Marathon Time!

Yep, it’s true - I’m running the Napa Valley half-marathon on March 24th. And I gotta tell you, I’m stoked! I am LOVING training right now (my last long run was 10 miles and this week it will be 11). I love the God-time I get as I run: time to pray, memorize scripture, and worship. It’s becoming one of my favorite parts of the day. And I love learning perseverance - persevering through discomfort and pain, finding my strength in God when I want to quit. That inner strength of will, and the ability to persevere no matter how tough the journey gets, are character qualities that I really want to develop now and take with me wherever God calls me to live and serve throughout the world.
I’m also running for the people of D.R. Congo. Three other friends and I are praying to raise $8,000 to purchase a piece of land in the Keredi slum where ELI is ministering. We currently have a school providing education, food, and the love of God to over 500 children, many of whom are orphans. The school is already a bright light of hope in a war-torn area but we have a great need to expand it.
We are praying for more land for two reasons. First, we want to build three more classrooms. Currently we only have facilities for grades 1st-6th to meet in the morning, and the older kids meet in the afternoon. Secondly, we dream of setting up a pharmacy/emergency medical clinic/Aids awareness center on the property. Currently, there is no medical care in the entire area and many of our children are falling over in class from malaria and other illnesses. The teachers have no medicine to give them and some families are desperately buying “medicine” off the street which is only making the sicknesses worse.
I would love to invite you to sponsor me as I run to buy this land and provide education and medical care to the children of D.R. Congo! Also, let me know if you are interested in running your own 1/2 or full marathon to join us in our fundraising efforts. We would love to have you join the team of runners! Go to http://empoweringlives.org/run.shtml to read more.