“Water, water everywhere, we’re going to get wet!” These are words from a childhood song and lately, our cups runneth over with water and water stories. Here is one for today.

A few months ago, Pastor Ron Glusenkamp from Bethany Lutheran Church in Cherry Hill Village, Colorado visited the churchwide offices. We had a chance to meet Pastor Ron, shared some preliminary conversation and invited him to bring his youth group by the 100 Wells Challenge space at the ELCA Youth Gathering. Below is a reflection shared this past Sunday by Lindsey, a member at Bethany and matriculating 9th grader.

Youth from Bethany on the Walk for Water.

“The verse for our trip to New Orleans was Ephesians 2:14-20 14For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us.15He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace,16and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it.17So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near;18for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father.19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God,20built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.

The verse, along with our summer mission verse Hebrews 12: 1-2, explains the purpose of our trip to New Orleans very well. We ran through the rain, the streets, and the crowds, and we ran with the citizens. We were always surrounded by a crowd of enthusiastic Lutheran teens, weather it was in the dome, a bus, or just on the street. The energy was amazing, every single person in that place was excited to do God’s work. God was reconciling all groups into one body through the cross.
Being from Colorado, sometimes I think we feel there are only a few other Lutheran churches, but being in the dome made me feel that we could conquer the world. Our first night in the dome, I remember thinking how amazing the cross was and how it was a huge glowing reminder that we were there for god. Every night there were speakers. Some of theme talked about bullying, some about how they came to be pastors, others told us that we were the future and hope of the world. There were also inspirational speeches done by teens; speeches about fear, truth, and listening. There were speakers like Nadia Bolz-Weber, the pastor who isn’t exactly what you’d call “normal,” Who spoke about what Lutheran “look like.” She compared Lutherans to Unicorns and Vampires. She hadn’t been exposed to people who actually lived by what the Bible says before she was introduced to Lutherans, to her, we were unnatural, mythical creatures.conciling all groups into one body through the cross.

On the day we were supposed to clean a neighborhood, we got stuck on a bus with a bunch of Minnesotans and had a opportunity to get to know them. We became unified as one group as we drove home in the rain. On the way back to the hotel we noticed people rushing to keep their store fronts dry despite the flooding water from the rain. Although we were concerned about all the water, the people of New Orleans appeared calm. Even though we didn’t get to complete our service project due to the rain, in the dry convention center, we experienced service through building framing for Habitat for Humanity houses. We also participated in the walk for water challenge. Each of us carried a five gallon jug of water for several hundred feet through a small hot tent, and over a homemade hill. I don’t really know how to explain how the challenge made me feel, but I suppose I could say that it changed the way I think about what life is like for women and children in those countries, and how hard it must be to actually live there. I guess you could say it was an eye opener. The point of this activity was to know what like it would feel to carry that much water home every single day. The Walk for Water Challenge is part of the 100 Wells Challenge. The idea is to build 100 wells all over Africa so that people can have clean water closer to their villages.

Our trip to New Orleans was an amazing experience. We saw God everywhere we went, especially in the dome when we sang, and when we listened to the speakers and their inspiring stories. As my life continues to rush past me, I think that going to New Orleans is one of the best memories that I will always have.”

The 100 Wells Challenge was created to lift up and support the water projects of this church where needed most, including wells and including the region of Africa as Lindsey mentions. The 100 Wells Challenge has engaged and continues to engage the youth and congregations of this church in ways we had not even been able to imagine, and we are so thankful to be part of it.

The tide is rising and the current is bringing us closer and closer to health, wholeness and reconcilitation for all. So, hop in the boat with Lindsey and Pastor Ron, friends on the journey—there’s plenty of room!

As of next week we will bid farewell to our summer interns. They are a talented group and contributed greatly to the ELCA World Hunger Team. We wish Colleen, Kristyn, and Louis well and thank them for their partnership and work. 

By Colleen Peterson

As I reflect on my summer internship with ELCA World Hunger, there are several lessons I will take with me; however, there is one thing I would like to share with all of you before I leave.

