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Meals & Prayer Because "Kids Gotta Eat!"

7/27/2018

by Molly Shea

Giant balloons and shiny turquoise streamers lined the walls, upbeat tunes like "Build Me Up Buttercup" played overhead, and loud speaker announcements of encouragement set the celebratory mood. But the stars of the day's ambiance were two walls of 50 pound bags of rice and 20ish rows of working-station tables — each topped with containers of colorful, nutrient-dense dried vegetables, soy protein, and vitamins.

On Saturday, April 21st, an impressive, coordinated effort took place in the DSHA Quad. Students, parents, faculty, staff, alumnae, and representatives from Catholic Relief Services and Rise Against Hunger came together to pack over 30,000 meals that have since been shipped 5,457 miles across the Atlantic Ocean to Burkina Faso in West Africa — a country plagued by food shortages due to complicated, extreme weather patterns of both drought and flooding.

“I will follow You wherever You go.” | Luke 9:57

The story of this particular Saturday in April, however, begins early spring of 2017 when the class of 2018 began applying for Campus Ministry Officer positions for the following year. As a part of the application process, interested students were required to submit a plan for the annual Lenten project which benefits an international organization each year.

During this time, Sarah Stoiber, DSHA ’18, was thinking and praying about a project for her application; she was also in the middle of track season. On the evenings when practice would end late, she would stop by her local parish’s adoration chapel on the way home — to decompress, but also to pray specifically about her Campus Ministry Officer application. “My friends knew what they were submitting, but I had no idea,” she shares. “I would ask God, ‘Tell me what You want to do, and I’ll go wherever You lead me.’”

And where was Stoiber led? To submit a project to combat hunger. A project that DSHA students would get to be a part of in a tangible, practical, and spiritual way. A project that would inspire gratitude, increase awareness, and change lives in the form of tens of thousands of meals. And perhaps it was all because a 17 year old thought to ask God how she might serve His people.

Last summer, Stoiber, who became a Campus Ministry Prayer Officer, and the six other 2017-2018 Campus Ministry Officers collectively decided to implement this divinely-inspired idea of raising money for a food pack, and planning for the April 2018 event ensued — nearly nine months before any meals would be shipped to West Africa.

Typical to the annual Lenten project is a significant fundraising component — all student-driven and largely student-donated. For the past 10 years, DSHA Campus Ministry has organized a student auction to support the project. The 2018 student auction, dubbed "Kids Gotta Eat!" was held on March 21 and raised over $15,000 — exceeding the $12,000 goal – a stressful requirement to fund the food pack.

“Pray continually.” | 1 Thessalonians 5:17

From the time the project was announced to the student body at the beginning of Lent, to the day the pack occurred in April, DSHA students had multiple opportunities to participate. Leading up to the culminating events — the auction and food pack — the Campus Ministry Officers made it a point to both educate students on the issue of global hunger, as well as ensure the project was grounded in community-wide prayer.

For Stoiber, this project was rooted in prayer nearly a year before any rice or protein was packed at DSHA. She has been keenly aware that the hunger of a village an ocean away is bigger than herself, bigger than what she and her fellow officers could reasonably accomplish on their own. “Through prayer, our internal faith allows us to have an extrinsic impact on the global community,” she shares. “Through prayer I’ve come to realize that living out my faith is not a part of my life that I involve myself with in order to please others or fulfill some commitment,” she shares. “Through prayer and service is when I live my best life and most joyful life.”

Another Campus Ministry Prayer Officer, Madi Daleiden, DSHA '18, wrote a new, reflective self-examine prayer; this reflection related the problem of physical hunger to that of spiritual hunger, and it was presented to students each day of Lent during afternoon prayer. "Spiritually hungry means you do have a level of faith, but you might be missing out on something — a longing for a more sustainable faith that satisfies," Daleiden shares.

At the actual food pack on April 21, Campus Ministry Officers made a point to pray before and after the packing shifts, for the event itself but mainly for those who would be receiving the meals. While this day was certainly the culmination of creative ideation, hard work, and regular petitions, the focus on prayer – specifically for the people of Burkina Faso – has extended well beyond. For Stoiber in particular, this experience has left an imprint on her heart, and on her prayer life. "Throughout the past year, I found myself back at the chapel and I would literally just sit there and pray for peace for both DSHA and Burkina Faso," she shares.

“Renew a steadfast spirit within me.” | Psalm 51:10

When asked about how this project has impacted her faith, Stoiber shares several examples that reflect a theme – her faith has evolved from something that used to be about her own self and evolved into something that is now about others and community — whether that be DSHA or a country in West Africa. “This has been a transformative event,” she shares. “I honestly can’t believe how many different areas of my life — and the lives of others — have been impacted.”

How has her life been impacted? This fall, Stoiber will be attending Marquette University with the hope of someday serving as a pediatric dentist to children with special needs. She realizes that the impact of this project on her life was profound. And while it may not have been as significant for others, she hopes the following for her fellow Dashers: “There are so many opportunities that God places in your life. Not every one of them is going to be your 'a ha!' moment. But you have to experience all of them because one of them is going to make a leading spark in your life. And I think we are all happiest when living the life God intends for us.”

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- 2017-2018 campus Ministry officers pose with ready-to-send-food! L-R: Brigid Hughes, DSHA '18, Madi Daleiden, DSHA '18, Sarah Stoiber, DSHA '18, Meghan Scott, DSHA '18, Cookie Topp, DSHA '18, Alex Shaw, DSHA '18, and Grace Kaupp, DSHA '18.
- Rise Against Hunger meals served in Burkina Faso.
- Mary Larson, Winona State University classmate of Chloe Speech, DSHA '17, and Kim Marie Speech, DSHA '85, pack meals on Saturday, April 21. The food pack also served as the 2018 Alumnae Student Service Day.
- Mariela Vazquez-Sanchez, DSHA '19, and Paola Loera, DSHA '19, at the student auction held on March 21.