Rice bag relay in the rain raises money for flood victims

By Sharon Mager, BCM/D Correspondent

WESTMINSTER, Md.—It was a wet, rainy day on Mar. 8 when Horizons Church member Jeremiah Luce and 29 others trudged onto the track at Westminster East Middle School. It was a day to stay inside, sip coffee and look out the window, but Luce and friends were happy and high-spirited as they loaded 40-pound bags of rice on their backs and ran laps around the field. 

The perceived insanity had a Godly purpose. The young men and women were raising money to help flood victims in Mozambique, using the rice as a symbol of hunger. 

Church members and friends were pledging money on the number of laps ran. Luce hoped to raise $2,000, which would feed and provide seeds for replanting to 100 families for a month. Amazingly they raised over $11,000 and the money is still coming in. 

“The day was awesome,” Melissa Meyer said. Meyer organized the event with Luce. “It was so funny. It was not a good day to do anything, but we got lots of phone calls with everyone saying, ‘we still want to do it, we don’t care about the weather!” 

Luce thought the rain was actually a blessing since it brought a visual of what the day was about. 

He and his wife, Anna, were friends with Kate Hilditch, a missionary in Mozambique. The Luces had worked on mission trips themselves years ago and Jeremiah had been to Mozambique, so they were aware of the flooding seasons. 

But this year was different. 

Flood waters from the Zambezi, Pungue, the Buzi and the Save Rivers rose earlier than usual. The Zambezi River was approaching the 25 foot level that it had reached in 2000 when 700 people died and half a million were left homeless. People now were fleeing their homes to higher grounds and were trapped without food and supplies.  

Hilditch shared the urgency of the need in Mozambique and Luce responded by nervously promising to raise $2,000. 

“We were really excited when he first came to us and told us what God had laid this on heart,” Meyer said.

Within a short time, after sharing with his friends and church members, Luce had $3,000 pledged.

“He’s always had a heart for Africa and a burden for people overseas and for trying to meet both physical and spiritual needs.”

Meyer said the whole project moved very fast. In less than 30 days the group had raised both money and awareness for the flood victims in Mozambique and the funds were sent within a week of the event. 

“Jeremiah is extremely missions minded, especially for overseas missions. He’s got a big heart," Clay Carver, pastor of Horizons Church said. 

For more information about the rice-a-relay, see Luce’s website: www.smallthingswithgreatlove.com.