Despite being raised and deeply engaged in a Lutheran church in Minnesota, it was only this summer that I learned about the incredible things that the Lutheran Church (in the larger sense) is doing to address poverty and hunger domestically and internationally. Although I attempted to comprehend the approach and methods of ELCA World Hunger before the summer, it has been a remarkable experience to hear staff members describe the accompaniment model (www.elca.org/accompaniment) as the way we do our work. Instead of going into communities in need and proclaiming what is best for them, accompaniment describes us as building relationships and working with people rather than over them. While many people may assume the Church works in a way that does things to communities or for communities (both of these approaches not utilizing or valuing local knowledge and skill), that is not the reality of how we are responding to hunger and poverty. Rather, the Lutheran Church works with congregations and other partner organizations to help communities lift themselves out of poverty. How great is that?!   

For someone who entered this summer feeling annoyed by the drama and gossip that can occur in small town Lutheran churches, I am pleasantly surprised to leave the Churchwide Office of the ELCA with a deeper understanding, appreciation, and excitement for the Church’s work in the world. It’s truly remarkable what we can do when we work together to end hunger and poverty.

With only a few days left of my internship, I thank you for sharing in my blog experience and wish you well as you continue to follow ELCA World Hunger and work to eliminate hunger in this world.

Colleen Peterson is an ELCA World Hunger intern

By Kristyn Zollos

I had a plan for this summer, and ELCA World Hunger had nothing to do with it.  I knew where I wanted to work and everything about it seemed perfect for me and my future goals.  In my mind, it was so clearly meant to be, that God had to have placed that opportunity into my life.  When the opportunity was denied to me, I was devastated.  That was God’s plan for me!  How could it have gone so wrong?  There must’ve been some mistake.  I cringed every time someone told me that God had something better for me and that the opportunity I had wanted so badly was not meant to be at the time.   What could possibly be better?  The only possible explanation was that God was out to ruin my plans, my life, and my goals for the future.

 My plans.  My life.  My future goals.  Now, almost five months later, I can confirm that the Lord was most certainly out to ruin these things for me.  However, I say this without bitterness, but with joy and humility.  Those things were never my own.  They were never under my control.  I was on my own path, wanting things so desperately for myself, that I was confusing what I wanted for what the Lord wanted for me.  

Today, as I near the end of my internship I can also look back and say that in fact the Lord did have something better for me and I am exactly where I was meant to be.  God ruined my plans and replaced them with something unexpectedly and exceedingly better.  I end this internship in awe of how God has used this experience in my life and excited for the ways I will be used for God’s purpose in the future.  God’s purpose. God’s future. Not my own.  Lesson learned.

As you may have picked up from reading this post, as well as the others, this summer has been one filled with many realizations and deeper understandings.  This has been brought about through discussions with co-workers, their recommendations, and research using educational tools including books, videos, and articles.  There is certainly an endless supply of resources out there.  So if you are not already doing so, I encourage you to educate yourself on the matters such as poverty and injustices that are taking place around the world.  Share your resources with those around you and ask for suggestions from others.  Go deeper by starting discussions with your friends, family, and your church.  

As you go on this journey, do not travel alone, but with the Lord as your companion, and more importantly, your guide.  It is the Lord from whom all blessings flow and it is the Lord who calls us to use these blessings for the greater purpose.  I can honestly say that I don’t know where I’m going, I’m not sure if I ever have known or I ever will know.  Life is complicated and confusing, but that’s often what makes it so beautiful.  Life and the journey I feel called to take do not have to make sense, for they are not under my control nor within my understanding.  As Proverbs 20:24 states, “A person’s steps are directed by the Lord, how then can anyone understand their own way?” 

God’s blessing to you all and thank you for your support during this blogging adventure.  I have truly enjoyed sharing with you, all that I have learned through this internship with ELCA World Hunger and in experiencing the incredible work being done through their efforts.  God is certainly using the ELCA to do incredible things and we should all be excited and humbled to be a part of it!

Kristyn Zollos is an ELCA World Hunger intern

 By Louis Tillman

Growing up in the city of Atlanta, GA I thought I’ve seen everything that the city of New Orleans has to offer. Recently I went to work at the National Youth Gathering in New Orleans on behalf of ELCA World Hunger for our 100 Wells Challenge. The ELCA youth had the opportunity to support the clean water challenge by donating to the “100 Wells Challenge” in conjunction with the Gathering. Just $2500 could build a well that can bring clean water to as many as 500 families at a time. The 100 Wells Challenge unites the hopes of Lutheran youth across the country to raise $250,000 and support water projects where they are needed most.

