Dear Friends, Family and Colleagues,
As you may know, I've been training for most of the year for Ironman Florida, which will take place on November 7, 2009 in Panama City Beach, FL. It will be a 2.4 mile ocean swim, a 112 mile bike and a 26.2 mile run. I'm looking forward to the challenge of the Ironman and the opportunity to assist Mustard Seed Communities.
In early 2002, a couple of good friends that I knew through the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta invited me to join them on a trip to Jamaica to volunteer with Mustard Seed Communities. At the outset of the trip I knew little more than we would be visiting a couple of the orphanages operated by Mustard Seed Communities that took in kids with physical or mental handicaps too severe for the government run orphanages. Little did I know that my short five days there we expose me to a world I never knew and would make a lasting impression.
We spent our days working as laborers in the hot, tropical sun and visiting with the children. I've never been one to shy away from hard work and really enjoyed my time there. I'll never forget one morning in Jamaica. We were invited to join the director of Mustard Seed Communities, Father Gregory Ramkissoon, for morning prayer at 4:30 AM in Kingston. We showed up bright and early and attended morning prayers and mass. More than 35 orphans were in attendance by their own choice. I was amazed that they would wake so early EVERY day to start their morning off so intentionally. They would then spend the rest of the day completing chores that matched their abilities.
One child, Ricky, made a lasting impression on me. He was at the prayer service every day at 4:30 AM. You may ask why is this memorable. Well, Ricky is severely deformed such that he has only one deformed arm and no legs. He can't weigh any more than 35 pounds, yet he is an adult. He moves around the orphanage by pushing himself with his only arm on a skateboard. Nonetheless, every time that I saw Ricky, he was glowing with energy and happiness. Even though life had dealt Ricky an unbelievably bad situation, he was truly happy.
To this day, I laugh at myself when I find it difficult to rise at 4 AM to train. I'm healthy, living in a great country and blessed with more blessings than I can count and yet, at times, I find it hard to rise early and start my day off intentionally. Throughout my training, I'm constantly reminded of Ricky and find myself saying that if Ricky can overcome the challenges of living without legs, only one deformed arm and no biological family, then I can complete Ironman Florida on November 7.
In return for the motivation that Ricky and his friends at Mustard Seed have provided me in training for Ironman Florida, I am contributing money to Mustard Seed and invite you to do so as well. Mustard Seed Communities does a tremendous amount of good for the most vulnerable orphans with AIDS, physical and mental handicaps in Jamaica, Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and Zimbabwe. Please join me in contributing whatever you feel is appropriate to assist Mustard Seed Communities in providing food, housing and safety to these children. I understand that we are in a horrible economy and only ask that you consider contributing what you may feel is appropriate.
Should you want to learn more information, please see: www.mustardseed.com/
Thanks for your support!
-Mike