Saturday, July 26, 2014

In Which "Better Late Than Never" Becomes My Life Verse

True confessions: I knew, I knew, that blogging regularly would be just as challenging for me as running/training regularly would be, and I was right.  I WAS RIGHT! (It's always nice when you can turn a confession into a defense of your own rightness.  I'm liking this.  I might try it again.)  Fortunately, I can say that I am doing a better job with the running than the blogging, and in the end, that's probably the more important piece to this whole half-marathon training gig, wouldn't you say?  The post below I actually started weeks and weeks ago, but never finished, and obviously, never posted.  I'm posting it now because I cannot bear for any blogging time to go to waste when I accomplish it so rarely, AND in the hope that it will jump-start future blogging.  This is unlikely I know, but we do what we can, right?  So, without further ado, a really old post!

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This morning (drumroll please)... This morning I ran 5 miles!**  And I ran it at a faster average pace than any of my previous "long" runs!  I am over the moon about this.  Seriously, it was just the bit of encouragement that I had been needing lately.  (The last few weeks have felt pretty sluggish running-wise even though I've been keeping up with the training for the most part.)

After I was finished I met up with Peter and the kids at the park where they had been playing on the playground and riding their bike/tricycle.  I kept telling the kids over and over again, "You guys, I ran 5 miles this morning!  And I ran it in under an 11-minute mile pace!  This is really good for me!  Don't you think that's really good?"  Finally, Peter had to break in and say, "I don't really think all these numbers mean anything to them."  Annnnd, he was right.  The five-year-old and the one-year-old were simply not that impressed.  (This was Eden's first time riding her brand new big-girl bike someplace other than our driveway, and I think Asher's first time riding the tricycle at all.  Running 5 miles will lose to new bikes every time.  Obviously.)

In other news, summer vacation is kicking my posterior.  I knew when I decided to take on training/fundraising that it would require sacrificing some free time.  I thought through what that might look like and tried to prepare accordingly.  I should have done the same thing for summer vacation.  I way over-committed myself to projects/goals this summer while simultaneously forgetting that having two kids home every day, all day, (one of whom does not like to nap, but does really, really like to talk) would mean an end to most, if not all, personal and/or free time.  I have now become that stereotype mom who goes to the bathroom just to be alone (or daydream about being alone, which is perhaps, more often the case).  That being said, there is also a lot to say for the awesomeness of not having to get everyone up and ready and out the door every morning.  Also, my poor son, who had to be woken up out of almost every nap during the school year to go with me to pick his sister up from school, can apparently regularly nap for 2-3 hours if people will just leave him alone.  The poor kid got about half that if he was lucky during the previous 7 or 8 months.  I feel bad for both of us.

But enough about me!  Once, a long time ago, I promised to post more about Heartline and what exactly it is that they do - so on to that!

If you've looked through Heartline's website, or even read through my fundraising page, some of this will be old news to you, but I wanted to put it on my blog anyway, for those who haven't made it that far. So here's a bit of the story of how Heartline got started, in their own words:

Heartline Ministries is a 501(c)(3) faith based organization formed to operate an orphanage, women’s program, and other programs in Port-au-Prince Haiti. The organization was established in September of 2000 to formalize the independent work of John and Beth McHoul, who are the founding directors of the organization. John and Beth have been working in Haiti since 1989.

Our approach deals with the whole person, so Heartline is involved in many humanitarian, educational and faith-based activities.

In 2007, we started our women’s program. The women’s program currently houses our Sewing, Beading, Cooking, and Literacy programs. Although classes vary in duration most women stay in the programs for about a year. Once they master their crafts they also have the chance to sell their items both online and at our two merchandise stores in Haiti. The ultimate goal of the program is to empower women to take control of their lives emotionally, spiritually, and financially.

As we worked with orphans we realized that a great unfilled need was maternal care. Many babies and children become orphans due to inadequate or absent medical care for expecting mothers. In many cases simple procedures and proper care would have prevented these deaths and thereby the orphans. There are lots of orphanages in Haiti. There are far less maternity clinics. So in 2009, our Maternity Center was brought to reality with a very busy birthing room and classrooms where both pre-natal and post-birth child development classes are taught weekly. We have 2 full-time RNs and 3 midwives on staff and many others who have a heart for the program who are a great help! We hope to expand our program with a second clinic. We’ve also had other missionaries from different parts of the world come to study our program.

On January 12, 2010 everything changed as a devastating earthquake destroyed most of Port Au Prince. Millions were killed, injured, or made homeless. By the grace of God, our facilities experienced minor damage and none of the people working for Heartline were seriously injured.

We responded immediately by transforming the maternity center into an emergency clinic where we performed major surgeries and helped hundreds of people recover. We were one of the few places in the city that could function so quickly after the earthquake due to the experienced group of missionaries and medical professionals and their diligent work. After about a year we were able to resume full time maternity services.

In 2013 we added a men’s discipleship and bakery program to our ministries. We have been blessed to see 10 Haitian men develop new business skills and develop a deeper relationship with Christ and their Christian brothers.

We haven’t forgotten about the children in Haiti. We have several types of support and camp programs throughout the year.

As an organization, our size and commitment has made us a very effective organization. Currently, 90% of the organizations expenses are spent on the ground in Haiti.
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The above is a good introduction to the work that Heartline does, but I know what motivates me the most are the stories of the men, women, and children of Haiti, and their perseverance and courage in the face of some pretty difficult life circumstances. Should I ever blog again, I will try to share some of those stories with you.

**I ran 7.5 miles yesterday, by the way.  Again, with an average pace (just) under 11 minutes per mile.  If there is such a thing as an everyday miracle, then this surely is an example of one.

Thanks for your support, friends!

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