After we left North Loop, we went together to see the exhibit called Step Into Africa, where we were able to personally experience what a child's life is like living in Africa. We learned that HIV-AIDS has taken so many precious lives in that continent. Many kids grow up in children-headed households as a result of their parents killed by AIDS. Many of them live without shelter and without food. Reflecting back on the environment that I live in, I am very privileged compared to them. They are created in God's image, just as I am, and I don't deserve anything that I own as much as they do. I complain about the sudden change in weather, when it gets too cold I'm not happy, when it gets too hot I get lazy, failing to realize that some of these children in Africa sleep through storms with nothing but a thin sheet of straw mat and a few layers of banana leaves. The Step Into Africa experience definitely gave me a new perspective on life.
We woke up at around 6:15 Sunday morning. As I was brushing my teeth, I kept thinking about the delicious breakfast that Yang and the sisters had prepared for us. I thought to myself that I had never been up this early and still very happy about it. Just then a voice spoke to me and told me that while my fasting hours can be counted, many children wake up from who-knows-how-long without food, and there is still uncertainty in whether or not they will be eating anything before the sun goes down that day. It hit me hard. A short glimpse of famine had only been 30 hours for me, but for others it can mean days, weeks, it's part of their life, and it dictates whether or not they will live to see another day. I was right. Fasting for 30 hours may have helped the starving children in Africa just a little bit with the money our church raised, but more than that, it helped me understand how fortunate I am, and how I should be grateful for everything that I have, and that everything is given to me by my Father in Heaven, who is always providing for me.