we'd been travelling for many days, with no food, no shelter, nothing. by my count it had been nearly a month and a half, but without the proper nourishment, it was hard to know if that was a correct estimate. the fatigue was getting to me. without food, the body becomes even more tired, and it is tough to do anything, let alone trudge through a barren desertland. i felt as if i could just collapse at any moment, and fall into a restful slumber. but we had to move on. to where? who knows! i don't think anyone in the camp had any idea where we were going at all. but we had been told to follow where he would lead us. whatever. besides, there was something far worse than the fatigue - the hunger. it felt like someone was ripping my stomach from the inside out, and i could feel it slowly eating away. this all made me very dizzy and lightheaded, and i had trouble seeing clearly, especially under the scorching sun. the heat was overwhelming during the day, just bearing down on my back. you'd think at night it'd be a lot cooler, a lot more refreshing. wrong. the night was freezing, and we all had to stay close together to keep warm, even inside our tents. on this particular night i couldn't sleep very well. i kept on hearing noises and rustling outside, and watched as the flickering shadows from the torches danced about the tent in an eerie manner. the ground was cold and hard, as i lay there with rocks and twigs jabbing into my side. and once again, the hunger was there. it hurt more than any ever. how could we go on? we would surely starve to death. trying not to think about this, i turned over and tried to get back to sleep. but i was so hungry... so.. hungry.

i awoke after what seemed like 10 minutes, but surely it was longer, for i could see the sunrise peeking over the horizon cast upon the tent sheet. it was still early, and no one else was awake yet. i stood up and groggilly stumbled outside, where it was already beginning to brighten up. the wet dew against my feet was a refreshing feeling, and i looked around, noticing the morning dew had covered nearly every flat of land. but wait! looking closer, i saw something white, almost like snow. surely there was no snow here in the desert! it was a very thin, flaky layer which resembled frost. i bent down to scoop some up, and felt it's soft texture. this was not snow, for it did not melt or break apart in my hands. my nose then perked up. it smelt like yeast, or flour! i held it a little closer and sniffed at it, and.. yes! it was indeed some sort of flour. i slowly reached and put a small piece into my mouth, chewing carefully. then all of a sudden it clicked. this was food. we wouldn't die from starvation! we would make it out okay! and then, even more importantly, i realized where it had come from. el shaddai. the same God who sent the plagues to deliver us, who turned the undrinkable bitter water into the sweet river of life, who parted the sea in front of my very eyes, and who now had opened up the heavens to rain down on us food. how could we have doubted him? how could we have questioned his almighty power? el shaddai, you are all.