Dear Friends and Family,
On Saturday, 26th Sept 09, I am traveling to Bute Park, Cardiff to participate in a 5k Big Fun Run along with friend Corinne Perry. Over the summer I have been trying to lose the baby weight (I´ve lost 24lbs!) and get fit by running. I was lacking motivation (running is really really hard!) and I realized that a good cause and a challenge was the way to go. So I enrolled for the Cardiff Big fun run (www.bigfunrun.com) and chose to run for Mercy Ships (www.mercyships.org.uk), an awe-inspiring and fantastic charity.
Started in 1878, Mercy Ships is an international Christian charity that takes decommissioned ocean liners and turns them into floating hospitals, manned by volunteer doctors, nurses, dentists, engineers and ordinary folk they travel around the coast of developing countries, performing life-changing operations and working in communities to provide free water, medical supplies and education and lots lots more.
I found out about Mercy Ships from my friend Maureen, who experienced the miracles of Mercy Ships first-hand last year when she volunteered for a month on one of the ships. From her amazing tales and photos, I have seen the much good that this charity does and I feel honored to run for them!
So please, if you can, help me to raise money for this charity that changes lives.
Running is still a new phenomenon for me, so 5k will be a challenge! But knowing I am doing it for this wonderful cause shall spur me on to the finish line!
Many thanks and love
Claire
ps.
Here is the true story of one changed life thanks to Mercy Ships (as a mother this made my heart melt):
Blind and deaf from birth as a result of Rubella, Baby Sah finds mercy and sees her mother for the first time...
IN SILENT DARKNESS
An operating table. High-tech instruments all around. In the middle of
the table: a baby girl. She is two years old but is so tiny that she
could easily be six months. This little girl is deaf, her chart also
indicates she has a heart murmur and she is blind. That’s a lot of
complications for one little girl. But today, Mercy Ships ophthalmic
surgeon Russell Leavitt is removing a cataract from her right eye
following similar surgery on her left eye a few days earlier.
The baby girl’s name is Sah, a likely victim of rubella during foetal development.
That was last week. Today, comfortably perched on her mother’s lap, Sah is surrounded by a cluster of intrigued family and friends. Rushing into the small dimly lit hut from the surrounding fields and farms, villagers are arriving in their droves. Fresh red Liberian soil clings to their clothes and feet. Excitement fills the air: Sah is safely home, and the people want to hear the whole story.
FOR THE FIRST TIME, THEIR EYES MET
“When I heard the news about a free operation with Mercy Ships I just
knew I had to go,” says Sah’s mother, Bendu. “Everyone in the village
told me not to go, out of fear of the unknown, but I knew God was in
control and I trusted Him. The Mercy Ship is an answer to prayer.”
Bendu smiles when she thinks again about their experience onboard the Mercy Ship. “My daughter had a cataracts removed from her eyes. After each patch was removed she could see. She was blind and is deaf but now she can see objects in front of her. When I gaze into her eyes, there is this knowing look that just says Thank you”.
YOU SHOULD SEE HER GAZING
Bendu waves a balloon in front of Sah’s face — she reaches out to grab
it. Sah is already making fast progress in the way she moves and
interacts with other people. We all know how fast children learn!
Sah may never be able to hear, but Bendu’s excitement over her daughter’s improved vision is evident. This was more than mere surgery at work. Sah’s world has been changed, from a universe of darkness to a world where she is able now to see, play with other children or simply look into her mother’s eyes. Things are indeed looking up.
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Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now.
