Local youth take famine awareness to the streets
By Heather Ruenz
Editor
It was obvious that a group of local youth were cold – they were shivering and jumping up and down in place – but after just a few minutes spent talking with them, another thing quickly came to the forefront: their compassion about bringing famine awareness to their local community.
The kids, and four adults that joined them, had not eaten in nearly 24 hours when they stood in front of Living Word Fellowship on Main Street Saturday morning.
They were in the midst of a 30-hour fast, holding a variety of signs they had made including: “Feed the Hungry” and “Honk if you love Jesus.”
Bundled up in winter coats, hats and gloves – some also wrapped in a blanket or sleeping bag – they took turns occupying a cardboard box and banging on a five-gallon bucket on Saturday, similar to what they witnessed while on a mission trip in St. Louis last year.
The night before, the group had participated in a lock-in, sleeping in cardboard boxes inside First United Methodist Church.
“We went to St. Louis last year for a mission trip and saw homeless get turned away from shelters so we’re trying to spread awareness about the issue,” Lisa Otterbacher, the Whitewater Police Chief and also one of the adults spending 30-plus hours with the group last weekend, said.
While on the trip, the group had assembled care packages including food and essential personal items such as deodorant. But when they walked the streets and began handing out bags, they learned a lesson.
“We saw a homeless lady who was sleeping and wanted to give her a bag so we set it down by her,” one of the kids shared Saturday. “But she woke up and we saw her throw it away.”
The group made a visit to a shelter in St. Louis and shared the experience with a volunteer there.
“We were told they don’t always want help and that we should ask them if they would like to have what we’re offering,” he continued. “Once we started doing that, everyone took our care packages.”
Another boy said one particular moment in St. Louis stands out in his mind.
“There was a guy eating French fries out of a garbage can so we asked if we could help him and give him some food,” he explained. “He got the biggest smile on his face. It was so heartwarming.”
Otterbacher said Prime Time, the local youth group that operates out of FUMC, is open to anyone.
“All youth are welcome. A lot of kids who come don’t attend our church and some don’t go to church at all, but take part in serving God,” Otterbacher said.
“We’re all a big family. It’s awesome,” one of the boys added.
Participating in the event were: Victor Fernandez, Matthew Lucht, Tyler Niemuth, Jimmy DuVal, Tommy DuVal, “Big Jake” Austin, James Dedrick, Connor Lake, David Hiebert, Brian Craft, Michael Fernandez, Jacob Lee and Brodie Runez. Otterbacher, her husband, Tim, along with Tom and Julie DuVal were the adults involved with the event.
The main goal while standing on the side of Main Street Saturday was collecting non-perishable food and monetary donations. All of the funds raised will be shared equally between EMCOR and the Whitewater Food Pantry.
Later that afternoon, the boys were set to go on a scavenger hunt at area homes to gather food for meals.
“Whitewater is such a generous community,” Otterbacher said. “We’ve had people empty cupboards to get us what we ask them for.”
The event even got a sound bite on the radio, courtesy of Michael Clish with James Dedrick speaking on behalf of the group. Dedrick, the only member who stayed outside the entire two hours Saturday, was referred to as “our warrior” by Otterbacher.
At 6 p.m. Saturday night, the Prime Time group was set to eat a meal prepared by the FUMC Missions Committee.
“We’re so hungry and can’t wait to eat tonight,” one boy said. “We learned a lot on our mission trip but not eating for 30 hours makes us want to help people who are hungry and homeless even more.”
Members of the community who missed the Main Street collection or did not get a visit from the kids during the scavenger hunt are welcome to drop off non-perishable food and monetary donations at FUMC, 145 Prairie St. through Friday, March 6.