            The majority of my time working in Practice Peacemaking was dedicated to collecting donations for the 100 Wells Challenge. This was absolutely my favorite memory of the entire gathering. I have never witnessed so many excited youth in such large numbers in one given area. Being surrounded by eager youth that were proud and ecstatic due to the fact that they raised hundreds or thousands of dollars to help us in achieving our goal of $250,000 was simply phenomenal. It’s moving to see the youth’s expressions as they put their hard earned funds into the donation bins with smiles that literally stretched ear to ear!

Plenty of congregations came to the 100 Wells space with funds from their congregation; while other individuals came to the gathering clueless and then stumbled into our spaces wanted to know more about the 100 Wells Challenge. I felt that God was using my spiritual gifts by being a vessel to these individuals in helping them to decide whether or not they would like to donate to this cause. I would like to say with confidence that roughly 95% of the individuals that I spoke to ended up donating to our cause by the end of our short conversation. There was one experience that I really enjoyed where I had an individual cut a check for $2,000 which was a little bit short of sponsoring one well. Being on the ELCA World Hunger team helped me realize that I am really helping to make a difference in the world.

Successively, one of the most touching stories of my entire experience was the one where my hometown congregation, Christ the Lord Lutheran Church from Lawrenceville, GA; brought a group of 35 youth and 10 adults to the 100 Wells Challenge space of the interaction center. At first, they wanted to see me and see how I was doing, but after speaking with them about the challenge all of the youth performed a random act of kindness. They readily and willingly decided to sacrifice their lunches for that day and personally donated $20 each to the 100 Wells Challenge! This was extremely touching and made me even more proud to be a member of this congregation.

I was so excited about my congregation’s youth doing this, that it raised a few questions:

What if we all sacrificed the money that we normally spend on one meal and donated it to a great world hunger or poverty cause once a week?

Would we ultimately be one step closer to ending world hunger and poverty? Would this be a key ingredient in helping to feed millions of people living in poverty?

Could this be a great outlet into having more and more people firsthand experience something on a minimal level of what people in poverty go through on a daily basis?

Overall, I greatly enjoyed the sights and aspects of the Practice Peacemaking section at the National Youth Gathering. The ELCA World Hunger team did an outstanding job with engaging and educating all of the participants at the gathering. I would also like to on the fact that we not only met our fundraising goal for the 100 Wells Challenge of raising $250,000 but we exceeded it by raising over $406,000. These funds will be used for various water projects all over the world in the next few years. Thus, I leave you all with this: If you ever decided to skip a meal in the near future, think about how many people that you could potentially help and feed by donating that money to a good cause like the youth from Christ the Lord Lutheran Church in Georgia did. Would you sacrifice a meal to save a life?

Louis Tillman is an ELCA World Hunger Intern

I was working on a story for the next issue of LifeLines and went to visit a nearby congregation that houses a food pantry – Grace Lutheran Church in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, home of the Glen Ellyn Food Pantry. (Thanks to Pastor Rich Likeness and food pantry director Susan Papierski for opening their doors to so many people from their town and the surrounding area [and to me].)

The pantry was started by the congregation’s youth group years back, beginning with one closet and growing from there. Now the pantry takes up two big but crowded rooms, plus another for storage, plus some shelves in the hallway, plus . . .

I thought I recognized Jesus’ work when Pastor Rich talked about serving ice cream to food pantry customers in the fellowship hall so they wouldn’t have to wait alone out in the hallway while someone else finished their shopping.

I was sure of Jesus’ presence when Susan told about a woman making her first visit to the pantry. The woman was ashamed and appalled and kept saying, “I can’t believe I’m in a food pantry.” And Susan kept answering her, “I’m glad you’re here. You’re doing the right thing. I’m glad you came today.” She told her, “When things start coming back together again, let the food pantry be the last thing you change. That’s what it’s for, and I’m glad you’re here.”

That loving-kindness in service to a neighbor – a sister – in distress is clearly what Jesus was talking about when he told us to love our neighbors as ourselves.

