One Plus One Plus One Equals Five

September seems to have come early for me as I thought I was going to take the Summer off writing and even said as much in my last blog post.
Some thoughts have came to mind that will shape the rest of this blog.
The title to me means things are not always as they appear.
I base my life on logic and rational thought. I look for patterns and use routines to get me through my every day life. I realize this is practical to a point but I have come to realize that I have to look beyond and try to see past what my "logical eyes" see.

The Ottawa Marathon was ten weeks ago and my body has almost recovered. That is one of the reasons why I do not like running a marathon. Running has became my respite from the craziness of this world. A full marathon puts a great deal of stress on your body and I fear losing the gift of running.
Here are some of the lyrics from three songs that I heard during this Summer and my thoughts of them refined while running down my ravine.

How To Save A Life   The Fray

Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life

I read this is a song about suicide. Reading comments on the webpage I realize my ignorance about our youth and their struggles. Thank you Clara Hughes for your bike ride across Canada bringing awareness to the issue of depression in Canada`s youth.

My first thought when I heard this song. I pictured a child in Cambodia in a brothel. I saw a large group of people such as the recent Ratanak 5km walkathon. I saw all the hard work, the funding, the awareness of all involved allowing the child to cross over from the brothel to a place of safety. 

My next thought was whose life is actually saved?
Matthew 10:42 And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to 
                one of these little ones, I tell you the truth, he will
                certainly not lose his reward.
Matthew 25 31-46 40 The King will reply, I tell you the truth,
               whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine
               you did for me.

I am not a theologian but an strong argument can be made for final judgement and "what we do for the least of these" as having a big say on where we spend our eternal destination.


This week while watching a Police press release a name appeared that I know. Someone I had played Hockey and Baseball with is being charged with serious crimes, some involving vulnerable
children.

I have not had any contact with this man for many years but I wondered how do people end up so far away from where they belong?
I thought by spending time where God intends us possibly we are prevented from leaving the trail and ending up far away from where we are intended to be.

Brian McConaghy (Director of Ratanak International) once told me that some men give gifts of money and food to poor parent`s in Cambodia. Brian went on to say how a trap is being set in which the children of these parents are going to have closed on them.
The men who set these traps and abuse these children are stepping into their own traps, of which they will not escape. If they are fortunate the trap may spring on Earth giving them time to repent. If not the hands that close their traps will not let them escape.

God is indeed no man`s debtor. My eight years of volunteer work for Ratanak International including running six marathons may have helped save a child`s life, but I believe this time has saved my life!

Slumber   NEEDTOBREATHE

But hearts are stronger after broken
So wake on up from your slumber
Baby, open up your eyes.

First thought on these words was that I saw a speaker at a conference explaining the lives some of Cambodia`s children live. I saw a picture of a child appear on a screen I saw the speaker calling the people at the conference to action. I was the speaker.
A project at my former place of employment went wrong. Somehow somebody had measured the building space wrong and a machine could not fit where it was supposed to. The manager said to "be careful when you point a finger, four point back at you."
The next lines from the song I omitted.

All these victims
Stand in line for
The crumbs that fall from the table
Just enough to get by
All the while your invitation
Wake on up from your slumber
Baby, open up your eyes
Wake on up from your slumber
Baby, open up your eyes

I saw a long line of children in Cambodia as the ones receiving my giving and realize I am giving crumbs. I must give more. I have started a process to give more.

 

Matthew 6:28-29 And why do you worry about clothes? See how
                             the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or
                             spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all
                             his glory was dressed like one of these.

One day while running I came across this type of snake. This is a picture from the internet; as I would not go close enough to take a picture as I thought someone had lost an exotic dangerous snake. I read later this type is called an Eastern milk snake and is found in Mississauga, thankfully they are not common. With smaller snakes, like garter, and sand I stamp my feet and they slither off. Two stamps of my feet did not move this snake and I wisely decided to change my course for the rest of this run. I thought of seven years of running at least 600 times down this ravine and this being my first encounter with this type of snake. I thought of Pastor`s encouraging members to read their Bibles daily as they do not know what may be revealed today which was not yesterday.

Brave   Sara Bareilles

Everybody`s been there, everybody`s been stared down
By the enemy
Bow down to the mighty
Don`t run, stop holding your tongue
Maybe there`s a way out of their cage where they live
Maybe one of these days you can let the light in
I want to see you be brave

The first part of the song I see the words as an encouragement to keep on whatever you are doing to make a difference in the world. The ending where I change the words is a statement or a proclamation that I have been told cannot ever happen.

I just want to see you
I just want to see you
I just want to see you
I just want to see you free

I hope to see you
I hope to see you
I hope to see you
I hope to see you free

I will one day
I will one day
I will one day
I will one day see you free

View this song in this light and see the day when all the exploited children in Cambodia are set free.
http://youtu.be/dyAfjUHlFSM

Larry




            
          

Reflecting Back Looking Ahead Living In The Present

It is Saturday June 28 2014.
Thinking about the yard work I have to do I may have let out a small sigh.
Things I should have started in early May I am starting now.

This is a small section of a large backyard over run by weeds.
As I started pulling these weeds in my backyard I thought of one of the reason`s why I am always behind yard work at this time of year.

I thought to myself "in a perfect world I would not run a full marathon, and two weeks later help organize a walkathon." In a perfect world these events would be spread further apart allowing me the chance to recover fully from the marathon and to be able do my share of the yard work.
Yet, in a perfect world little girls would not be sold into a life of sexual slavery in Cambodia!
So until my world becomes perfect. I will always be playing catch up with yard work at this time of year going forward.

