Our Story
After years of prayer, discernment, and serving alongside various organizations, our trip to Niger in January 2025 became a defining moment. What we experienced there ignited a fire in our hearts, a deep and undeniable calling to help feed children in desperate need around the world.
We visited multiple feeding centers serving orphaned children, street beggars, and others with no access to daily food. In each center, we witnessed unimaginable hardship and yet, we also saw remarkable strength and hope shining through.
When we returned home, the next steps became unmistakably clear. Filling Bowls Around the World was no longer just a passion, it was our life’s mission. Since then, God has continued to guide and affirm this calling through stories, signs, and moments of deep clarity.
We look forward to the day we can sit down with you and share more of these stories, but there are two stories that ignited our passion and our divine call to action. Our stories are about a feeding center and a bowl!
The Feeding Center
On our first morning in Niger, we visited a feeding center run by WAYYO. Under a tin-roofed shelter, 158 hungry children waited patiently for what might be their only meal that day. We immediately began preparing bowls of food, using 75% of the available supply. Only 25% remained.
Four of us stepped into the crowd to distribute meals, while four others ran bowls from the prep area. Midway through, the runners realized something alarming: over 100 additional children had arrived.
Desperation swept through the space. Some children began to pray, others shared their portion with friends, many begged not to be forgotten. The runners, with tears in their eyes, kept assembling bowls, knowing the food was running out. We felt helpless.
But then we witnessed a miracle. That small remaining portion of food somehow stretched. Bowl after bowl was handed out. And the final bowl, the very last one, went to the final child still waiting.
It was our personal “fishes and loaves” moment. God multiplied what we had and made it enough. We were overwhelmed by fear, mercy, hope, and awe. That day, we didn’t just serve food. We saw the hand of God in every single bowl.
The Bowl
While in Niger, we purchased a simple wooden bowl. At the time, it held no particular meaning beyond its beautiful craftsmanship and design.
However, everything changed upon our return. In the early morning hours of January 30th, around 4:30 a.m., Julie was awakened with a deep sense that God was calling her into a quiet moment of prayer. As she prepared for that time, she felt prompted to retrieve the bowl.
After carefully unwrapping it from layers of bubble wrap and placing it before her, the significance of this simple object began to unfold. In that sacred silence, she heard God's voice clearly:
"Julie, I need you & Greg to fill my children's bowls around the world."
It was in that moment the mission became unmistakably clear and the bowl, once just a souvenir, became a symbol of divine purpose.