Mark Graham’s Blog

3.9.11

March 9, 2011

mark graham…It’s been raining like crazy today.  My yard resembles a swamp at this point.  The tiny creek next to my house actually has water in it.  As I watch it rain I can’t help but think that we will use all of this water for drinking, bathing, watering our yards, etc.  We can because we have a way to turn it in to something pure.  I continue to look back on that moment I witnessed a man drink straight from a dirty puddle.  I was taken back but he went about it as if it were normal.

I think back to the truck rides we took and the creeks we drove past.  They were  overflowing with trash and waste.  The smell was overwhelming.  It took your breath away and yet people were out there with buckets gathering water.  They were using it to wash their clothes.  This was their normal.  It was far from my normal.  That’s not something we have to see everyday.  We wouldn’t stand for that here and yet others around the world have to deal with daily.  It is time that we stood together and took action so that others might have the same  luxury we have, clean water.

3.8.11

March 8, 2011

mark graham…When the cholera outbreak hit Haiti, I couldn’t help but think…this could have been prevented.  Water born illnesses can be prevented if we could only get people the proper filters and sanitation.  So many deaths that could have been avoided.  As a father now my view on the world has changed.  I can’t imagine the pain those parents went through as they lost children to cholera.  My heart breaks for those people and at the same time my passion to do something ignites.  I can’t continue to wait for others to get involved.  I have to do my part, so if that means running a race, then that’s what I am going to do.  If that will get people to contribute toward Haiti, then it’s more than worth it.  If it will make the world aware of a devastating problem, then I have to do it.

Join us: post www.runmarkrun.com as your status and post it all over twitter.  Spread the word, contribute.  We can’t do this without the help from others.

3.7.11

March 7, 2011

mark graham…We just had our first team meeting for our Haiti trip last night.  The room was just buzzing with eager anticipation as we launched in to the day to day details of what we were going to be doing.  The students sat and soaked in all the info I was throwing at them.  We have a team of 20 and most of the are high school students, which is awesome!  They have a heart to love on the people of Haiti.  A few of them are going back for a second time, but most for the first.

It’s hard to prepare them for all they will get to experience.  The sights, sounds, smells, people.  There is so much to take in.  It can be overwhelming from the moment you walk off the plane.  But there is something that stuck out to me after my first trip…hope.  So many of the people I met had hope. They smiled.  They had joy.  It was embedded in my mind.  I can remember leaving the country after that trip thinking to myself…I have got to do something to help beyond my time spent on a trip.

Thus my jump to be a part of runmarkrun.com.  I can’t be in Haiti all the time but I can do this.  I can work to mobilize people and resources to help the people of Haiti.  So please consider joining us.

3.4.11

March 4, 2011

My knee is back and ready for action.  Taking some down time has really helped.  I did a short run yesterday and I actually think it helped get rid of the remaining inflammation.  No pain and ready to run.  I will start picking back up my miles in the next week.

God has really been bringing things together in our church and it is amazing to see how he has been working over the last few weeks and months to line it all up.  I continue to pray that he would use us to impact our community for his glory.  Exciting stuff.

This Sunday will be our first Haiti mission team meeting.  We have a team of 20 heading down in April to set up a Neighbors Project for Northwest Haiti.  Our students are getting pumped as the date approaches.  Keep our team in your prayers as we prepare.

3.1.11

March 1, 2011

Overtrained…This past week or so I have put in way too many miles running and now have a knee that doesn’t appreciate it.  It has been my warning light for the past few years that tells me when it’s time to slow down a bit.  So I am taking a few days off from running to let it recover.  No worries though.