Even mundane tasks such as pulling weeds have their rewards. As I perform this task I can see my favourite possession from the past. It is not a medal I have had hung around my neck after finishing a particular race, no it is my 13 rocks picked up a few years ago on my long runs in training for a marathon. This was my hardest marathon ever. The rocks to me represented 13 girls in Cambodia, rescued from a life of slavery. If I did not finish this race the events on June 7 at Erindale park this year are not possible with my involvement.

For those interested the story is called Just 13 girls, last year I put it on my blog. 

 

The final total raised for the 5km walkathon is $43 108 I set an aggressive goal of $20 052 and somehow God was able to more than double it. 
Thank you everyone for your support especially Paul. I hope to take the Summer off of some things, especially new writings, yet I will be updating my blog with some stories written a few years ago realizing I have a new audience.

This is the first. I hope to release two more before September when I will be hopefully back in the swing of things.

It took me a week in my spare time to pull all the weeds, time to move on to other projects.

Two

I titled this Two because it is a story of two different people, two different cultures, two different sexes, two different lives, and possibly two different eternal destinations.

  

My prayer for the future is that my daughter`s could live to see the day that the "Marys" of this world cease to exist. That is a day when girls have childhoods as God intended them to have, not the perversion that is forced upon them so often in the world that I live in.
 

This story came together during a Sunday church service a few years ago. This in itself was highly improbable as my mindset was anything but creative that day.

My youngest daughter was very ill and had a fever for the past two days. If these conditions were present that Sunday our family was taking her to the doctor.

She still had her fever on Sunday morning, but she and the rest of my family were sleeping soundly so the trip to the doctor would have to wait until after I attended church.

I also was not really looking forward to the service as the pastor had announced it was a service dealing with how to raise up Godly offspring.

In the past The Holy Spirit had used this pastor to point out areas in which I could improve on raising our children.

As I drove to church that morning I was hoping above anything else that this was not such a day for me.

There was also a baby dedication that morning. As I watched that proud father pass his daughter to the pastor to be blessed, and before the end of the next song I thought up this story. 

Although it took me significantly longer to write everything out, this story was finished beginning to end in my head in about 10 minutes, usually I change some of the words around in things I have written in the past. This is virtually unchanged from that Sunday.

She was born in Svay Park in 1995. Her verbally abusive father told her she was an accident many times as she grew up. She was the oldest of  four girls which added to her father`s wrath. 

Translated into English her name was Mary, the same as the Messiah's mother.

Her family never had enough food to eat. Her father found work occasionally as a fishermen. The best fish were sold at a market that supplied one of the hotels outside of Svay Park with fresh fish.  Later in life Mary would meet some of  the men from this very hotel in a very different way.

Health care was unheard of in her village. If a child became ill there was a good chance they would not survive. Although it was supposed to be a democratic nation most of the politicians were corrupt, the police force only served the rich and affluent people in her Country. Families like Mary`s were actually terrified of the police, and with good reason.

The only happy memories of Mary`s childhood where when her aunt would visit. Her aunt was called a "born again." 

Mary was very young at the time but she remembers placing her head into her aunt`s lap and listening to stories of Jesus. Her aunt told her that Jesus had given up his place in Heaven to come to earth to save people. Mary felt an incredible warmth flooding through her body as her aunt would talk passionately about this Jesus.

When Mary turned eight a man came to the house and argued with her father. They were discussing money but she couldn`t understand what they were arguing about. This went on for three weeks.

Then the day her life changed! One day she came home and found all her belongings packed into a little bag. The man pointed his finger at her and told her you have been bought I own you now. You are going to a new home to meet other little girls. As you can guess Mary`s father sold her to a pimp to pay off a debt. 

The pimp did indeed take her to a new home to meet other little girls. Mary`s new home was a brothel that men from other Countries liked using, as the girls were a bit younger and thus less experienced than some of the other brothels.

In the Gospels it says Jesus was spit on, Jesus was beaten, Jesus was mocked, Jesus was humiliated, before being put on the Cross. 

In the brothel Mary was spit on, Mary was burned, Mary was tortured, Mary was beaten, Mary was mocked, Mary was humiliated, and Mary was raped. She was raped many times by many different men. Her pain and shame was not measured in days, but years. 

One day rolled into the next. She never had a good day, only terrible and even worse days. Her sixteenth birthday came and went, she didn`t even know it.

Mary felt different now.  Although she always was thin she had been losing weight. She had trouble keeping her food down. One day a Doctor came to see her. Mary didn`t know it but one of  her customers had left her with a gift he had given her HIV Aids.
 

The next day Mary was forced to leave the brothel, for many years she had dreamed of being rescued, or leaving her prison. However now Mary was terrified as she had not been outside in the last eight years. Although the brothel was hell on earth it was the only place  that Mary knew.

Mary made her bed beside the garbage dump. She would have starved long ago but a baker in town took pity on her and brought her bread and a tin cup of water every night.

Mary woke one morning feeling very different, she was even weaker today. In her heart she felt that the end was very close. She was seventeen and looked fifty.

Although her body had literally wasted away, she felt a warmth surging through her that she had last felt when her Aunt had visited.
 

That night Mary passed away.
 

The kind baker took her frail body and wrapped it in a blanket and dug a shallow grave for her.

Mary awoke to the most beautiful noise she had ever heard. She had lived her whole life without hearing singing. Her Aunt told her later that this song was a song of celebration where thousands upon thousands of Angels sing with joy for the one lost sheep who had come home.

Next Mary saw a radiant whiteness walking towards her. She saw it was a man, strangely she was not afraid.

As the man came closer Mary looked into his eyes she saw compassion, kindness, tenderness, goodness, and most of all she saw love. She now understood that the warmth she had felt with her Aunt had came from this man.

  The man looked her in the eye and spoke:

  Blessed are the poor in spirit,

  for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

  Blessed are those who mourn,

  for they will be comforted.

  He went on to say:
Mary I created you in your mother`s womb you were no accident. I created you in my image. I numbered the hairs on your head before I set the foundation of the world into place.

