Getting Started / Why I'm Doing This

Well, here we go. I've been contemplating this for awhile now. I’ve traveled to South Asia extensively for the past 16 years. I often tell friends about the staggering statistics of poverty in that part of the world. But just a few weeks ago I was walking in the slums of Chennai, India and it just really hit me, I will be getting on a plane and flying out of here in a few days, but for them, this is their constant reality. I took some photos in those slum colonies, you're welcome to view them here. While I was in India, there was a lot of talk about the movie Slumdog Millionaire. So as you can imagine, as I travel to South Asia frequently, a lot of people were asking me if I had seen the film. So I had to go see it just to get an idea of what the big deal was. I was blown away. It really hit the nail on the head, and really brought so much attention to the poverty crisis of South Asia, right into the heart of mainstream Western culture. Wow. I connected with the film on so many levels and had a very emotional response in my spirit. With all of the thoughts of the Chennai slums still fresh in mind, the film just kind of solidified everything and I walked out of the theater thinking, ok that's it, I'm going for it, whatever it takes. So here I am blogging, in the hopes that it will bring more awareness and maybe even raise a little money for our orphanage, maybe it will help them rescue just one more orphan off the streets. Maybe the handful of you who will actually read this will somehow by the grace of God be motivated to join me in my quest here. Maybe you'll accept the challenge. Maybe you'll offer me ideas or encouragement along the way. Whatever the case may be, thanks for checking in.

So what's the plan, you might be wondering. Well, I am speaking at Taylor University's Social Justice Week on April 29th. So I thought it might be nice to have completed the 30 days just before the event, so I will start the my 30 day adventure on March 30th.

This gives me about 2 weeks to figure out what in the world I can buy for $30 that will sustain me for 30 days. So far I've thought of beans, rice, oatmeal, eggs, tortillas, raisins, and maybe a small jar of peanut butter. Just brainstorming at this point. Please post comments with ideas on what I should buy, recipes, or any other advice you might have for me. Or maybe you'd like to join me, that would be huge.