philhull.com

Totals (so far..)

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:14:55 -0500

The fast is over, my belly is once again full, and I have reached my goal. As it stands as of this writing, the total amount raised is $1406! I thought I had gotten a final total earlier today, but donations are still coming in. I just want to say thanks to everyone for the support last week. This was a great experience for me and hopefully many people will be helped as a result.

God's Strength

Sun, 24 Jan 2010 15:14:42 -0500

The theme of our church service this morning was God’s endless supply of strength. The gist of the message was that God provides strength so that we can not only survive difficult times in our lives, but that we can go beyond survival to become His agents to change our world.
I was encouraged by God’s message this morning. But beyond being encouraged, I was reminded that it has only been God’s strength that has gotten me through this week. I do not claim to have accomplished a great feat this week, but God has used me to speak to others and get them to do more than they would have.
I haven’t officially crossed my $1000 goal at this moment, but I believe I will get there by the end of today and acultually go beyond my goal. God has given me the strength to not only survive this week, but to accomplish what I wasn’t sure was possible.

Almost There

Sat, 23 Jan 2010 22:57:32 -0500

Today is day six of my fast and I am honestly ready for this week to be over. I knew this was going to be hard, but each day is getting more difficult. It has been a painful insight into how devastating starvation is. I’ve had to endure just a fraction of what many in Haiti have experienced in the last 11 days. Despite my discomfort, this week is not about me. Thankfully, aid is flowing into Haiti and The Salvation Army has lots of people on the ground and they are doing life-saving work every day. Each dollar you pledge here goes directly to The Salvation Army and helps them provide food, water, and medical treatment to those impacted by the earthquake. I’ve managed to raise over $800 so far this week. I’m within sight of my goal of $1000, and I hope to get there by the end of the day tomorrow. You can donate online by going to http://bit.ly/philforhaiti right now. After you donate, send an email to philhull@gmail.com with the amount so I can update my tally. Thank you to everyone who has supported this project through words of encouragement, through prayer, and financially. You guys are awesome!

The photos from Haiti a week after the earthquake are...

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:24:37 -0500

The photos from Haiti a week after the earthquake are heartbreaking. We need to do as much as we can to help these people. Give until it hurts, please.

Hungry for Haiti Day Two

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 22:28:37 -0500

Day two has been a mirror of day one in a lot of ways. I’m getting progressively more hungry and I’m so grateful for mealtimes just to have something in my stomach. The thing about hunger is that the feeling stays with you constantly. I try to ignore it, but it’s always there nagging at me. I’m grateful in many ways because my hunger has an expiration date, but I’m humbled because I know that for millions they don’t know where their next meal is coming from.

I also find that I am much more aware of just how much food is around me all the time. Like most Americans, I take my next meal for granted and don’t give much thought to how easy it is for me to have access to food. Now I realize how lucky we are that we don’t have to struggle just to get our next meal. I think that the perspective I was hoping to gain has already come and it’s only the second day.

I am very encouraged that others are also partnering with me to fast for Haiti. Even if you cannot afford to make a financial contribution, you can still support the effort by partnering with me in fasting or just spreading the word. If you would post a link to http://philhull.com as your Facebook status or put it in a tweet on Twitter, I would really appreciate it. I am very thankful for all of the support I have received thus far, but I still have a long 5 days to go.

Once again, if you want to support the people of Haiti and pledge to support my fast, go to http://bit.ly/philforhaiti to donate directly to the Salvation Army Haiti Fund. I simply ask that you send an email to philhull@gmail.com with your pledge amount so I can add it to my tally. Continue to pray for the people impacted in Haiti at each meal time this week. I’ll update again tomorrow.

Hungry for Haiti Day One

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:35:01 -0500

Today has been a reminder of how much I take food for granted. Looking at three slices of bread and trying to convince myself that it’s a good enough meal is tougher than I thought. What has kept me going is the knowledge that the people of Haiti are facing far worse. Donations are coming in at a pretty good pace and each person who supports what I’m doing is even more motivation to stick with it to the end. If you want to support the people of Haiti and pledge to support my fast, go to http://bit.ly/philforhaiti to donate directly to the Salvation Army Haiti Fund. All I ask is that you send an email to philhull@gmail.com with your pledge amount so I can add it to my tally. I would ask that you pray for the people impacted in Haiti at each meal time this week. Pray for me as well that I would stay healthy and persevere though the week. I’ll update again tomorrow.

