Steam poured off the tops of huge blue plastic containers holding the porridge that was served at Tuesday night’s National Broken Bread Poverty Meal, hosted by Biola’s Social Justice Ministry.

Approximately 60 students gathered in the Hope Amphitheater at 8:30 p.m. to partake in a meal that resembled what refugees who have been displaced by disasters are fed in camps. Students were given a porridge made from a corn-soy blend, water, salt, sugar and olive oil.

“When you first taste it, it’s kind of sweet and honey-tasting, but after that it tastes like mashed-up corn chips that went through a blender,” said freshmen Heather Lynn Chester and Amanda Evans.

The National Broken Bread Poverty Meal was a part of a World Vision promotion for poverty awareness, and university campuses across the country took part in this meal on Tuesday, Oct. 16. Biola’s meal took place two weeks later due to logistical issues.

The Social Justice Ministry (SJM) planned enough porridge for 50 to 100 students to show up, but ministry president sophomore Matt Gundlach wasn’t concerned about the number of people that came.

“Honestly, I don’t care about numbers; I just really care about people with open hearts who God will bring out,” Gundlach said.

In advertising for the evening event, SJM encouraged students to abstain from eating a meal.

“We asked people to fast from at least one meal to have a more authentic experience,” Gundlach said.

The point of this evening was to allow students to realize more fully what people in poverty really live like. They ate their food and also experienced less than ideal weather conditions for an evening outdoors.

“It was cold,” ministry vice president Josh Penman said.

However, Gundlach was glad it was cold.

“It’s another kind of authenticity thing,” Gundlach said. “It makes people uncomfortable.”

Chester and Evans both felt less comfortable but more motivated to make a difference at the end of the night.

“I just feel stirred to action,” Evans said. “So many times I feel stirred in my heart and just forget about it, and that’s not God’s heart. We live in selfishness … I feel it was a call to all of us here to live lives that transcend our selfishness.”

Chester agreed.

“What I plan to do is to ask God to open my eyes to see the broken relationships, the poverty, that is around me,” Chester said. “Once I see that … I think I have a better chance of making a difference in the world.”

The evening began with a 30-minute worship set led by senior Grant Morgan, sophomore Andy Toy and freshman Jarred Coleman. They led students in songs that made them think about less fortunate people and how students should react. Students asked God to “fill [them] up and send [them] out” through song.

“If these aren’t the words of the outpouring of your hearts, please don’t sing them,” Morgan told the crowd that attended.

Morgan was the president of SJM last year and was very excited about the Poverty Meal.

“I think this is a good step for the Biola community to start looking outward,” Morgan said.

After the worship set, Biola grad and current Talbot student David Costillo gave a message on Isaiah 58, challenging students to think about how they want to affect the people in the world who live in poverty. Costillo currently works for World Relief and was able to give examples of how students can help change the world in small ways.

Once Costillo finished speaking, the students were served their porridge and split into small groups to pray for those in poverty. They asked God to break them out of their comfort zone to help them serve those who are hurting.

“I hope that [students won’t] be overwhelmed with the crisis going on in the world,” said Gundlach. “But I hope they can see God moving.”

Sophomore Becky Haley was in charge of helping provide the porridge that students were served.

“The cafeteria has been really awesome,” Haley said. “They provided the supplies aside from the corn-soy blend … They prepared it and drove us over here.”

SJM didn’t have any plans for what they were going to do with the leftover porridge, but at least one person had an idea.

“If they have leftovers I want to try and live off of this for the rest of the week,” said sophomore Lucia Jimenez.

“We did order a little bit too much,” Gundlach said. “Maybe we’ll just eat it.”