You can see the GoFundMe Page here: Training for a 10k for 15 Good Reasons
During this year of Home Assignment Kim and I have been intentional in making changes in our lives to be healthier in many senses of the word. As a kind of final goal for me in terms of my physical health, I decided to run a 10k and I have signed up for the 10k at the Munster Rotary Run A Round in Munster, IN on June 8th. We’ll be moving back to our home in Ecuador on June 15th.
Running a 10k will not be easy for me. Though I have run a Marathon in the past, that was almost 15 years ago and I am no where in the kind of shape that I was back then. Years of hard work in life and ministry and a lack of focus on caring for myself has taken its toll, so for me now, running a 10k will be a major accomplishment.
But I don’t want to just run for myself. I have 15 reasons to run a race that has more importance than my own. The Emanuel Home for At Risk Children in Cayambe, Ecuador is the home for 15 children who give me all the reason I need to run a race for a greater purpose. Their stories are ones who I will never truly understand or relate to because of the pain and difficulty I have experienced in life pales in comparison to theirs. As I train and run along the pavement and as my muscles ache from exertion, I will try to imagine what the pain could possibly be like to be abandoned by the only people you know in the world. As I struggle to catch my breath on the long runs, I will try relate to the endless cycle of abuse that leaves the children grasping for the air of freedom from the on-going torment. And as I, God willing, cross the finish line on June 8th, I will rejoice that my accomplishment is nothing as compared to when these precious children are able to reunified with their families into a healthy and loving home.
Any donation of any amount is appreciated as I want this race to be bigger than myself and my own personal goals.
You can check out the Santiago Partnership website at https://www.santiagopartnership.org/ to learn more about us. The Santiago Partnership, as an international team of followers of Jesus Christ collaborating with the local church of Ecuador, South America, seeks to transform the lives of at risk children and their families, as well as serve underprivileged communities.
The Santiago Partnership