The people of Grace Lutheran Church not only support the Glen Ellyn Food Pantry, they also give to ELCA World Hunger, complementing their generous local work to end hunger with generous giving to the church’s global hunger work. They’re among the many, many ELCA congregations that have a heart for people who are hungry, near or far, and act on that passion in creative and effective ways.

Thanks, Grace Lutheran Church of Glen Ellyn. You showed me Jesus at work in your midst, and reminded me that Jesus is at work whenever someone reaches out to a neighbor in their time of need, no matter if that neighbor is around the corner or on the other side of the world. Thanks.

Audrey Riley is a member of the fundraising staff of ELCA World Hunger.

While there are numerous highlights from the Youth Gathering, my interaction with high school students in the ELCA World Hunger interaction space was one of the most memorable events. Over the course of the Gathering, roughly 33,000 youth had the opportunity to engage in ELCA World Hunger’s interaction space, the 100 Wells Challenge .

In connection with the water theme, we had an interactive activity called, “Walk for Water.” During this activity, youth carried a 5-gallon water jug around a track with various obstacles that a woman living in the Global South may encounter on her daily walk to collect water. With women being the primary water collectors for the family, participants were, “walking in her shoes,” to learn how access to water can significantly affect one’s life.

Although a woman in Africa walks on average 3.7 miles to collect water for the family, most participants at the Youth Gathering only completed one lap (one tenth of a mile). As many youth finished the track with tired arms and hands, they were in awe of the fact that they would need to walk 36 more laps to complete the average distance women and children travel every day. The understanding gained by youth and adult leaders is perhaps best summed up by one teenaged boy that walked 3.7 miles with the 40-pound water jug who stated, “You can read about it (such statistics) as much as you want, but until you do it, that’s what makes you realize just how hard that is. Otherwise, it’s just numbers.” Youth quickly realized how difficult water can be to carry, but more importantly how much time it takes to collect this resource in many places in the world. Not only can greater access to water reduce the weight of water women must carry, but it also reduces the amount of time spent collecting water, freeing up women to start a small business, spend time with the family, and engage in the community in other meaningful ways.

Who knew a walk around a short track with a 5-gallon water jug would give people such a deep understanding and appreciation for access to clean and safe water?

Colleen Peterson is an ELCA World Hunger Intern

A few weeks ago I wondered whether the yellow water bucket that we associate with poverty might actually symbolize respect for a limited resource.

Today I’m wondering whether places that lack “conveniences” are actually better off than we are. What begins as convenience ends up as infrastructure, like the one that locks us into using too much water every single day. So many interests are invested in this system that changing it is very, very difficult.

In the yellow bucket world, infrastructure is scarce and innovation is abundant. Greenfield is an emerging term for a place with little infrastructure. Says Wikipedia, “the analogy is to that of construction on greenfield land where there is no need to remodel or demolish an existing structure.”

In mobile technology, the African continent was a greenfield.  With few telephone poles and landlines, African countries quickly adapted cell phone technology, and today lead the world in mobile commerce. In places like Uganda, you can do all kinds of cool things on a phone—transfer cash, check the market price for your fish, text money to your family—without signing up for a pricey two-year contract!

In mobile commerce, African countries have leapfrogged many developed nations.

Leapfrogging is the process through which developing countries can actually develop faster, notes Wikipedia, “by skipping inferior, less efficient, more expensive or more polluting technologies and industries and move directly to more advanced ones… avoid environmentally harmful stages of development and [without needing to] follow the polluting development trajectory of industrialized countries.”

In other words, our “less developed” companions in ministry are poised to leapfrog, from their greenfields, right over us and our well-entrenched, wasteful, polluting ways!

So, who advises whom? Do we go on raising money to “fix problems” in other places, or do we start confessing that we’re stuck in a system that consumes too much of absolutely everything, and open ourselves to learning from—and celebrating—the leapfroggers? I’ve been feeling pretty pleased about the new, high-tech solartube in my roof, designed to brighten a dark hallway with daylight instead of a lightbulb. Looking around for examples for this post, I discovered that a plastic water bottle would have been just as effective, and cheaper. Wow!

Wouldn’t it be nice if, every time we launched a faith-based “development project,” we started by searching for leapfrog technologies to see what we could learn? Instead of raising money for 100 wells in African countries by actually wasting water (dunk tanks, throwing water balloons), could our next campaign give equal time to–or even showcase–the wisdom of companions on how to replace systems and habits that waste water  with something more efficient and respectful?

