40-40-40 Challenge

Forty days from today is the first day of my 40th birthday trip. The last day of that trip is my 40th birthday (which just happens to be on the 40th day of the year). Last fall I got back into running and really enjoyed it. I even ran a PR in a 5K race (shattered a PR actually, by almost 3 minutes)! However, the excitement of that accomplishment has abandoned me...along with the warm temps and sunny evenings. I need some motivation and a reason to get excited again, so I came up with a personal 40-40-40 Challenge. 40 miles in the 40 days before my 40th birthday (trip). I'm going to reward myself with a great week away with my family. And no running at all that week. (Although statistics show that an average guest walks up to 7 miles a day while at Disneyland, so add that to the distance we'll walk to and from the hotel, and we just might hit 40 miles of walking in those 5 days!) Running friends (or non-running friends who want to become running friends), feel free to join me for any of my 40 miles. Ready, set, go!

Now THAT'S some motivation!

Africa

I’m about to embark on a great adventure! I have drafted a detailed letter which I'll soon send out to some friends & family; I wanted to include a portion of that letter here since I've had many people asking for more details about my upcoming trip.

I will travel to Africa with a large group. The group is made up of smaller teams that will work in different areas during the day, and come together at night at a retreat center. Some of the teams are: clean water, health, sports, pastoral, and teaching. I am part of the two person teaching team.

The school where we’ll spend our days is about an hour away from the retreat center. We'll help teachers develop lesson plans, train on classroom management and setup, show them how to use stories and other methods to reinforce lessons instead of just using repetitive drills (currently their main teaching method). We will take some materials there and help them create some materials, but our main focus will be to leave the teachers with skills they can pass on to other teachers, thus helping them to be self-sufficient instead of needing to rely on outside help. While I will help with all of the above, I will also spend a lot of time subbing in the classrooms while the other team member works one-on-one with the teachers. They teach in British English, but there will still be a language barrier due to unfamiliar words and accents. Students at the school are preschool - 5th grade.

At the end of our time at the school, we will enjoy a 2 day safari before leaving Africa. One exciting aspect of the trip is that I’ll also be traveling with my dad who is on the team that will work with area pastors. On our way home, he and I will split off from the group and spent two days in England – one with a friend, and one in London.

Finally and most importantly, I ask and thank you for your prayers - for me while I go out of my comfort zone, my family who will be without me for that time, and those I will encounter while I am gone.