Run The Date down under
I work for Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF). We serve in
Africa, Papua New Guinea and Northern Australia. Our unique role is to
transport partner organisations, medicines, freight, people and emergency
medical evacuations to and from remote communities.
The pilots, engineers and back office staff are a mixture of
national staff from each country and missionaries from other ‘resource groups’.
Those from the UK are required to raise their own living costs as MAF raises
money for the planes, fuel and hangars.
Each person is required to raise between £20,000 &
£25,000 per year depending on their circumstances. My job is to help them to do
this. The money comes from asking friends and family to give a regular amount
every month. In this way they too can be involved in bringing help, hope and
healing to people in need.
One of the families based in Mareeba, Australia are the
Cousley family from Northern Ireland. Glenn is an engineer and keeps our planes
flying. His son Joshua (16) is a keen runner and very good at it too, often
finishing on the podium in local events.
When he heard about my Run The Date Challenge he asked if he
could join in - running on the other side of the world, in km rather than
miles. I have been so encouraged by his enthusiasm and willingness to partner
with me.
My hope is that this Challenge won’t just be a personal
achievement, although it is that; not just a fundraiser for a great cause close
to my heart, it is that too; but also will inspire others to find their own
challenge and achieve something beyond what they thought possible, whether
running related or not.
