Friends,

Some of you may have seen the pictures on Facebook of our Team World Vision training runs and wondered what that was all about. Here’s the scoop: I’m team captain for a group of runners and walkers from Pine Lake Covenant Church as we train for a half marathon and seek to raise funds for clean water in Africa.

I don’t necessarily consider myself a runner, but some days I run. I’ve ran five half-marathons. Well, I’ve survived five half marathons. I ran my first one because I had a “theory” that I could maybe run that far. Honestly, I didn’t train very well for any of them. And for each one, my focus was on my ability to conquer the course. I was proud of my accomplishments, of what I could do. The focus was all on me.

This half marathon is different. I’m not running for myself. I have partnered with Team World Vision to raise money in order to provide clean water for people in DR Congo. In Africa they say, “Water is Life”. About 724 million people in the world lack access to safe drinking water.

Children and women often walk five to ten miles a day to gather water that isn’t even safe to drink; water that can make them sick.

More children die from diseases caused by unsafe water and poor sanitation than almost any other cause – more than AIDS and malaria combined.

Here’s the thing that kills me: $50 can provide clean water for one person FOR A LIFETIME. How often do we spend that on random stuff we don’t need? How easy is it to go to the sink to get a glass of free clean water? How often do I complain about making time to run an easy 4 miles, when women and children are walking more than that daily for water we wouldn’t let our pets drink?

Friends, I’m doing the work of training. I’m putting in the miles and I’m going to run half marathon #6 this June in Seattle with the rest of my team. And I’m running for the people in the Gemena community of northwest Congo. Every step. Every mile. It’s all for them.

Are you ready to help too?

Would you consider partnering with me financially to help change lives?

$50 = clean water for 1 person.

Will you invest in the future and provide clean water for 1, 2, 3, or even more people in Africa?

You can make a tax-deductible donation on my fundraising page: Nancy Thompson for Team World Vision

Together, we can change lives!

nancy