I have Loved you with an everlasting Love.

Mary I tell you the truth, today you have entered into paradise to be with me.

    

He was born in Toronto, Canada in 1973. He was the joy of his family as his father had always wanted a boy and now he had one.  As many parents in this part of the world do he was given a name from the Bible, he was named John.

As he grew up he was treated with dignity, and respect.

One of his father`s favourite saying was the world is your oyster"  He was told to stand up for his rights, and to make sure that no one took advantage of him. Another statement he often heard from his father was "only the strong survive."

His family was upper to middle class for Canada. This put his family in the top ten percent of wealth when compared to the rest of the world.

He had access to free hospital care. He was never hungry.  Although far from perfect he grew up in a Country with a democratic process, he had a right to vote. 

When he turned sixteen his father bought him a car.

When he was eighteen he was accepted at the University of Toronto. He graduated top of his class and choose a career with a top accounting firm. He attended a local church.

John had just recently celebrated his 40th birthday. He was well on his way to achieving his dreams. He thought of how proud his father and his friends were of his successes. He had recently been promoted to partner. 

On the surface he had everything that he had been told would make him happy, there was just one problem he wasn`t.

Both of these people are fictionally characters. I know a few "Johns" and I suspect many people I know who have been to Cambodia have met many "Marys."

One day I looked at a picture of skeletons and skulls from the Killing Fields of Cambodia.

A strange thought entered my head.

I saw the men of North America as those bones. They have flesh, but in a lot of areas that God is concerned about these men are dead, they just don`t realize it. 

I thought the girls in the brothels of Cambodia are prisoners, but so are these men. The girl`s prison bars are made of concrete and iron, the men`s are more spiritual in nature, and may be more difficult to escape from.

My bible calls Jonah a reluctant prophet, in some ways I can relate to him.
 

God`s heart is with both of the fictional characters I wrote about.  While mine is with the Mary`s of this world. When I feel led to do something to help the girls in the brothels I jump up like Isiah did when the Lord asked who could he send, I immediately reply send me.

I find it tragic beyond comprehension what happens to girls like the Mary I wrote about.

While men born into a Country like Canada in which we have won the lottery of life (I include myself) cannot seem to figure out what is important in life are at best foolish, and pathetic, but in my eyes not tragic.

Lately I have been asking for God to open my eyes to see people as Jesus sees them.

Last week the story of the King who gave various talents to the servants came to my mind.

I believe with everything that I am the fictional Mary I wrote about will end up in Heaven.

I know Jesus`s character was made up of goodness, grace, compassion, justice, and mercy. I also know that it says in the Bible that Jesus has the final say on Judgement day.

If I believe in his word (the sermon on the mount.)  Then I conclude that the girls in brothels will be at the wedding feast.

What is sobering to me is the result for the man who wasted his talents, and the second half of the Beatitudes.
 

  But woe to you who are rich

  for you have had your comfort.

  Woe to you who are well fed now,

  for you will go hungry.

  Woe to you who laugh,

  for you will mourn and weep.
 

I have came to the realization that a lot of people in North America are in danger of not going to Heaven.

As by the sheer economic benefits that we enjoy in our part of the World. We are indeed like the servant who was given much, I hope that we are not burying our talents in the ground. (so to speak)

So an argument could be made that John`s life was indeed more tragic because he was given everything while he was on earth, but if he missed out on a relationship with Jesus than he may end up spending his eternity without Jesus.

Mary on the other hand was given the worst possible life while on earth. But like the thief on the cross, none of this matters because she is spending her eternity with Jesus.

I end with a question.
 

Do you know where you are going?

Larry

 

 

 

Ratanak 2014 5km Walkathon

Revelation 1 13 and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were a blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars. And out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword, His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

An artist started trying to paint this description of Jesus. After many unsuccessful attempts he gave up as he could not capture the image properly on canvass.
 
This spirit/man/saviour/Son of God surrounded the events at Erindale  Park in Mississauga June 7 2014 as we took part in the third annual Ratanak 5km walkathon.
I am in so far over my head, as I will try my best to describe the events leading up to and the actual day itself as I update this blog.

While running outside in the winter as I prepared for the upcoming Ottawa Marathon I came up with the unusual number of $20 052 as our goal. Trusty sidekick Paul who actually organizes about 80 percent of the walkathon, and gives me 100 percent of the credit came up with a neat little thermometer on our web page that would roll up each time a donation was made. 
I had no stress about reaching this goal as this goal was unrealistic for an average group of people without any major business sponsorship. I knew if this goal was to be reached it was far out of our hands and into God`s.

That is not to say I did not have my moments of  doubt. The Tuesday before the walk I felt like Peter did while walking on the water with Jesus. I started looking at the waves and wind and started sinking a bit. The thermometer was at about $8 000. My math was off a little bit in my last writing as I ran in the Ottawa Marathon, unfortunately this time it was right on. I calculated the goal was over $12 000 away with 4 days left. $3 000 dollars a day seemed impossible and yet I knew I had to trust God.

1 Samuel 13 9-13 tells the story of Saul worrying about how long Samuel was taking as Israel prepared for war.  Saul offered up the burnt offering which was only reserved for priests. Samuel appeared and chastised Saul for doing an act he was not supposed to do, the end result was Saul lost his kingdom to David.

Waiting is hard! I wanted to re email potential donors, potential sponsors, politicians, corporations, media outlets etc. And so I waited for I had a sense something was at work far greater than I or my amazing organizing team could even begin to imagine.
I shared with some people that I had a sense of when you go outside and you can feel the dampness, you sense the rain is coming although you cannot see it you feel it and you know rain is on the way.
I felt this about the event, that we were going to have something far beyond what we could ever hope for happen.