Doing More for Haiti

Fri, 15 Jan 2010 00:28:00 -0500

I’ve had a lot on my mind today in regards to the devastation caused by the horrific earthquake on Tuesday. Like many, I have been following the news since it happened and praying for the millions who have seen their entire country dissolve in chaos around them. All of this was still abstract to me until earlier today when I was reading an excerpt from a blog written by missionaries in Haiti. The horror was made much more real to me after reading this:

When the girl was out, I took my hammer and moved over to find the next trapped girl. All I could see was her face and left arm, and she frantically called out to me. I asked her to calm down because it would help me to work and asked her to pray for both of us. She calmed down and became very brave. I was having trouble seeing her where she was jammed under the slab. I pulled out a very large piece of rubble that didn’t really help Jacqueline at all (her name was Jacqueline). There was some sort of object behind that rubble and when I went to move it it turned out to be another girl’s bottom. The girl cried out but I could barely hear her – her whole head was underneath rubble.

At this point I began to realize that I was in over my head. All I had was a hammer, and it was quickly becoming pitch dark with twilight fading and no electricity anywhere. I tried to borrow a flashlight, but it was impossible. I had a moment of feeling intense helplessness. After thinking and praying for a minute, I told Jacqueline that I had to leave her and find more help. I couldn’t do anything without a flashlight, and she needed to keep praying and remember that her parents were coming to look for her.

I walked 4 or 5 miles to a place where I could get a bus, then got on one eventually made it home just after 9pm. On my way home, I resolved to return to Port au Prince the next day with 2 trucks full of tools and workers to do whatever we could. I met a guy on the bus who was holding a sandwich. He had left his house to go buy a sandwich when the earthquake hit. He returned to his home to find it flattened, then went to the school that he teaches at to find it flattened. With nothing left but a sandwich in his hand, and $7 in his sock, he set out for Cap Haitien to be with the rest of his family.

I slept a little bit last night even though I kept thinking of Jacqueline and her classmate stuck in the rubble, in the dark. This morning all of the workers enthusiastically loaded all the tools we could use into the trucks along with food and water and set off for Port au Prince. I took them to the school and quickly made my way to the place Jacqueline and the other student were but both of them were dead.

For those who don’t know, my mother’s name is Jacqueline. Reading the story of a woman who shares a name with my own mother made this much more real to me. These are someone’s children. These are mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, teachers, pastors. These are real people who have literally seen their world fall apart around them. I realized this and my heart truly broke for the people of Haiti.

I have been thinking about what I can do to make some small impact on the lives of those impacted. I want to do more than just donate some money and pat myself on the back for doing my good deed for the week.

But what can I do?

I have decided to do a bread and water fast for all of next week for the people of Haiti. Beginning on Monday, I will eat nothing but three pieces of plain wheat bread three times a day and drink nothing but tap water for an entire week. I do this for all of those in Haiti who do not even have bread to eat or access to clean drinking water.

What I am looking for now are people who are willing to partner with me to raise money in support of the people of Haiti. I would love to raise $1,000 for Haiti during next week’s fast. What I am looking for are people who are willing to partner with me and support the people of Haiti financially. You can pledge an amount per day, or you can donate a flat amount for the whole week. It doesn’t matter if you can only afford $1 per day, any amount will make a difference.

I also need help in getting the word out. Post a link to philhull.com as your Facebook status or share a link on Twitter. Tell your church congregations and co-workers.

Donations will go to aid the Salvation Army in Haiti. If you are interested in partnering with me, please email me at philhull@gmail.com for more information. If you’ve already donated to one of the many worthy organizations working in Haiti, please help me spread the word and pray for me as I fast throughout next week.

I’ll be posting updates on philhull.com during the week if you want to know how things are going. Thanks for taking the time to read this.