Having grown up Episcopalian the Lenten season was a quite a deal in our house. My earliest memories were of deciding what I would give up all week long. I learned quickly that Sunday, being a day of

celebration, was a free day that superseded all fasts. The usual ‘give up’ in our house was sweets. We each had a tin cookie container that we would stash our treats in all week long. A lollipop here, a cupcake there, and a piece of gum or two added up to a little gold mine by Sunday afternoon. After church and dinner it was a rush to the couch with the long awaited for treasures.

As I got older and worked in my Dad’s fast food place French fries were my ‘drug’ of choice. In solidarity with my Catholic, Episcopalian, and other like-minded colleagues we stood strong against the ever leering potato as we scrubbed, peeled, rinsed, and blanched.

It was six long weeks of temptation but we emerged, for the most part, victorious. By this time I had grown out of my childhood understanding of ’giving up’ and realized that what mattered was the discipline and prayer that came from the observance.

When I first came to the Army self denial was mostly the Sunday School penny march. Somewhere along the line the name was changed to World Services. I suppose that made sense since that was what the money supported but I think we lost something as well in that change.

Personally I continued to observe Lent as I had since my childhood.

My first appointment from training was June to January so they escaped my Lenten practices but when I arrived in Lake Worth the tide began to turn. The first year snuck up on me a little too quickly after arrival but by year two a plan had hatched in my brain. And so began our communal journey of the rediscovery of self denial.

Lake Worth is a typical small corps with a nucleus of regular

supporters and semi-regular attendees. That nucleus group rocked.

Though their depth and width of their spiritual journeys were varied they were pretty much united in most schemes I tossed their way. For that I will be forever thankful. During a Wednesday evening prayer time I proposed we consider observing Lent in a traditional sense.

They were willing to listen. I explained my plan.

Part one, we would fast from midnight on Tuesday until we met to pray on Wednesday evening. After we prayed we would share a meal together to break the fast.

Part two, each person would determine the amount of money they had saved on food that day for their offering.

Part three, the money would be used to support a student at the Army school in Fond des Negres, Haiti where a day without food was a lifestyle instead of a choice.

They agreed and an interesting project began. Young and old alike

would come running in about 5:30 in the afternoon with stories of

SEVERE hunger. One would tell me her dad had carbo loaded on an enormous bowl of cereal right before the midnight hour. A teenager called to say she had a potato chip in her mouth before she even realized what she had done. My phone rang all day long with questions galore. Did diet pop count? Did gum? Juice? Or could they only have water. What about just a little something if they were really, really hungry? Could we hurry up the praying? Honest, I’ll die if I don’t get something to eat RIGHT NOW. Hyperbole reigned.

The first few weeks were trial and error. I explained that last minute carbo loading and gum and juice were all choices they would make on their own; only they could determine for themselves what constituted a fast in their own lives. Some weeks were more successful than others as they navigated the territory of hunger. The penny counting grew to substantial checks not based on saved food money but on the realization that hunger hurt.

The favorite corps cook contributed the fast breaking meal as her

donation and we ate light but well with lots of fruit and other

healthy items. Then we went about the business of our lives until

Sunday morning and again on Wednesday evening but the concept of self denial became real and an understanding of the world beyond the walls of this beautiful little corps changed lives forever; both ours and our young man in Haiti. Rosemarie Hafeli kept us updated on the progress of our new friend via letters and pictures.

Easter morning arrived in all its splendid glory. As they had for

years they loaded our organ onto the thrift store truck to haul it

over to the sunrise service on the inter-coastal. Colonel Fred Smith

spoke to the local crowd that assembled. Back we went with our truck and organ for a grand breakfast and with that Lent ended.

But, and this is a big but, self denial did not. That dedicated

soldiery decided to continue to fast from Tuesday midnight until

Wednesday prayer time; to continue to send money until their student.

I moved onto other appointments (and had the chance to visit Haiti, the Fond des Negres school, and Rosemarie) but they stayed loyal to their decision until he became a young man and graduated. Then they went a step further with a decision to continue his support through teacher training.

God blesses every one of those soldiers daily because of what they

did. He blesses them through young man in Haiti who now teaches others because they were willing to listen to a young Lieutenant with an Episcopalian heritage and a restrictive idea of self denial.

Deb Taube

Former Officer

USA South