Day 5 + 6

This marks the last weekday of the challenge for me, and boy am i glad it's coming to an end soon. Not having the budget during the weekend really sucks, considering i can't have a decent meal out with my parents and friend. I'm really thinking about cutting it short. 21 meals with 20 dollars, works out to about $14.30 for the 5 weekdays. Which is surprisingly doable, given i spent only $14.10 so far, and i still have 5 slices of bread left.

It's been a long time since i had dinner with my parents, and i think i should go for it later tonight.

So herein ends the challenge for me. I've lived within my means, and thankfully i'm still alive.

I'm literally starving now, and i feel like my stomach has shrunk considerably over the last 5 days.

I'll be compiling all the reflections i've had (plus any of yours that you want to share) into a relatively longer post by the middle of next week.

Until then.

Day 4

I can't believe i'm halfway through. Today i really couldn't resist it, and i "splurged" on a lunch meal. Yes, i broke my budget for the day, by having a plate of mutton curry and kangkong from the muslim stall at The Deck. That set me back $2.

Today i've been thinking a lot about what i want my life to stand for. One of my assignments for a particular core module was to come up with a metaphor about my own life (see, even science professors can get creative with assignments).

I thought about my past experiences, and my achievements, and i realized that to be honest, they pale in comparison to many others that i know. And just before i could start wallowing in self pity, God led me to the story of John the Baptist.

He did no miracles, was known to be a bit crazy, lived alone (at least i think so), and he basically wasn't as well known nor as talented as the 12 disciples or Paul. But somehow, everyone remembers him.

How many people can honestly say they know all the names of all 12 disciples? But John the Baptist? Everyone knows him.

The moral of the story is this. It doesn't matter if (you think) you have no skills or talents, because if there's one thing you can do with your life, that is to proclaim the coming of Christ (again), just like John, who made it he's life mission to tell everyone about the coming Messiah.

My budget now stands at $14.20 used! Thankfully within that budget i've already included one breakfast and 2 lunches. So the countdown begins now.

6 meals unaccounted for. $5.80 left.

Day 3

Once again, the meal of the day is the humble sandwich. I finished up what was left from the can of sardines, added 2 eggs, a stick of celery and an onion; fried it all up, and made 3 sandwiches. Ate the leftovers that couldn't fit into the sandwiches for lunch, and spread those 3 loaves over the course of the day.

I'm also very encouraged by people like Kenneth and Julia, who i met and had the chance to find out about their meal plans for the past few days. I think we're all starting to get a hang of this kind of lifestyle, although i doubt we'll we able to do this for months, let alone years on end.

My devotion passage today is Psalm 111. The verse that stuck out was verse 5, which reads "He provides food for those who fear Him...", which led me to wonder why there are so many people dying of starvation each and every.. second.

I guess the thing about this whole challenge, at least to me personally, has gone beyond simply trying to experience what a construction worker goes through, and more towards what the rest of the poor world feels like, albeit briefly.

Sometimes i feel there's so much that can be done for those who have to live like this (or worse), but most of the time, i'm at a lost at what really is the true solution.

Day 2

A day late, but like they say, better late then never.

Today i spent the most. $3.30 for a box of koko krunch and $2.95 for a carton of milk, all in a bid to cover breakfast for the next 3 days or so. I'm surviving pretty much on sandwiches whenever i can, even on days when there's RT (that's the 2.5 hour night training you go for if you fail IPPT).

Devotion wise, I've used the ARTS Welcome Tea verse that Divinia brought up, Romans 12. The part about offering our bodies as living sacrifices, always seems to hit home with me.

I always thought it was interesting. That we should offer ourselves as living sacrifices not in response to God's love, but in response to His mercy. Personally i would have probably done the former if there was a choice to begin with. Which makes me wonder why Paul wrote this in the first place.

I don't have an answer as yet. But i'm sure it'll come to me eventually.

Day 1

Today's the first day of my challenge week. It started off pretty normal actually. I've never been a breakfast person, so skipping breakfast wasn't all that hard. Lunch was a bowl of rice with dark soya sauce, kinda reminds me of the stories my dad used to tell about how they used to survive on soya rice and porridge for years.

The passage i chose for my devotion today John 6:1-14. It's a passage about food, and ultimately God's provision for our needs.

Three takeaways for me:

1. Jesus provides, even when you think it can't be done.

--encouragement for those of us who are struggling to stay within the budget

--encouragement for those who say they can't do it, try, and experience it, at least for awhile

2. A testing time, produces amazing things

--Jesus tested his disciples with some questions, and He gave them a miracle, He can do the same for us.

3. We need to recognize Jesus as provider

While i go to sleep thinking about how to make my sardine sandwiches last the entire next 2 or 3 days, let's all remain focused on the real reason we're doing this.