God Stories: 4theVoiceless at One Year

I can hardly believe it, but this month the 4theVoiceless blog hits the one-year mark.  In a year, I have gone from writing once a week to twice a week and occasionally a little more.  I have written about adoption, foster care, children's homes in the U.S. and other countries, the value of the family, and many other topics -- almost a hundred posts in all.  I have had the privilege of hearing some pretty amazing God stories and passing them on to you.  The challenge to begin writing was daunting, but there are so many stories to tell and so many who need to be awakened to this world's orphan crisis.

A few of you have been with the blog from the beginning, and others have just begun to read this week.  I am grateful for you all.  Last month, we had over 1,100 page views, a new record that may be broken this month, if the start of the month is any indication.  We have also gone over 8,600 page views in a little less than a year.  Awareness continues to be one of the major challenges of the call to care for the voiceless, so thank you for your continued readership. 

Take a look back at the most popular posts month-by-month over the last year, according to you, the readers.  If you have recently found the 4theVoiceless blog, I invite you to read through posts that seem to define the last year on the blog and for the ministry.  If you have been around for a while, I invite you to click on the links and reminisce as I did while preparing this compilation.

May 2012:  "My Taco Bell Moment"

 

June 2012: "So Check My Man Card Already"

July 2012: "Our Missions Pastor Is an Enzyme (Now I Am, Too)"

August 2012: "Hope for Haiti: You Move, God Moves" 

 

September 2012: "My Lowest Point As a Pastor"

October 2012: "Do You Have a Personal Mission Statement?"

 

November 2012: "Haiti Mission Trip, Day 3: Build Us Back With Precious Stones"

December 2012: "4theVoiceless Photos: Top 12 in 12 (#1-4)"

 

January 2013: "And Suddenly . . . Orphan Run MS"

February 2013: "Stuck on a Cruise Ship: First and Third World Problems"

March 2013: "Ain't Nobody Got Time for That"

April 2013: "Coach Hammond: Man of Many Hats (and One Very Special One"

"Speak up for those who have no voice, for the justice of those who have been dispossessed."  (Proverbs 31:8, HCSB)

Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

Orphan Run Mississippi in Photos & Captions

Orphan Run Mississippi 5K and Fun Run

Hernando, Mississippi

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Race day preparation beginning before the break of dawn.

Registration table -- part of a large army of volunteers doing an outstanding job!

Nice walk-up crowd on a cool, beautiful morning

Michael Satcher -- orphan care champion, virtual runner, T-shirt model

233 runners plus about 100 others milling about before the race.  Other encouragers at different spots along the route.

Running for orphans and remembering others.

And . . . they're off!

The real winners on this day: Some of the world's 147+ million orphans

Amanda & Amy -- orphan care champions from Cordova

The Johnsons -- orphan care champions from Senatobia

Part of Team Colonial Hills -- 9 medal winners from CHC!

That's my boy! 2nd place in his age group!

Fitting finish to the day: EmilyFaith accepting a framed photo of one of the children's homes like this race will help fund.  Handprints of some of the actual orphans in Mabaale, Uganda, who will have a place to live because of her efforts.

On behalf of the orphans in Uganda, thank you to everyone who showed up Saturday to live out James 1:27 on a beautiful Hernando morning . . . and had a blast in the process!

Thanks for reading.

4theVoiceless,
Al

Postscript:  I blogged a couple of weeks ago about my running goal for the race, a new personal best.  Alas, that did not happen Saturday.  Maybe next year.  I did, however, finish third in my age group (out of I-don't-know-or-care-how many) for my first 5K medal!

Previous Orphan Run Mississippi Posts:

"And Suddenly...Orphan Run MS"
"Prepping to Run for Orphans"
"Orphan Run Mississippi: A Personal Best, Half a House, and You"
"Orphan Run Mississippi: The Essentials"

Orphan Run Mississippi: A Personal Best, Half a House, and YOU

Received my staff  T-Shirt for the Orphan Run MS 5K this week -- must be close to race day!

Orphan Run Mississippi 5K (and 1-mile fun run): 11 DAYS AWAY!!!

My goal for the Orphan Run Mississippi, from a running standpoint, is something better than 26:58, my personal best 5K time.  In light of that goal, I had been running at least twice a week, building up my stamina until I could push hard toward my goal.  

 

A sinus infection, a week in Haiti, and a week catching up on work and rest after the trip began to look strangely like 3 weeks without a run.  So last Friday, I decided it was past time to run to Orphan Run MS 5K course, a new course for Hernando, for the first time.  Though there were a couple of difficult spots on the course, I was only 32 seconds away from a personal-best time.  (As I should have expected, my body let me know over the next few days that it did not in the least appreciate the hiatus from nor the sudden re-entry into the running world.)

But more importantly . . .

 

From a much more important standpoint, I asked race director EmilyFaith Abbott for an update on the progress of the race preparation from a participation and funding standpoint.  Here are the current numbers:

The "why" behind the "what"

    

Race Participants

Closing in on 200 runners.  I have talked to several people who have great intentions of participating in the run . . . if it's not too late.  It's not too late!  Click on the race flyer below to sign up.

Funds Raised

Just over $12,000 so far.  The cost of a new children's home in Uganda costs about $25,000.  Who builds half a house?  Please use you influence to get others involved, and together let's get at least one home for orphaned children built!

Biggest Need

Participants!!!  More runners, more volunteers, more people to get the word out about the run over the next 10 days.  4theVoiceless will be handling runner registration and packet distribution; we will also have a table where we will sell cookbooks and jewelry to raise funds for our orphan care projects.  You can sign up to volunteer with us here.

More On Orphan Run Mississippi

Previous blog posts about the run:
And Suddenly . . . Orphan Run MS
Prepping to Run for Orphans

Orphan Run MS on Facebook
Orphan Run MS on Twitter

Uganda Facts

Population: 23,000,000

Life expectancy:  42 years (1 in 12 Ugandans is an orphan)

Income:  44% make less than 60,000 shillings ($34.00) per month

Geography:  Landlocked nation of 91,000 square miles (about the size of lower Michigan)

Neighbors:

North - Sudan

East - Kenya

South - Tanzania, Rwanda

West - Congo

Language:  English is the official language with a significant number of native Swahili dialects spoken

Religion:  Protestants 33%, Roman Catholic 33%, Indigenous 19%, Muslim 15%

 

Click above to sign up for the run, to make a donation, and/or to pass on the information to a friend.

Thanks for reading.  See you on race day . . .

4theVoiceless,
Al