Wednesday I thought to myself how smoothly things were going on my end, in fact I was ahead of schedule. The person responsible for lending me the key for the gate at the park had responded and I had set up a meeting to pick up the key.
No frills (our sponsor) had a sale on water and I had been stockpiling water all week and had just purchased my last case.

Friday morning beautiful wife Gloria and myself picked up the rental van from Thrifty (thank you for the great price when I mentioned it was for a charity event) We then proceeded to shop for the snacks provided at the walkathon. After finishing in the fruit and vegetable section Gloria turned the cart towards the checkout. I remark "we are not finished." As I think of a friend who will go unnamed (pylon lady) and what her reaction would be at a table without some sweets.
We are home at 10.30 a.m.  I so wanted to surprise Neil Boron on his 100 mile walk from Buffalo to Mississauga and finish with him, yet I realize I am stressed and overly tired. Later on this day we have a live broadcast for WDCX 99.5 at the Twin Fish restaurant in Mississauga, starting at 3.00 p.m. Tomorrow morning is the big day, sorry Neil I choose to relax while I could.

2.40 p.m. My brother Randy calls with a question about the walkathon. I abruptly brush him off as I have somehow lost my wallet, (memories of last years lost key) and driving a rental van without my license does not seem like a good idea. I find my wallet and drive to the restaurant.

What an amazing day. Ann (the owner) is so kind and has such a servant`s heart. So many people were coming to Neil with donations. What struck me most was a lot of the donations were cash. Ratanak International is a registered Canadian charity. If a person makes a donation providing a mailing address they will be sent a receipt that can be used at the end of the year for tax purposes, also they will be sent a thank you note. When you give cash there is no record of you, and we cannot acknowledge your kindness. But like the story in the Bible of the widow who put everything into the offering. God sees and will reward you.
Two girls sing a song and give Neil the money they have raised. Neil calls me over and I am choked up a bit as they are so small that I think of what girl`s their size in Cambodia are going through at this moment.
           

Neil interviews me and I mention I saw his walk in the light of a song by the group Proclaimers 500 miles. I changed a few words but mention Neil walked 100 miles willing to take on some pain to alleviate children`s pain and Neil would have been willing to walk 100 more.
Neil had told me at another event that he had been sexually abused in his youth. I told him this walk is bringing healing to children in Cambodia, healing to himself, and will help him become a voice and example for others who have been abused to help in their healing.

Dinner is excellent! Neil wants to pay (he provides) a white ticket to hand in to the restaurant as a way of tracking whose dinner is covered by him. By the time I leave I think Neil has provided a white ticket for every person in the restaurant. What a show of generosity! Many examples of kindness and selfless giving I see this day. One stands out the most. A man walks in with a vest on, and waits patiently to speak to Neil. Neil is making the rounds and talking to everyone. Neil notices the man and starts talking to him. The man`s name is Clive, he is a truck driver, he is on a 15 minute break, and he gives up his break to drive to the restaurant and make a very generous donation. As I witnessed this I think about people telling of seeing Angels. Clive was my Angel this night.
This thought came to me the week after the walkathon. Our goal was $20 052. 
The story of the boy from the Bible with his 5 loaves and 2 fish. Jesus feeding of 5 000 men.
5km walkathon/ Twin Fish restaurant, which is again the numbers 5 and 2. Jesus showing up at a park the next day in Mississauga and totally blowing everyone away.

At home I check, recheck my lists of duties for the next day. I make a big mistake by turning on the computer, as I check my emails I see a friend has had trouble donating to my participant name. I click on the 5km website to try and solve this problem and see the thermometer sits at over $25 000. I am so overjoyed I have trouble sleeping this night.

Saturday of the event. I wake up early pick up my brother Peter and arrive at the park. Paul is going over all the plans for the registration. Being the only runner in our core group I take Pete and start the process of marking the course. 8.10 a.m. I drive my Mother and sister Linda to set up the water station which is the turnaround point 2.5 kms from the start.

I arrive back into the parking lot and am overwhelmed by how many people I see in line. 8.45 I find Paul through the masses and tell him "we cannot possibly start at 9.00 let me know what time you want to start?" Paul tells me a politician is looking for me.
I invited three politicians, two confirmed, and one showed up.
Wladyslaw Lizon is his name (please don`t ask me to pronounce his name again.) I have butchered it at least twice publicly. Wladyslaw shakes my hand says some very complimentary things.  Not being camera shy he poses for a few pictures. Wladyslaw paid for his registration and even purchased a Not Forgotten shirt.

Wladyslaw invited me to run the Army half marathon run in Ottawa in September to support wounded soldiers, and told me to send him information on our event (as soon as possible) as he was going to try to mention the walkathon in the House of Commons. Later that night Jessika sends me the information and I pass it on not thinking much about it.

As I reflected back upon these moments I wonder. I picked the Ottawa Marathon for the reason my family had never been to Ottawa and I try to reward them for the amount of time that they lose their father as he trains for a marathon, with a family visit to a City we have never been to. I wonder did the prayers offered up to protect me as I ran on this course prepare Wladyslaw`s heart? Did my families walking outside the building he delivered this speech set something in motion? Did my running down the street across from The Parliament building in pain, and struggling to finish this race shake something loose in a world I cannot see?
I will never know.
Imagine my surprise coming home from work Tuesday and opening this link.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=495635023869943

Another person I met was a principal from a school in Mississauga. She brought a organization to her school (Girls on the run) to help Grade 6 to 8 girls with their self esteem and also to learn how to run a 5km race. Unfortunately a girl in this group was having a birthday party the same day of our event and many of the members attended the party. The principal handed me a cheque and I remember my original thought for this day was "young girls in Canada walking/running for young girls in Cambodia who cannot." Next year I hope to have this organization use our 5km walkathon as the day of their event.