Yesterday, the New York Times posted a blog post called “What We Can Learn from Third World Healthcare.”  The theme is the same. We spend billions on medical bells and whistles, yet our health metrics are simply terrible. Concludes the blog’s author: “In other words, we have yet to deploy what could prove to be the most powerful weapon in the fight to contain costs and improve the quality of health care: our own humility.”

The world is telling us we’re not so very wise. Instead of being defensive about our way of life, shall we smile and join the leapfrog game?

Anne Basye, Sustaining Simplicity

By Kristyn Zollos

Last week, I had the privilege of attending the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering with ELCA World Hunger. Despite having grown up in the ELCA, it was the first Youth Gathering I have attended. As the saying goes, better late than never. I was truly amazed by what I saw and was filled with hope for the future of our church. I feel especially blessed to have been working within the 100 Wells Challenge  space, where I witnessed the generosity and compassion of the congregations of the ELCA and their youth in attendance.    

While I was astounded by what took place within the 100 Wells Challenge space, I was also incredibly moved by what took place in the evenings at the Super Dome.  Worshipping with 35,000 youth from congregations across the country and even some from across the globe was an incredible experience.  I grew up attending a private, Christian school that held chapel services twice a week.  When I think back to those services, I remember looking at my peers, arms crossed, mouths barely moving, thinking it “un-cool” to be too into worship. At the Super Dome, it was not un-cool to care.  It was not uncool to sing passionately or move with the music in worship. And if it was, there was a whole lot of “un-cool” taking place!

At the Super Dome, I heard some fantastic speakers. On the nights that I attended, I loved hearing what Bishop Hanson, Shane Claiborne, and other bishops and pastors had to share. However, it was Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber’s speech that had the greatest personal impact. Before I comment further, take a moment to close your eyes and imagine a Lutheran pastor. What does that pastor look like?  Is it a young female, covered in tattoos, wearing jeans and a tank top?… Probably not.  When Pastor Nadia walked out, that was exactly who stood before us and I could not have been more excited to hear what she had to say. 

Pastor Nadia spoke of her life, her past addictions, her joining an ELCA congregation and her current role as an ELCA pastor. Towards the end of her talk, she noted that many had not wanted her to speak to the youth because of her past, but how even in her present she should not be allowed to speak. She noted, “I am a flawed person. I should not be allowed to be here talking to you. But you know what? That’s the God we’re dealing with.” She went on:

“I want to tell you about this God…This is a God who has always used imperfect people. This is a God who’s loving desire to be known overflowed the heavens and became manifest in the rapidly dividing cells inside the womb of an insignificant peasant girl in first century Palestine.  This is a God who slipped into skin and walked among us full of grace and truth with sand between His toes and who ate with all the wrong people and kissed lepers and touched the unclean and spoke through thirsty women and hungry men and from the cross did not even lift a finger to condemn the enemy but instead said I would rather die than be in the sin accounting business anymore… This God has never made sense and you don’t need to either, because this God will use you. This God will use all of you. Not just your strengths, but your failures, and your failings, and your brokenness. God’s strength is perfected in human weakness.”

God was certainly using Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber and the words that she spoke. She spoke to the hearts of the youth and I got chills watching their reactions to what she had to say. Within the church we often set a norm of who leaders should be and what the faithful should look like. We forget who our God is, the grace and power God has. We often close our mind to what is new or different, not looking at the beautiful possibilities that could take place. We forget that when the Lord took human form, Jesus used all kind of people, in all walks of life. Jesus used the poor and the wealthy, the sick and the healthy, the children and the elders. Jesus walked alongside the most twisted of sinners and used them for His greater purpose. 

 I think this is something we can often forget as a church. We claim to accept those who are different: the poor, the hungry, the sick, the downtrodden, or those who just may look or sound different. However, by accepting them we may mean only to make them our charity, our service project. We look at these relationships as a one-way street. We only see how God is using us in their lives, not opening our eyes to how God may be using them in our own journeys or how they may be used in the lives of many others. We claim to look at all others as our equals, as our brothers and sisters in Christ, but deep down we often think we know better, that we are the norm and others should aim to be more like this norm set. 

