Red beans and rice, anyone?

Starting Sunday, our family is going to do a 7-day red beans and rice experiment. The orphans living at Eben Ezer Léogâne and many Haitian children eat this for their 2 meals a day, every single day. So, for a week we’ll eat red beans and rice, with a side of mango slices, for every meal. Even starting out, we’re more privileged than most since we’ll have 3 meals. We’ll modify this for our kids, tentatively 2 meals of beans and one “other” meal for Kaley (her choice) and 1 dinner of beans and 2 “other” meals for Amaris, but we’re excited to have them participate in such a tangible lesson and learn along with us.

Why are we doing this? Well, we have 3 main reasons, and we’re praying that God uses this time to really work in our own family.

First, we want to develop a deeper appreciation for the trials of children in Haiti. The other day, I got fed up during a typical grocery run with my 3 kids, particularly when we missed an item and had to back track and again when I had to fit the groceries into my already-full fridge after I got home tired. Seriously, upset about too much food? I could certainly use some additional perspective. We are so blessed by the variety of foods we eat on a regularly basis. You probably know well that Derek and I love our food, especially our weekend treats like pizza. This will be very tangible for our children too, and I’m so glad that they can participate. As a family project, we talk often with them about the children in Haiti, but they have little context for what life is really like there. And truly I have little context too.

Second, in the spirit of a fast, we want to make reminders and make room for God to strengthen our prayer lives for these children in Léogâne  Our daily routine revolves around our meals. Often if I’m not in the middle of eating it, I’m thinking about what I’m going to eat next or making menus for the next grocery run. Simplifying our food down to no choice, just beans, will provide ample reminders and extra time to pray. Not to mention the tangible reminder to pray when my stomach growls between meals, which I assure you it will after being used to multi-food meals and frequent snacks. As we do this, we’ll continue to post prayer requests through our Facebook page, so that you can pray along with us.

Third, we want to turn around and use the money we save to donate to the children in Léogâne. I don’t know about you but sometimes it seems like our budget is already “full”, not just in the giving category but in all categories, so that when a request for donation comes along, I’m stuck, even if I’m truly interested. If you identify with this, here’s how you can help. Beans and rice is cheap. I saw a box in Target yesterday (Zatarains brand) for $1.65 which makes 4 servings. Making it at home is cheap too, (though I haven’t totaled the amount yet). We’ll keep track of the groceries we’re not buying and restaurants we’re not eating at and give that money directly to support the children in Léogâne.

What are the stakes? Some families in Léogâne can barely afford to feed their children or send them to school. The money we’re raising to support the church-led school in Léogâne will allow the children in these situations to have the food and schooling they need, and hopefully keep the family together so that no orphan-ing occurs. For the 60 orphans living in the village who eat 2 meals a day right now, there is a benefit as well. When they go to the fully-funded school, they will receive a meal there, their 3^rd of the day. The spiritual food from the teaching about the Grace of Jesus Christ that all these children will receive at the school is of even greater worth! $20 is about the cost for one of these children to go to school and receive a meal for a whole month. Would you trade your one meal or few meals for their month of them?

Will you consider joining us sometime this month? It doesn't have to be a full week of beans and rice to make an impact. Consider one of these options or create your own:

·         Pick a meal you would eat out and eat beans and rice at home instead. Talk with your family about children in Haiti by reading our blog or looking at pictures from this site. Trade your $20, $30 or $50 you would have spent at the restaurant by making a one time donation here

·         Pick a day, a meal period for a week, or a single meal to change from your normal fare to just beans and rice. Pray for the children in Léogâne and the church and the school. Tell your family why you are doing it. Tally your savings and share them with Haiti

·         Get with your small group or Sunday school class to have a red beans and rice fellowship meal where multiple people bring beans and rice. Talk about Haiti’s needs and how your group can get involved

·         Pray for us and more importantly for the children in Léogâne all next week as you sit down to eat your normal meal, remembering the blessing of variety you have.

Here’s the link to the Haitian red beans and rice recipefrom Allrecipes that I have tried, and here is a link to a simplified version (onions instead of shallots, etc) also. I’m going to practice this week with a crock-pot version (again, the first try was pretty watery) and I’ll post it too, in case you want to make a large amount more easily. If you don’t feel like cooking, you can buy some boxes at the store and make the exact same impact.

I’ll keep you posted on how our week is going next week too.

PS. I didn't come up with this idea on my own. It mostly comes from the book 7 by Jen Hatmaker, which is the most impactful book I've read in years. I also found a blog from a family who had done something similar here when I was looking for recipes.