Beans: A True Story

Hey yall, Kaitlyn here.  I have something I need to confess. I despise beans. Well, kind of. It's a long story...you ready?

I have NEVER liked beans. As a small child, I would eat virtually any food my parents served me but strongly disliked beans (and tomatoes but that's another story). I would eat mussels, quiché, truly anything but NOT beans. 

Malawi cured my bean hatred. 

How, you ask? Jesus healed my heart and beans ended up in my mouth. 

I know it sounds crazy but it is true. You see, growing up my family had it's ups and downs financially but never, ever did I worry about my next meal. Not once. It was easy to try beans and say no thanks because I knew I would have another option at my next meal. 

When I ate my first meal surrounded by Malawians who were truly *EXCITED* to have beans, nsima, and greens for lunch my heart crumbled. How in the world could I say no to something that was such a luxury for them?

How blessed had I been to have grown up with the luxury of no. 

2012: These precious little boys were some of the first people I ate beans with in Malawi. Truly, any meal with them is a blessing! 

I learned a valuable lesson in humility and hunger that day: I knew no hunger but my heart learned true and deep love for those who do. Jesus showed me love and compassion that made those beans practically fly into my mouth (with a healthy serving of nali of course). 

I made beans for my family this week. I am not going to lie, I still always preferring something else instead but if you serve me beans I no long shrink back...I can eat them with a smile. I learned, in a new way, that the value of a food is the sustenance and blessings it brings. 

Right now, we are raising money for our school lunch program for COH. We need to purchase 42,172 pounds of beans.
WOAH. 
I know, that sounds like a lot of beans. 

Let's think of it this way, those are 42,172 pounds of blessings.

• 42,172 Moments without hunger.
• 42,172 Times children will not go to bed starving.
• 42,172 Meals families will not have to worry about.
• 42,172 Moments where sustenance is given and JESUS is revealed. 

Let's not get bogged down in the size of this number. Let's take smaller bites and donate what we can, when we can. Pray about it with me today and donate as God prompts you...let's feed his children!