A Helping Hand

As most of you are aware, my back has had some issues in the past. I am happy to report that I am now one year out from my back surgery and things are going well. Although I am still careful about lifting and exercise (lucky I have Toanh for all the real heavy lifting), I have had minimal discomfort. Thus, I have been able to run some. I have recently had two interesting running stories.

I was running up a hill the other day when a Kenyan runner came whizzing past me. He had the longest and most graceful stride I have ever seen. As he effortlessly glided by me, I tried to pick up the pace and keep up with him. After two to three paces, I quickly gave up on this and restrained my energy for finishing my run.

Today, I was running with Jason Fader and there were many groups of Kenyan children along the path. In our past runs, they have always been friendly and would rush over to shake our hands or say hi. But today, they reached out to hold my hands and ran with me - all smiles and "How are you?" It never ceases to amaze me the excitement they show when they see the white people. I am resolved to work on my Swahili so I can communicate with them more than "How are you? Good. How are you?"

And just to wet your appetites - Toanh and I signed up today for the "Run for Sight" Nairobi Marathon on October 31st! Okay, we are just going to run the 10K, but this should be a lot of fun. We will travel to Nairobi with some other missionaries (including the Cropseys and Faders). All the proceeds from the race go to five Kenyan eye centers - including ours here at Tenwek Hospital - to battle blindness in children. Full report to follow after the race.