Continuing on with a passage from A Hole in our Gospel, Rich Stearns shares a story from his trip to Gbum Gbum (pronounced Boom Boom) in Northern Ghana to see first hand the impact clean water has on a community:
"As we gathered around the borehole well that WV had drilled several years earlier right next to the school, the school's headmaster told us that before the borehole he had just forty students. Now more than four hundred children attended the school! The difference? Before the water came to Gbum Gbum, the women and children had to spend about five hours each day fetching water from a waterhole several kilometers away. They would rise early, before dawn, making several trips throughout the day; they had no time or energy for school. Another man told me that before the well, children and adults alike were riddled with Guinea worm disease caused by parasitic nematodes found in the contaminated water. These worms grow inside the body, sometimes up to three feet in length, and then when full-grown, burrouw out through the skin, causing crippling pain and infection. Now, the Guinea worms were gone.
As Steve and I continued our walk through the village, we met several dozen women working with great effort to make something called shea butter, an ingredient used in skin lotions and cosmetics, from a locally grown plant. To my amazement, they were selling this shea butter for a profit. In fact, I was told that it was even being bought by Bath and Body Works in the United States! The only thing these women had needed to create this business was time and clean water, both of which were now available.
We also talked with some of the men in the community who told us that since they now had more water for irrigation, they also had improved crop yields. Then one man said something that caused them all to laugh. Our guide, who translated for us, told us that the men also felt that the women now 'smelled better', since they no longer had to fetch water all day in the hot sun. Water had transformed Gbum Gbum in every way imaginable."
I have great joy knowing that the money we raise for World Vision might help transform a community like Gbum Gbum! Sometimes during fundraising, I can begin to lose heart in asking people for money thinking that I'm asking for support for myself. But, I am not! When I think of the story above, I remember that this is about building God's Kingdom, and I can more passionately ask people to contribute toward clean water in Africa!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
water is life
Water is life, and because we have no water, life is miserable. - a voice from Kenya.
I believe our team is raising money specifically for World Vision to help provide clean water access for our neighbors in Africa. Here's just a look from an excerpt in A Hole in Our Gospel that describes how vital that need is:
"As many as 5 million people die every year of water-related illnesses. A child dies every fifteen seconds of waterborne disease. This creates a no-win situation for millions of parents in our world today- they can watch helplessly as their children die for lack of water, or they can watch them die from diarrhea, because the only water they have is tainted.
Tragically, living without water has even more dimensions. Thousands of hours are lost seeking and hauling water, especially by women. These are hours that could be spent earning an income or contributing to the wellbeing of the family and communiyt. This same task affects children too: millions of them are unable to attend school because of the hours they spend fetching water. And because of the unsafe quality of their water, many who can go to school are chronically sick and struggle with learning. Some waterborne parasites- Guinea worm, for example- can even result in crippling, and bacterial diseases such as trachoma can cause blindness.
Despite the risks, women and children in developing coutries invest two hundred million hours a day fetching water. That's equal to a full-time workforce of twenty-five million people fetching water eight hours a day, seven days a week! It is estimated that as many as one-half of the world's hospital beds are occupied by people with a water-related illness."
Today as I hydrate with my water bottle close at hand, I will set my mind to praying for those without such easy access to clean water, and I will thank Jesus for being living water who quenches the thirst of my soul.
I believe our team is raising money specifically for World Vision to help provide clean water access for our neighbors in Africa. Here's just a look from an excerpt in A Hole in Our Gospel that describes how vital that need is:
"As many as 5 million people die every year of water-related illnesses. A child dies every fifteen seconds of waterborne disease. This creates a no-win situation for millions of parents in our world today- they can watch helplessly as their children die for lack of water, or they can watch them die from diarrhea, because the only water they have is tainted.
Tragically, living without water has even more dimensions. Thousands of hours are lost seeking and hauling water, especially by women. These are hours that could be spent earning an income or contributing to the wellbeing of the family and communiyt. This same task affects children too: millions of them are unable to attend school because of the hours they spend fetching water. And because of the unsafe quality of their water, many who can go to school are chronically sick and struggle with learning. Some waterborne parasites- Guinea worm, for example- can even result in crippling, and bacterial diseases such as trachoma can cause blindness.