We can forget that it is God that makes people new, not other people. We are all deeply flawed and deeply in need of the mercy and grace that the Lord offers us. Our God meets us where we are, with all the sin, failings, and baggage we carry with us. No one has the solution and no one is beyond being used. Let us open our eyes to the ways that God wants to use us and our imperfections, but let us not forget to look for the ways God may be using others and their imperfections within our own lives.  

Click here for Pastor Nadia Bolz-Weber’s talk.  For other talks from speakers at the 2012 ELCA Youth Gathering check out Gathering TV or the Youth Gathering’s YouTube site.

Kristyn Zollos is an intern with ELCA World Hunger.

We’ve been talking around the office lately (we do talk a lot, don’t we?) about the difference between an attitude of scarcity and an attitude of abundance, and how having a scarcity mentality – no matter how unconsciously – leads us to think that we’re limited in what we can do.

If we believe that there’s not enough whatever to go around, we act accordingly. We believe we have to hang on tight to our little pile of whatever. We don’t take risks, because if we lose our whatever, we’re sure it’s gone for good. And if some people have less whatever than we do, well, that’s a pity, but there’s not a lot we can do about it – after all, there’s only so much whatever to go around. Sound familiar?

But what if we believe in our hearts that there’s plenty to go around – plenty of time, plenty of resources, plenty of energy, plenty of ideas, plenty of everything – what happens then? How do we act if we really believe that? Do we see our job as helping to see that everyone has plenty of that abundant, never-ending everything?

I ran across an interesting take on that on a blog kept by an Episcopal priest, the Rev. John Ohmer (http://unapologetictheology.blogspot.com/). He writes, in part: . . . We carry a scarcity mindset, an achievement mindset or an abundance mindset. And these mindsets can carry over to our spiritual mindset.

A scarcity spirituality sees not only money, but things like love, grace and forgiveness as in short supply. An achievement spirituality sees . . . things like love, grace and forgiveness . . . as things that come to you to the degree that you earn them, work hard for them.

And an abundance spirituality sees . . . love, grace and forgiveness . . . as things that are in abundant supply because they are all God’s. Carry that view over and you get the view that God’s love is without limit, without border, without exception, without condition.

If we’ve been well catechized, we know that God’s love is just as Father John writes – without limit, without condition. Of course we know that in our heads. But do we believe it in our hearts?

And do we act that way? Does it change the world?

Audrey Riley is a member of the fundraising staff of ELCA World Hunger.

By Colleen Peterson

With the Youth Gathering only one week away, the ELCA World Hunger staff is busy finalizing last minute details to engage thousands of youth in our interactive space. For those of you unfamiliar with the 100 Wells Challenge, we are aiming to raise $250,000 to support ELCA World Hunger water projects that will make clean and safe drinking water a reality for all people. Even though I’ve read numerous accounts about the positive impact of ELCA World Hunger water projects, I continue to be amazed by the incredible accomplishments that can be made when we work with our brothers and sisters around the world. I strongly encourage you to check out the 100 Wells video and resources to see the way water projects can significantly improve one’s life.

In addition to thinking more about people’s access to safe and clean water, I have also been reminded of the call to feed those who are hungry. One Bible verse that has been on my mind lately is Matthew 25:35, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.” Having grown up in a small town in Minnesota, I did not encounter people begging for food on the street; however, I encounter this on a daily basis while going to and from work in Chicago. Despite becoming accustomed to this reality of living downtown, I seldom walk past someone who is hungry without a rush of questions filling my mind. What led this person into poverty and hunger? How should I help? Why don’t I sacrifice more to help those who are in need? Is my extra change bringing the necessary change to this systemic problem? What can I do with the resources and life I’ve been given to help those most in need and contribute to sustainable change in the world?

While I do not believe there is a quick fix to eliminate hunger and thirst in the world, there are significant ways we can work together to make access to water and food a reality for all people. One of the actions you can take is to spread awareness about the 100 Wells Challenge and support ELCA World Hunger projects. If you are as compelled by inspirational videos as I am, I also recommend you to watch the ELCA World Hunger video series to see to see the way your gift to ELCA World Hunger is actively at work in the world.

How will you respond to the call to feed the hungry?

Colleen Peterson is an ELCA World Hunger Intern