9.30 Mary calls the people towards me where I am to explain some rules and thank them for their participation. The crowd is huge the megaphone is not to my liking so I try to shout. Neil being an experienced radio guy tells me to stand on a picnic table. I thank everyone for coming tell them of the pink thread that I tied last year to a tree as a symbol of young girl`s and their innocence, and my belief that event`s like today may not give them back this lost innocence but can at the very least bring them healing, and a new start in life. I tell them the money from today will go to the Ratanak Achievement Program (RAP) which is a program Ratanak funds. All of the girls in this program have faced much abuse. In September five of these girls entered University. I relate how four young ladies in Cambodia all in this program, in the last week have been deemed healed enough to be reintegrated back into society. I finish with a quote someone left on my donor page late the night before.
"Larry as you pound out those running steps, remember it is the pounding of the little hearts of those children that you are setting free from Bondage-- Go with God.

Neil then gets up on the picnic table and talks about many things and how he has been brought healing from his past abuse. A picture comes to mind and I see the actual act of abusing a child. It is so ugly, so vile, so degrading, so evil.
The many years of pain and suffering that affects some victims well into their adult years. I think of a song The Broken Beautiful and how only God could take what has happened to Neil and use it in a way that brings healing to many. Truly Beautiful!

As Neil was talking I thought of how I first came to know of Ratanak International. Eight years ago Lisa Cheong spoke in my church about young children sold into a life of sexual slavery in Cambodia. Something broke within me as she spoke. Lisa mentioned Isaiah 61 1-3 as her vision.

 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
    to preach good news to the poor.
    He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted,
    to proclaim freedom for the captives
    and release from darkness for the prisoners,
    to comfort all who mourn
3  and provide for those who grieve in Zion
    to bestow on them a crown of beauty
    instead of ashes,
    the oil of gladness
    instead of mourning
    and a garment of praise
    instead of the spirit of despair.
Today I believe Lisa`s vision is being fulfilled in Cambodia as we participate in Mississauga.   

I call the participants to the start line and am again overwhelmed by the crowd. A group of people start singing:
Let my people go!
Let my people go!
Let my people go!

I think of our walk compared to a military march. A walk is very calm, not impressive, or threatening, or intimidating. Yet as Moses walked across the Red Sea, as Martin Luther King Jr. walked for equality. Holding a child in slavery to be abused over and over again is the worst thing a human can do to another. We have one Cambodian person present that I know of, and yet this evil has united many who do not know each other from many different backgrounds in the belief that walking in this park will make a difference.
We walk enjoying our freedom, thinking of others who are not free.
We walk today and demand of evil people and the evil one satan himself. LET OUR PEOPLE GO!

The rest of the morning is kind of a blur. Our generous sponsors have donated amazing prizes which is a fun way to wrap up the day seeing those participants who have given of their time and money getting excited about the prospect of winning something.

I wish I could end this blog with the final numbers of participants and the total amount of donations yet I have a story to tell that happened away from the park, a story I am not proud of.

My responsibilities were over, it was about 7.30 p.m. I had purchased my dinner and was driving home looking forward to three things. One eating, two relaxing, three checking the website to see the final amount of money raised.
As I drove home something like scene from a bad movie occurred right in front of me. A young girl between the ages of 1 and 2 years old stepped down from the curb and walked directly into a busy street with four lanes of traffic. I scanned the sidewalk to look for a parent and saw no one.
Myself and two other cars pulled over. Another man got to the girl first, picked her up and carried her safely to the sidewalk.
We all were shaking, the woman were sobbing.
A neighbour came out and told us this happens all the time, her parents do not seem to care. One lady called the police and we waited.

The girls Mother came 15 minutes after we saw her daughter in the street. We told her the police had told us make sure she was to wait there for the police to talk to her.
The police came, took statements, thanked us and sent us on our way.

In the car I was angry at God for allowing me to see this scene play out. My thoughts "Why God why? Why today? Why now of all times? Can I not have one day without seeing a young girl who probably has a bleak future ahead of her?  Why show me this now?As I thought of what trouble awaited a young girl with no one to watch out for her. 
I want to go home and remember the sights, the sounds, the feel, and the taste of this amazing event today. I give you all the credit and glory for today`s success. But why now? Why today God?

Mark Buchanan says we rage at God loud and boisterous. He goes on to say God answers in a still, small voice.
Monday morning I think these thoughts.
 
When is it a good time to rescue a child? When you have the time? When you are not too busy? When you are not too slow? When you are not too happy? When you are not too sad?
This child was sent your way on this day at this time to be rescued.
It is always the right time to rescue a child!

In closing we had 300 participants. $41 598 was raised, $42 less than $42 000 which is a great number for a guy who uses Larry42km as a nickname.

June ? 2015 where will you be? Why not join us?

Wladyslaw`s words in the House of Commons.
"What a wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning with uplifting people who are there to raise much needed funds but also to raise the spirits of children so far away. It is a true privilege to support organizations like Ratanak whose work changes people`s lives."

It is always the right time to rescue a child.

Larry





 

2014 Ottawa Marathon Blood Sweat And Tears

While picking up my race bib for the recent Ottawa Marathon race a volunteer asked if I was superstitious? I was given an unusual number 1717 and I suppose he figured I may not like it. I actually really liked having this number.
5kmwalkathon.com 
Participants information Larry52

Lining up to start the race I think of a theme that started three weeks ago. A man who donates every year prayed for me "that I run fast." As he prayed I actually smirked and thought to myself "my fast or what my daughter Isabella would consider fast?"
The day before the race I received many emails wishing me luck. A friend from work encouraged me and said "Larry hope you fly the whole 42km."
A radio host from Buffalo (Hi Neil) told me he "was praying for me, and also added that I had to make sure I win the race for my daughter."

