A Haiti Fast

In the book Rees Howells, Intercessor by Norman Grubb, it talks about the concept of gaining a place of intercession by walking in another person's shoes, so to speak, and identifying with them in their suffering. Rees Howells often was led by God to walk through the same suffering as another person in order to pray effectively for them. The dedication and love that he expressed in being willing to identify with another person's hardship was powerfully used by God, and as he gained a place of intercession for a certain person or group of people, his prayers were often miraculously and dramatically answered.

Suggestion:

As you pray for Haiti, why not consider gaining a place of intercession through a special Haiti fast? You can't all just fly to Haiti on a plane, but you can identify with the average Haitian in a special way through sharing the food that they eat and giving up your regular meals in the way that you would if you did come here to live.

Please seek the Lord for direction before doing any fast, and do it at His bidding, not mine.

Here is how it would look to eat like the Haitians here:

• You can have 3 meals a day. 
• You have four menu choices: Spaghetti noodles, beans & rice, cornmeal, or flour & water pudding. You can add salt, and if you want to be really Haitian, add MSG. The Haitians call it Maggie. (You can pray for me extra as you consider that I have to participate in this with every plate of food I eat.) You can add a small amount of ketchup to your spaghetti. You can add beans to your conrmeal if you wish, and you can cook the cornmeal in water or in chicken bouillon broth. You can also add a pool of oil to the top of any of these. These menu choices are for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Mix and match as you like.
• You can have as much food on your plate as you want. You will probably want a large plateful at each meal in order to tide you over until your next meal.
• If you have dietary constraints such as being gluten-free, you will simply have to skip the meals where  spaghetti or "flour pudding" was served, without supplementing a substitute.
• For one meal a day (usually dinner), you can have meat. Your choices are chicken, hot dog, or fish. Amount: Chicken or fish: you can have one bite-size piece. Hot dog: you can have two (inch-long) slices.
• For one meal a day, you can have vegetables. You can choose between 2 pieces of diced potato or 3 rings sliced from an onion and cooked. Three times a week, you can add two tablespoons of tomato sauce. Once a week, you can add a spoonful of peas. 

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Recipes:

Flour & Water pudding

Boil water. Add flour with a whisk until it is a thick consistency like pudding. You may add sugar and cinnamon to taste, if desired.

Cornmeal
Buy yellow grits and prepare as directed on the package.
Variations:
•  Cook cornmeal in chicken bouillon broth instead of water.
•  Mix in whole pinto beans to the cooked cornmeal.
•  Prepare a thin sauce with mashed beans and pour it over the cornmeal. Top with oil.

Beans and Rice
Rice: prepare white rice as directed.
Beans: use canned beans or dry beans that you soak and cook until soft.
Variations:
•  Make the beans and rice separately
•  Mix the beans in the rice and add a broth of mashed beans and/or tomato sauce to turn it a different color.

Spaghetti
Boil water. Add noodles and cook until soft. Drain. Top with a small amount of ketchup.

See photos and meal ideas in my previous two posts: Haitian Food and More Haitian Food.

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If you decide to participate in this Haiti fast, please let me know so that I can join you in prayer!