I’m Mark Kreikemeier, and I live in Alpharetta, Georgia, with my wife and three children. In 2009, I reluctantly went on a mission trip to Venezuela with eight folks from our church, First Baptist Church Alpharetta.
One evening, our mission was to deliver food to the people of Maracaibo. Local church members chose which “houses” would receive food. I will never forget walking down the dirt roads, passing children who were just hoping you would stop at their house. My heart ached thinking about all the children who wouldn’t receive food that night.
As we reached the “house,” a little girl came running, jumping, and screaming out. She was a little older than my own daughter. Her face will be burned into my heart forever. As she and her grandmother hugged us, they told us they had not eaten in three days and were not sure where their next meal would come from. God put it on my heart to do something to help them.
Six months passed as I tried to ignore what God made clear in my life: He cannot be ignored. That is how Bread of Hope began
