Last Sunday, on October 20, 2019, in the very cold morning and very warm near noon, Jeremy ran and I walked 13.1 miles. Jeremy’s time was 2 hours and 49 minutes and 34 seconds, my time was 4 hours and 41 minutes and 20 seconds. “Our whole bodies hurt” is, of course, an understatement. But we were happy that we finished.
Thank you for praying, thank you for reading, thank you for giving. Over $600,000 dollars was raised by Team World Vision as a whole during the Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon. And over 13,000 kids will get clean water in their village and be able to go to school and lift themselves out of poverty.
I raised with your help, and the help of my wife putting out a Facebook plea during the marathon, around $500. That is 10 kids lives changed that is directly attributed to you. Thank you.
And so, it is over.
Or is it?
The day before the half-marathon I signed up for next year. The wisdom of which I challenged the next day during the middle of the half-marathon :>)
I hate to ask people for money, even for worthy causes. So, this year I asked through WordPress and Facebook, because it was emotionally safer. Over the next 52 weeks I am going to ask you to put $1, $2 or $5 a week towards the lives of kids you may never meet, and for water you may never drink . . . this side of heaven.
Mathew 25:34-40, NASB95
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’
Again, it’s your money, it’s your choice, and there is absolutely no pressure.
But I find fun in giving.
If you want to help kids next year, you may want to get a jar or envelope or something to separate the money, and put a few dollars away each week. That way it will be easy to give next year.