Despite the risks, women and children in developing coutries invest two hundred million hours a day fetching water. That's equal to a full-time workforce of twenty-five million people fetching water eight hours a day, seven days a week! It is estimated that as many as one-half of the world's hospital beds are occupied by people with a water-related illness."
Today as I hydrate with my water bottle close at hand, I will set my mind to praying for those without such easy access to clean water, and I will thank Jesus for being living water who quenches the thirst of my soul.
Mark your calendars for pasta partying
Friday, July 10 - Iowans for Africa team members are going to gather for a pasta dinner.
Friday, September 18- Team members and families are invited to join together for a meal before our longest run of 20 miles the next morning.
Look for details in upcoming days that tell when and where. This will be a great chance for conversations, the opportunity to meet new people, and for the team to "power gel". :)
I've ridden RAGBRAI the past couple of years and along the route there is this awesome food vendor called "Pastafari". Since we've begun planning these two meals, that word has been going through my head again and again. (Along with a little Bob Marley they played at their food stand). :)
Friday, September 18- Team members and families are invited to join together for a meal before our longest run of 20 miles the next morning.
Look for details in upcoming days that tell when and where. This will be a great chance for conversations, the opportunity to meet new people, and for the team to "power gel". :)
I've ridden RAGBRAI the past couple of years and along the route there is this awesome food vendor called "Pastafari". Since we've begun planning these two meals, that word has been going through my head again and again. (Along with a little Bob Marley they played at their food stand). :)
Monday, June 8, 2009
This week's Scripture/Commentary
Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always.
Psalm 19:4 In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
Attitude is a choice. I can identify pretty well with "rejoicing to run" but fall well short of "always." The joy of Christ's salvation should permeate my life. But, too often I am thrown off track by worldly worries. Focusing on God's Grace can make the spiritual exercise of rejoicing easy (even at the end of a long run).
Psalm 19:4 In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun, which is a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
Attitude is a choice. I can identify pretty well with "rejoicing to run" but fall well short of "always." The joy of Christ's salvation should permeate my life. But, too often I am thrown off track by worldly worries. Focusing on God's Grace can make the spiritual exercise of rejoicing easy (even at the end of a long run).
Monday, June 1, 2009
Front page Courier Article!
If you don't get the Courier, check out www.wcfcourier.com and see article, "Church Members gearing up for Chicago Marathon." There's also a nice 2 minute video to watch about Coach Don Williams!
climbing the mental wall
Have you had a day yet where you just don't want to run? Today was the first for me. Today's 3 miles felt like 10. I had a headache going into it, felt tired, have been having a neck and upper back ache all day, and I just didn't want to go. But I did. And when I wanted to quit after one mile, I began all of the mental gymnastics needed to continue. I haven't armed myself with a lot of mantras yet, so I reached into my mind for anything that I had. "No pain, no gain." "Do hard things." "Picture Jesus with me." "Jesus did a lot of hard things." These were my sayings. It wasn't even like it was all that physically taxing out there today, just more of a drudgery than I've experienced up to this point. Do you have any sayings that you find yourself repeating that help you keep going on the rougher days?
By the way, I am so glad that I didn't quit. Having all of you as accountability partners in this really helps. It helped to know that I'm reporting in to Don and to many of you. And I figured that if I didn't finish today, it might be even that much harder tomorrow. It feels so good to persevere! The weekly Scriptures help too!
By the way, I am so glad that I didn't quit. Having all of you as accountability partners in this really helps. It helped to know that I'm reporting in to Don and to many of you. And I figured that if I didn't finish today, it might be even that much harder tomorrow. It feels so good to persevere! The weekly Scriptures help too!
This week's Scripture and commentary
Philippians 2:14-16 Do all things without grumbling or questioning, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.
Commentary: I view running as a good gift that comes from God (James 1:17) Used in the wrong way, running, like many of God's good gifts, can turn to sin. I make it my goal "not to run in vain" for my own glory, but to run for God's glory.
Commentary: I view running as a good gift that comes from God (James 1:17) Used in the wrong way, running, like many of God's good gifts, can turn to sin. I make it my goal "not to run in vain" for my own glory, but to run for God's glory.
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