you told me you got a new iPod touch … somebody else got gift cards … another student told me they got a laptop.

But there wasn’t any gold, incense, or myrrh for the Christ child under my Christmas tree, and probably not under yours either.

With our school’s “CHILDREN FEEDING THOUSANDS” effort, perhaps it would be worthwhile to look at these small bags of food as our gifts of gold, incense, and myrrh. The wisemen showed their devotion to Jesus by giving precious gifts to the Christ-child. We can still follow their example today and make a life-changing gift to others whom we may never meet on the other side of the world.

The Lord led the wisemen to Jesus with the help of a miraculous star. In the months ahead as we watch our progress in providing meals for starving children, a star won’t lead us to Bethlehem. Our Christ child is in heaven, and he doesn’t need a bag of rice for supper.

But there are thousands of children who do…children that God desperately wants in heaven…children for whom God put Jesus in a manger, children for whom God later nailed that Son to a cross.

$15 won’t buy you a plane ticket to Zambia so that you can share Jesus with a child. And the $15 of food that we are hoping each student and faculty member is able to send won’t give a child in Zambia faith. Only God’s Word can do that. But while we won’t be able to literally share God’s grace with these children, it will extend their time of grace and give those precious lives greater opportunity to hear of the saving message of a loving Savior.

It is God’s heartfelt desire…a desire he made clear to the whole world through his Son Jesus, that these children join you and me in heaven. Jesus himself said, “Whatever you do for one of the least of these, you have done for me.”

“CHILDREN FEEDING THOUSANDS” gives all of us, teachers and students alike, a chance to show our devotion to the Babe of Bethlehem. Your pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters – presented in love to your Savior -- will add up to a precious gift. And how precious would it be to meet some of the starving children we are helping in heaven one day!

May God bless our efforts to feed these children, and may God help us recognize how many blessings we have that we can share with those who have so little.

Latest update - January 14th

2010-01-14T08:35:00.000-08:00

Our Children Feeding Thousands total of meals sponsored is now up to 82,378 meals!

Children Feeding Thousands Progress

2010-01-11T11:16:00.000-08:00

We're back from Christmas!

January 10, 2010

Congratulations to all our FVL Schools partners! The current meal count for the children in Zambia is up to nearly 75,000 meals! (The exact total is 74,828)

We know that some schools are just starting their efforts and some are trying some new ideas so that their students can meet the goals they have set.

Fox Valley Lutheran High School kicked off their student effort last week with a Bible study involving every student and their teacher mentor. We look forward to their updates adding to our totals soon!

We are encouraging all our schools to keep working toward reaching our partner goal of 285,000 meals by mid-April.

CHRISTMAS BREAK - SEE YOU BACK IN JANUARY!

December 23, 2009

Remembering the Savior who gave all for us - total is now 59,560

December 18, 2009

Progress continues -- now 56,077!

December 11, 2009

We are now up to 48,232!

December 4, 2009

Week 3 total moves to 43,313

November 24, 2009

In less than another week the total of meals sponsored goes to 37,866.

November 20, 2009

Our first published update on meals sponsored reveals a total of 22,304!

November 6, 2009

Committee members Jessica Enter and Ken Kasten begin distributing the display boards and progress charts to each school along with information packets on the program which culminates in a food-packing event April 22-23 at Fox Valley Lutheran High School.

Here is a miniature look at the display boards...

At Fox Valley Lutheran High School, FVL Schools Chairman Phil Punzel and Communications Director Dave Payne share a chapel message with the students and faculty introducing them to the FVL Schools Children Feeding Thousands service project.

FVL Schools Kicks Off
Children Feeding Thousands Effort

November 3, 2009

Thanks to the hard work of our Children Feeding Thousands Steering Committee of men and women from across the FVL Schools system, we were able to kick off our system wide service project to provide a shipment of 285,000 meals for starving children in Zambia.

Special thanks go to Sharon Ragner for designing our logo! Many volunteer hours were also spent putting together and distributing display boards for all our 23 schools. Many of the schools designated their 2nd quarter mission offerings for this project. Watch the progress on this blog. Some even started their efforts in September!