Running

Saturday Last week was craziness culminating in a hurried Saturday morning. Evan and Katie were each signed up to support Day Spring Christian Academy in Uganda through their entry fees to compete in a 5K Fun Run set to begin at 8:15. There was a 40 foot container waiting to be loaded full of supplies for the House of Hope and personal belongings for the Waits family in Puerto Lempira beginning at 9:00. No problemo.

Evan sprinting the final yards of the Day Spring 5K

The kids took off from the starting line at 8:13. They ran like rabbits to finish well. The first two runners crossed the finish line in the 21st minute of the race. Evan came into sight third, and right behind him was the light blue, short-sleeved shirt signalling that his little sister was his nearest competitor. Cheering for Evan, I saw him keeping his steady pace that would likely bring him across the finish line at a fair time, but not his best time this season. He knew someone was behind him, but didn't know who until I began to cheer for Katie as she came into shouting distance. The Boy told us that he thought I was cheering for him until it clicked that I was saying, "Go Katie!" He decided to sprint at that point.



The Finish Line



Katie saw her brother putting on speed. She knew they were in the final stretch, and she also began to sprint. I was caught up in cheering, watching the clock, trying to photograph the kids, and being very aware of the time our next commitments looming imminently closer. I snapped a shot as The Boy went by, but missed him crossing the finish line at 24:05. Katie evaded the camera during her final push, but was captured for posterity in the final seconds as she approached the Finish line. Thinking that there would be awards for the Overall Winner and Age Group Winners, but that our runners had not qualified since they were in 3rd and 4th place, we quickly headed to the car after the kids congratulated the top two runners.

The container was loaded while Katie attended a football game and had lunch with friend, and I began to follow up on the idea of such a race as a means of raising awareness and support for the ministry of Reach Out Honduras in Puerto Lempira. It's expensive, but such an event could bring the needed attention of those enjoying a high standard of living to the plight of others who cannot even truly imagine the daily availability of things I consider "necessities" like fruit and vegetables to eat. My mister is encouraging me to keep investigating and preparing for the possibility because the up front expenses could result in great benefits for Reach Out Honduras. "Benefits," which translate to vegetable gardens to feed families currently subsisting on, at best, a daily meal of rice. It could mean needed funds to purchase a vehicle for transportation in and around Puerto Lempira. It could mean the world to a child who receives an education. Such big dreams... and all completely beyond me. This one will have to be God's because I am out of my depth. So. The possibility of a Fun Run to benefit Reach Out Honduras becomes a prayer point that will hopefully lead to taking our kids' hobby and making it one more way that we can serve others.

This morning, as I read through the proposal for races like the one the kids ran in on Saturday, I pulled up the race results. With my mind more focused on Honduras, I was a little confused by the first line of the standings which read, "OVERALL FEMALE WINNERS Place 1 Name KAITLIN MIDDLE CHILD". Eh? Scanning down the list, I was no less surprised to find, "Male 15-19 Winners Place 1 Name EVAN THE BOY".
Oh.my.WORD! I quickly fired off a copy of the standings to Katie's middle school coach and her youth group small group leader who have both encouraged her all season with thanks for their efforts to support her in achieving a win in her very first 5K. I just yelled upstairs to The Boy who was still at home. It was a small field of runners, but is a big reason for celebration in our family with two strong finishes and surprise winning results.