Today I will try to qualify for The 2015 Boston Marathon, which is the only marathon you have to run a qualifying time to be allowed to participate. For me this year my qualifying time is 3 hours 25 minutes, next year it would be 3 hours 30 minutes. The biggest rewards sometimes come with the biggest risks so I will try to strike a balance of running as fast as I can for as long as I can while trying to make sure I still have enough energy left to finish this race.

Today I changed my outfit a bit. The camouflage shorts remain the same. I believe black does attract the Sun so I have traded my old black shirt for a new white one, which was purchased at a lulu lemon. Not a store that is used to customers such as myself I am sure.

Bruce Cockburn
"But nothing worth having comes without some kind of fight.
Got to kick at the darkness until it bleeds daylight."
I feel that the five marathons I have ran have been for the purpose of going into the darkness to help children, today if I finish my sixth marathon I believe I will bring a child  from the darkness into the light.
The start is uneventful as I line up further back than where I am supposed to hoping to avoid going out too fast.

5km I run past many four feet traffic pylons set up to guide the runners, and I cannot help but contrast these with the ones we used at the first Ratanak 5km walkathon, and hopefully never have to use again, sorry Janice.

7km I see a young boy holding his hand out by the side of the road  to high five approaching runners. I see his eyes light up as I touch his hand and think he doesn`t know who I am, for all he knows he just high fived a famous runner.
A wise Pastor friend of mine talks often about "visible reality" and "spiritual reality." Today my body is running up the streets of Ottawa. Many times today my mind  will end up somewhere else.

As I touched hands with the young boy in Ottawa. I think of a young boy in Cambodia. My passion is for the girls who are abused, yet I have been told sometimes it is a harder road for the boys to recover. I pray that a young boy in Cambodia is freed from the hands of his abuser at this exact moment.

9km I pass a store with the name Larry loans and jewellery. I am in a funny mood today for I think of those cheesy commercials with the guy singing "I`m the cash man." and picture myself as him.

10 km I hoped to be at       47 minutes
                         I am at       45 minutes 10 seconds
Around The Bay I was at   48 minutes 13 seconds

17 km I am starting to get discouraged. This happens every marathon at some point, sometimes it is earlier than this, if you are fortunate it happens later.
The reason for the discouragement is that the pain is starting to take over as well as the feeling of being very tired. Mentally you think I have run 17 km I am very tired and I still have 25km to go. 
I started looking forward to the 32 km mark as usually by then you figure out you only have 10 km left and you start thinking you are going to make it.

21.1 km mark Halfway point
I hoped to be at 1 hour 40 minutes. 
I  am at              1 hour 38 minutes 6 seconds

27 km A lady in Quebec holds up a sign that makes me laugh it reads "you are running better than our government."

28 km I run onto a street named Princess Avenue and think of the story I was sent a few years ago from a friend in Cambodia. Some girls from the NewSong center in Cambodia who were victims of abuse went to California to testify to help convict a man from The United States. On a day off from the trial they were taken to Disney and dressed up as the Disney Princesses.

29 km Running up my usual side of the road, the left. A six inch piece of circular wire left on the road by the recent construction (I believe) catches my left foot like a snare and I go down very hard.
Isabella my daughter uses the word "dag nabbit" when she is upset, I cannot tell you the word that came out of my mouth but it was not this one.
Another runner comes over to see if I am okay. I jump up right away as lying on the asphalt with over 9 000 runners in a race may be worse than falling in the first place.
I look at my scraped hands and think of the one whose hands were pierced for me.
I resume running and think this is going to be an interesting finish.

30 km I hoped to be at  2 hours 25 minutes
                         I am at  2 hours 22 minutes 24 seconds
    A.T.B. race I was at  2 hours 26 minutes 15 seconds

31 km I notice a stinging pain from my left arm and look at my left forearm
      

I also notice a sharp pain from my right quadriceps muscle that is causing me to limp a bit (I believe a bruise caused in the fall) 

32 km I think a few thoughts at this time these are some of them. I think if I run another marathon I am going to take my nutrition during training more serious. I have had people tell me I am crazy for running marathons, but I thought of the people who do more than one a year and they are really crazy. After today I am going to take a very long break.
I am so discouraged at this moment. I know time heals all wounds and eventually I will forget some of the emotions I was feeling. I know my stride has changed, I have the usual pain associated with running a marathon, and now the fall has added pain in spots usually not associated with running. I would love to just stop and go lie down somewhere but I know I cannot.


33 km This is a picture taken of a statue around Parliament Hill.
I was struck by this and Gloria took a picture of it with my two daughter`s and myself on it. This is my first thoughts of the statue. I saw myself as the man on the top he is looking ahead, oblivious of the figure below him. The figure below him is looking up, hand held out, hoping for help that may never come. The figure on the bottom is a child in Cambodia stuck in slavery, waiting, hoping, desperately wanting to be rescued. It took me 40 years to look down and notice the child underneath but knowing this child exists brought me here today.

34 km Every step is becoming a bit harder. As I look at this marker I try to do a little math to encourage myself. I figure I have 8 km left and on my worst day I should be able to average a little over 5 minutes a km or 8 minutes a mile. I usually am very good at math, not at this point. For I multiplied 8 km by 8 minutes instead of the 5 I should have. Instead of the 40 minutes I had left which would have encouraged me I thought I had 64 minutes left and was overwhelmed once again and wondered how I was going to be able to run this long.

36 km As I approached the statue above up close I had other thoughts. I noticed the figure on the bottom was not as small as I thought it was, in fact it was far larger than my daughter`s or myself. Also it was watching the man on top who was looking out on the horizon. What I also didn`t notice until I was close up was that this figure carried an enormous sword that`s handle was larger than my legs. I thought of myself again as the man on the top of the statue. Now that I know of the children in need I am scanning the horizon looking for any and every opportunity I can to make a difference in their lives. The figure on the bottom is a mighty Angel, he is sent to protect me and my family. He is watching me to see if danger is approaching, at other times he clears paths for me to follow. His sword is not for show it is used for protection and battle.

