Team World Vision
Water for Kenya
morenewmath.com via pinterest
We had a streak of extremely hot and humid temps in Chicago this summer but it seems those days might be behind us. Thankfully the weather hasn’t seemed to affect my training runs like I thought it might. Frankly, I’ve found my heart to be much more of an obstacle during this training than any outside factors.
I’ve had my fair share of painful blisters and seem to have a weekly battle with my water belt, but my heart still seems to be the biggest hindrance. For some reason I’ve had a hard time getting the commitment I have made from my head down to that small but powerful organ in the middle of my chest.
Today on my run, in between spurts of conversations with my Team World Vision running buddies, I tried to think of things that might inspire me to be fully heart-committed as well. One of the first thoughts that came to mind is my mom. She had her fourth child at 32 and I’m pretty sure that childbearing and child rearing are much more difficult than training for a marathon. If she, at 32 could continue to be committed to another child, certainly I can be committed to a fourth marathon.
And then of course my mind wandered to the mother in Kenya who can’t feed her children right now nor simply supply them with clean drinking water. And I wish I could say the inspiration came flooding into my heart like those epic scenes in movies when the hero finally recognizes he is a part of something greater than himself. It wasn’t like that. Instead I just asked God to burden my heart for the people of Kenya that desperately need the water well we are helping to raise funds for.
As the end of today’s run was approaching I was exhausted. At 14.8 of the 15-miles I was ready to stop and walk. My knees ached and my hips hurt. I could feel the hotspots that were most likely the beginnings of more blisters on my toes like coals in my socks. But I had committed earlier in the run that I was not going to walk {not that there’s anything wrong with walking, it’s just I knew if I began walking I was giving up}. But I also knew something had to change.
I began to pray and ask the Lord for strength. I quickly realized in my spirit that this was the wrong prayer and began to pray for a burden. “Lord, burden my heart for the mothers and children and families that need this water so desperately. Lord, give me the heavenly perspective of this situation, your heart, your eyes and your love for these children of yours stuck in a situation they did not chose but cannot leave.”
And I began to run hard. For the last .2 miles I took off with long strides and purposeful prayers.
I finished my run well today and I’m thankful for the strength of the Lord to complete the run but my prayer is still the same, “Lord, burden my heart for this nation and it’s people.”
I learned that the money our Chicago team raises, if we meet our goals, could provide water for 20,000 people. That is a lot of people. I can’t imagine not being able to place my cup under the faucet for a glass of cold water. I can’t imagine looking at my child’s face and only being able to give them the muddy waters that run through the trickle of a stream that used to be a river. I can’t imagine being the mother who doesn’t even have the stream to dip from and longs for that muddy water because at least then she had something to give her child.
It is such a desperate situation in the horn of Africa right now, but I will continue to believe that my God is bigger than the circumstances. Please join me in praying for the people of Kenya and for God’s miraculous hand to move on that nation.
Read MoreRunning with purpose
It was a warm but overcast morning—the perfect weather for a run. Today we had to gear up for seven miles. Which at this stage actually seems like a break as last weekend we ran 10. I felt pretty good but didn’t want to push it too hard. I kept a steady pace and was pretty convinced I would finish this run well.
Halfway through the run I passed two women who seemed to be in a steady dialogue. As I gained ground on them I watched and listened to them talking. I noticed it was a steady stream of words flowing out of one of their mouths yet I couldn’t make out what she was saying. As I got closer I could hear bits and pieces. Water. Drought. Children.
As I ran by them their voices became clear. They were praying. The entire seven-mile run they were praying out loud for the people of Kenya, the country we are specifically raising money for to complete a massive water project. I was humbled to the core. I had been running with thoughts streaming through my head about my day. To-do lists, plans for next week, meal preparation, and projects at work for the next week. Yet, I have signed-on to run this marathon for the purposes they were praying for.
How often am I so focused on myself and my needs? Even in my efforts to do something for others I am still thinking of me. I am writing this and sharing this experience from a convicted heart not a condemned heart. There is so much need in this world and not a single human being has the power, energy or time to meet all those needs. But I know a Creator who does.
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. (James 5: 16b-18)
What if we all prayed? We if we all joined in fervent prayer for the people in Kenya and Somalia that are dealing with incredible drought. What if we all humbled ourselves before God, confessed we need Him and believed He was capable to turn this horrific period around?
I’m scared to even type this as who I am but a mere woman, sitting in her comfortable home, living a life that has never encountered such disaster and hardship?
But I am a woman who can pray. And if you can read this, you can pray too.
Today I pray for the people of Kenya. Specifically the population that has been overcome by the severity of this drought they are going through.
Lord, you are Living Water, would you pour afresh upon them? Nothing is impossible for you Lord. Bless them with water—with rainwater—with pure and clean drinking water. Father, again I say, nothing is impossible for you. Meet their needs and may they know of the One who gives life and life eternal. Bless the World Vision crews that are working hard to bring water to these people. Again Lord, NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR YOU.
Hope in Action: World Vision
It’s my first Hope in Action post and I’m really excited about it! Team World Vision is the athletic fundraising arm of World Vision, an organization that I greatly admire. Over the next six months I’ll be blogging periodically about my experience with Team World Vision as I train for the Chicago Marathon with this great group of people. I’ll blog both about World Vision’s global programs as well as their US programs. I’ll also be documenting my experience training for the race. This will be my fourth marathon and I’m hoping to run my best yet.
If you’re not familiar with World Vision, please visit their site and check out what they do. As their website states:
World Vision works with children, families, and communities worldwide to help them gain access to some of life’s most essential resources. Things like:
- Water and sanitation
- Food security and agriculture
- Education
- Health care
- Economic opportunity
By working alongside families, World Vision helps to empower communities to become self-sustaining. When World Vision leaves an area, the community is able to stand on its own.
This organization lives out the mandate to be the hands and feet of Christ. Proverbs 31 says:
8 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
9 Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.
I can’t go out into the field right now, but my hope is that the money I can raise through running with Team World Vision will enable others to be the hands and feet of Christ abroad.
If you’re interested in supporting my running efforts, please visit my personal fundraising page.
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