Why would a team of 10 from McMannen United Methodist Church leave families, jobs and comfortable lives in the Triangle to go halfway around the world and build picnic tables to feed diseased and starving children they will never see again? And how is it that this small group was able to raise $40,000 over the past six months to pick up the tab for the trip?

"The only explanation is that the Lord is working in this," said the Rev. Jesse Staton, pastor of the church and a member of the team that will depart on June 19 to make a 27-hour trip to Zimbabwe.

Luann Beauman, a special-education teacher at Hillandale Elementary School, came up with the idea while she was taking a discipleship course at the church. She's already packed her bag with tools, drills, nuts, bolts, screws and saws, because the team will also build shelves for a library at the Nyakatsapa School, supported by the United Methodist Church.

"Those tables are important," she said. "The children are eating on the ground right now." The food served at the school at mid-morning is a special porridge made from ground corn with peanut butter added. This nutritious meal is prepared in big pots outside the school and is the only meal of the day for many of the children.

The team raised $40,000 to make the trip, Beauman said. Their main money-makers were four barbecue-chicken dinner events. Team members made, served and delivered the dinners to individuals and businesses.

This is Beauman's first mission trip.

"I am a two-time cancer survivor," she said, "and I learned long ago that any time something crosses my life and grabs my heart, I need to pay attention." In her case, it was the course and a documentary about AIDS orphans in Zimbabwe. "I knew when I saw it that I was supposed to do something."

That something turned out to be this trip.

She and other team members are carrying a lot of skills and know-how along with their bags, which will be packed with tools and books. The team includes a nurse, photographer, builder, retired policeman, event planner, employment counselor and the pastor. Also coming are the Rev. Chris Chikoore, founding pastor of Shepherd's House, a congregation of area folks from Zimbabwe that meets at McMannen; and Beth Jenks, who represents ZOE (Zimbabwe Orphan Endeavor), a mission project of the United Methodist Church.

"The whole thing has been one miracle after another," Beauman said. "We started out wondering how we could raise that much money. We decided to try selling barbecue dinners. The first time we sold 500. Then we wondered if we could sell 700 and decided to do it again. We sold 770 and the next time it was over 1,000. We got really good at this."

"Zimbabwe is not a Third World country," said Staton, who has visited the Nyakatsapa School before. "But the culture shock is incredible."

"We are not going to save the lives of those children," he said, "and we are not going to change that country, but we can give the children hope for the day and food and clothing. We're going to a place where we can't solve the problems, a place where we may have a solution at home that would save a life in Zimbabwe, but a place where we can't put that solution into the hands of those who need it. We will have to walk away and let the children starve and die. But it doesn't have to be that way."

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Good news this week from Jenny Shafer, director of Durham's annual CROP Walk.

On Tuesday of this week, which was National Hunger Awareness Day, the Durham CROP Walk steering committee reported that as of that day the walk on March 19 has netted $185,000. This exceeds the goal of $175,000 and is the largest amount ever raised by a CROP Walk in the city.

The annual walk is supported by area congregations, as well as businesses and non-profit agencies. It is a project of Church World Service that helps feed hungry people around the world. Twenty-five percent of the money raised remains in Durham and is distributed to local feeding ministries through Durham Congregations in Action.

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Housing for New Hope will hold its third annual breakfast on July 7 at the Washington Duke Inn. A continental buffet begins at 7:20 a.m., and an informational one-hour program on the work of Housing for New Hope will begin at 7:45 a.m. New Hope's programs are committed to preventing and ending homelessness in Durham.

For more information or reservations, call Lori Pistor at 682-5620.

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Sam Miglarese, who holds a doctorate in theology, will lead a discussion at First Presbyterian Church at 9:45 a.m. on Sunday. "Why All the Fuss About the DaVinci Code?" will be the title of the discussion. Miglarese works in the Office of Community Affairs at Duke University.

"Everywhere you go, people are discussing the book and movie," said the Rev. Joe Harvard of First Presbyterian. "Sam Miglarese is eminently qualified to help us understand this phenomenon in our culture and its relationship to faith." The discussion will take place in Watts Hill Hall.

It is not necessary to have read the book or to have seen the movie to attend. All interested persons are welcome. First Presbyterian Church is at 305 E. Main St., at the intersection of Main and Roxboro streets downtown.