My whole right side of my leg is starting to really hurt as I believe by changing my stride I am putting more stress on the other muscles on this side, especially my right calf.
My wry sense of humour seems to still be intact despite my challenges as I thought if the figure on the statue wants me to finish this race he might have to run behind me and prod me with his sword.

42.2 km I run over the finish line and am so relieved that I finished this race. I always say I run for the exploited children in Cambodia this year I have collected money in advance and I thank God I have never had to give any money back because I could not finish a marathon. I ran 3 hours 26 minutes 12 seconds. I am 1 minute over a Boston Qualifying time. I am mildly disappointed but this does not last long as I see my beautiful family waiting for me.
The blood you saw, the sweat is very evident because Gloria is the only one willing to put her arm around me. The tears came at the moment I saw the family I Love and know, Glo, Kiki, and Izzy. They make sacrifices that allow me to help a family that I don`t see, but also Love. The exploited children in Cambodia are this family.

If people want to come out and walk on June 7 the website is below.
If people care to make a donation 
my participants information is 
Larry52
5kmwalkathon.com

Larry


5kmwalkathon.com

Doing What Is Right

I stumbled across a quote from Martin Luther King Jr.
Cowardice asks the question, is it safe?
Expediency asks the question, is it political?
But conscience asks the question, is it right?
And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor political, nor popular.
One must take it because it is right.

A gift from a friend I wear on my left wrist. The words Isaiah 1:17 are always in front of me.
Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the case of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

Doing what is right can lead us to frightening and very dark places.
In my last race I ran past a symbol of darkness. A man dressed as The Grim Reaper stood beside a cemetery. A lady who ran this race was offended and she wrote "why the Grim Reaper, why not a cuddly Angel?"

As I thought of her question I saw a lot of my generations attitude towards big picture issues represented in her question.

Cuddly Angel issues are the issues our Governments, major Corporations, famous stars, and a majority of our everyday people involve themselves in. This issues receive a lot of publicity, and tons of funding. These issues do not involve people.

Grim Reaper issues always involve people. The hardest ones to deal with and to effect change involve children.
Children dying of A.I.D.S.
Children dying for lack of nutrition, water, or basic medical care.
Child Soldiers, and the sexual exploitation of Children for profit come to mind.


Doing right in my life has been dedicating a spring marathon to the exploited children in Cambodia as a means of raising funding and awareness. This picture is from the  Boston 2011 Marathon.

I run marathons to support a not for profit organization Ratanak International.

I run marathons to raise awareness for the more than two million girls worldwide who are forced into prostitution.

I run marathons to show my daughters that nothing is impossible, and that it is never okay to give up. Nothing and no one should stop us from pursuing a dream.

I run marathons because I can. The girls I run for sometimes can`t walk.

I run marathons because my father always told me "one man can make a difference." Running marathons has allowed me to try and be that man.

I run marathons because now that I`ve started, I can`t see myself stopping.

When I run marathons the pain I experience is temporary, but it reminds me of the pain these girls must bear. And the marathon training, in a very small way, reminds me of the girls everyday struggles.

Running an actual marathon is the most lonely, hopeless, and discouraging experience I can willingly suffer. Yet I know the girls I run for would love to trade places with me.

I run marathons because when my life is over the knowledge that many girls may have had a new chance at life will mean more to me than any title, position, or money I could earn.

Doing what is right is a long term commitment that at time bears little fruit.
The children I advocate for I may never meet. They may never be free.
I run marathons with no promise or certainty that my dream of the sexual exploitation of young children in Cambodia will end in my lifetime.

Last year I finished The Cleveland Marathon by running up Martin Luther King Jr. road, one of more than 700 such streets in America named after him.
Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated before his dream ever occurred, yet today Barak Obama is The President of The United States.

So if my dream is not fulfilled in my lifetime, maybe my children will see the day, or if not maybe their children.
So until that day I do what most people who run marathons do.
I keep running, one step at a time, never looking too far ahead, never looking too far behind.
I deal with life issues as they come and keep running, looking forward to the day my dream is realized.
For those who may want to make a donation.
click on 5kmwalkathon.com
My  participants name is Larry52

Larry

Not Today Grim Reaper Not Today

I realize this unique title might bring people to read my blog who would otherwise have different tastes. For those of you who mention I write too long the story of Mr Reaper is near the end.
After a week vacation I am back in Canada, refreshed and ready.
The 5km walkathon to benefit exploited children in Cambodia at Erindale Park in Mississauga on June 7 is less than two months away. We had our first donation $52, people who have visited the website (5kmwalkathon.com) know the significance of this number.
A serious minded power lifter from a Gym I used to belong to had a shirt that said "shut up and lift."
I am approximately six weeks away from my spring marathon and it is time for me to take the next month or so to "shut up and run."

March 29 I am in my house and anxiety overwhelms me for tomorrow I will attempt a 30 km race named The Around The Bay in Hamilton.

A series of "what if" questions start. What if I cannot finish? What if I am injured and cannot run my upcoming spring marathon? What if there is traffic and I miss the race? What if I am injured and have to miss or at least ruin part of my upcoming family vacation? These thoughts go on and on, this is one of the many differences between a race and a training run. I wonder why are my questions always so negative? Why can`t I ask positive questions? What if I run a personal best? What if the run seems too easy?

In 2012 I ran the same race in a time of 2 hours 26 minutes 22 seconds, keeping with tradition my anxiety probably keeps me from sleeping this much the night before I run.
The drive to Hamilton is uneventful and not for the first, and hopefully not for the last I am grateful for my tired supporters. My beautiful wife and two beautiful daughters have accompanied me.

