19 Mar Seeing Beyond

“Seeing Beyond”
written by Melinda Haak

We have felt many times in our 11 years of marriage like we couldn’t reach out to help or minister to someone because we simply couldn’t afford to. We couldn’t cook a meal for a friend because, frankly, we barely had the funds to feed our growing family. We couldn’t go out with a friend for coffee because we were embarrassed to say we couldn’t afford the $2.00. We couldn’t support missionary friends because most months we were barely scraping together the money to pay rent or a house payment. Then our family joined the Rice & Beans Month challenge four years ago, excited to make a difference with the little money we had.

What we have learned is that it is human nature to get wrapped up in our surroundings, not seeing anything beyond our own circumstances, unless we step into someone else’s shoes. We have continued to participate each year — honestly, not because we can give large amounts of money, but because we want our children to enter into the lives of other kids and give them a glimpse of what life is like for them. We want to expose our family to the needs of others and help them realize there are non-conventional ways to help others.

While this has continued to be a great experience for us, it has also brought challenges with four small children. The statements around our dinner table that month are apt to sound a bit like this:

“What gross thing are you making for dinner tonight?”
“Open mouth. Put food in. Close mouth. Yes, you have to chew it.”
“Mommy, this is just too weird!”
“Mommy, can’t we just send them money so they can get something that tastes better?”

The Haak family watches a Lahash video together while eating rice and beans.

Often we have to bite our tongues and pray for patience. One night after a particularly difficult dinner, a conversation was sparked by one of the Lahash videos that featured a little boy saying “thank you” for the food that had been given him after the previous year. He could now eat three meals a day. My kids were a little slack-jawed when I pointed out that eating three meals a day now means that he usually ate less than three meals a day.

I’d had a complaint formally filed against me that very afternoon for having the same old snacks after school again. They wanted something new and interesting.

“Did those kids who were finally getting three meals a day get a snack option after school?” I asked. “Do you think they even had a snack after school let alone something to pick and choose from?”

I was answered with wide eyes, shaking heads, and silence.

I don’t want this month to be about shoving it down their throats. I think the little boy smiling at them from the computer and talking from the other side of the world and saying “thank you” with a giggle and smile is more impacting to my kids than the “eat your rice and beans because there are little children starving in Africa who would be glad to have them” speech.

Melinda's daughter picks out another bite during Rice & Beans Month.

Our daughter, who was eight at that time, teared up and asked to empty out her piggy bank so that little boy could always eat three meals a day. (She also added that maybe he could buy something more than just rice and beans.)

As we continue to do this, we want to be able to send more money. More importantly, we want our children to see beyond themselves. We pray they will see how truly blessed they are and that no matter their circumstances they can give of what they have been given.

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Article adapted from Hope Is Alive, a quarterly magazine publication of Lahash International. You can sign-up online to receive this free magazine.