The start of the race is uneventful and I am very calm as I walk to the starting line.

Keeping with tradition I pray as my father did at my first marathon "Lord may I run for your Glory."
I wondered what or who I would think about as I run.

2 km mark A young woman holds up a sign that makes me laugh. Her sign says "smile remember you paid to do this." I think to myself that sign would be better later on in the race.

3 km mark I think of a story I heard from my mentor recently. A young woman who had been victimized as a child in Cambodia had been rescued. After working her way through a couple of programs to help with her healing she had moved to another program designed to continue healing for the young woman of this program but also to help teach them skills to reintegrate themselves into society.
This woman had left the program telling my mentor that the pain the men had inflicted upon her she could deal with as she could disassociate herself from her time in the brothels. The pain involved in her healing process she could not take at the present time, it hurt her too much to deal with her past.
A sad statement, a sad moment for myself after hearing her story.

I dedicate this run to her.

5 km mark the wind gusts of 55 km/hr have been against me the whole race and running around Hamilton Harbour with the unblocked wind against me is going to be a big challenge.

7 km mark we are running up one side of a blocked off highway. A five foot median of concrete separates the runners from cars going the opposite way on the same highway. What is not blocked off is the little pebbles that these cars tires are shooting over the barriers directly into the runners, more than once I have to close my eyes to prevent rocks from entering them.

10 km mark I pass over the first timing mat.
In 2012 I ran this stretch in 47 minutes and 37 seconds. I see my time is 48 minutes 13 seconds and I say out loud "too slow" I am already off a Boston Marathon qualifying (B.Q.) pace, and I am very discouraged as I think of the challenges of some big hills later on in the race.

12 km mark I pass a man wearing a shirt with the name "Buffalo triathlon club" displayed. I am encouraged as I think of Neil Boron of WDCX Buffalo and all his listeners who have supported Ratanak International in the past. I look forward to receiving more of the same support in the weeks leading up to the walkathon.

15 km mark I pass the second timing mat.
In 2012 I was at 1 hour 11 minutes 21 seconds, this year I am at 1 hour 11 minutes 53 seconds, despite the wind and my earlier discouragement I am closing the gap on my previous race and I am now under a B.Q. pace.

20 km mark I pass the last timing mat until the finish line.
In 2012 I was at I hour 35 minutes 56 seconds, this year I am at 1 hour 36 minutes 7 seconds.
Pleasantly I am surprised that I seem to be getting faster as the race goes on. Mentally I prepare myself for the next 10 kms of hills which are equally as tough as the hills in the Boston Marathon.

24 km mark a small person is by the side of the road, I read in an  magazine article that he is there every race. He has a stereo system as tall as himself and plays music from the rock band Queen. I high five him as the exact same song as the last time I ran blares at me. As I start up the biggest hill of the race the words "we will we will rock you" follow me.

Words from the group named The Band Perry

If I Die young

If I die young, bury me in satin
Lay me down on a bed of roses
Sink me in the river at dawn
Send me away with the words of a love song

Lord make me a rainbow, I`ll shine down on the others
They`ll know I`m safe with you
When they stand under my colors
And I`ll be wearing white, when I come into your kingdom

I realize that the young woman I dedicated this race to, abuse at such a young age has taken her spirit away I see how it can be like a death.
Tears well up in my eyes and I yell out "He will He will crush you!"  I think of the words from Genesis 3 vs 15 talking about how the serpent will strike at Jesus`s heal but Jesus will one day step on and crush the serpent`s head.
The wind picks up again and I wryly think to myself can`t the wind at least let up on this hill?

27 km mark the hill is finished and I see an act of kindness in the running community. A fellow runner lost his balance and fell down crossing a bridge, immediately two other runners picked him up and set him back on his feet. I thought of some of the events of the past two weeks I had attended. A community of like minded people who care and try to help the exploited children in Cambodia had gathered. I had trouble leaving these events as there was so much positive energy present.
I think of a Margaret Mead quote "never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it`s the only thing that ever has."

28 km I see his shadow, yes the grim reaper (a man wearing a costume) is back, standing across from the cemetery. Last race I was startled by him and actually had harsh words for him as some people falter near the end of a race and I thought the last thing they need to see is this guy saying "I see dead runners." Like the small person this man is part of the tradition of this race and I think to myself death is not always a bad thing. Death to sin, death to illness, death to abuse, death to greed, death to exploitation, death to death itself are all good things and one day will exist in a new kingdom in which the girls I run for will enter.
I high five the grim reaper and say "Not today!"

 

I enter Copps Coliseum and cross the finish line.
In 2012 I finished in 2 hours 26 minutes 22 seconds.
In 2014 I finished in 2 hours 26 minutes 15 seconds.
Despite the wind which was against the runners for 25 of the 30 km, despite a really bad start I improved by 7 seconds and if I am able to keep up this pace for a full marathon Boston 2015 would be a possibility.

I look over at my "familia" and pound my Heart and point to them. They willingly allow me to take the selfish pursuit of long distance running to try to make something beautiful come about. They lose hours of sleep for the races, as well as hours of quality time with their father leading up to a race. They have never complained once.

And as I view their lives I realize actions may indeed speak louder than words.
My wife is involved in a form of counselling, once she told me "the stories I hear you could not handle." She is right, I heard one story of abuse that gave me a sleepless night.
In the weeks leading up to the race one daughter wrote a monologue of a free girl taken into a life of slavery and how the girl would feel. The other daughter picked the topic Child Soldiers for her speech at school.

The what if questions have all been answered. I am not injured and familia we trade ice packs for ice cubes, road salt for ocean salt. Yes tomorrow we will go to Punta Cana for a family vacation.
I was most looking forward to trading my bath tub filled with epsom salt for my healing, to God`s bathtub of salt for healing, the Ocean.

 

Larry