Run4Justice Weekend

Last Friday, Andy picked me up from work with supper to go, and we headed to Dallas for a Stars game. For those of you that don't know, the Dallas Stars are an NHL hockey team. They played the Chicago Blackhawks, which has a former Sioux player on the team (Jonathan Toews). It was a great game that went into overtime, and then a shootout after that. I have never been to a professional game of any kind, so it was a lot of fun!

Each hand print represents 1,000 children

On Saturday, Andy ran a 5K that was called Run4Justice, and was associated with the church we have been attending. They were raising money for a cause called  IJM (International Justice Mission) to help put a stop to human trafficking. It was an incredible turnout, with over 2000 participants. I'm sure everyone is wondering how many poor souls had to eat my dust that day as I sprinted past them, but I forgot my running shoes at home and unfortunately wasn't able to show off my mad cardio skills. (Hopefully you all know that I'm lying.) I hope to run some events in the future just to say I did it, but I am horrible. I would also prefer to have a partner in crime with the same mindset, so if anyone is up for that job position let me know! :) For now I'll stick to being a cheerleader for the participants. The day was sunny and a little chilly, but overall beautiful. Andy's knee has been bothering him lately, but he still did very well and placed 8th! Thanks to all that donated for the day, every little bit helps get these kiddos out of bad situations.

The other side of the wall....

The event focused on raising money for the trafficking going on currently in Cambodia. They work in various countries throughout the world, but the church has sent groups to Cambodia the past several years, giving them a heart to reach that area of the world. They had an 80 foot 'wall' set up with the background of Cambodia, and what is going on there with human trafficking, as well as what is being done after these children are rescued. It was extremely powerful and humbling, knowing that every day, 30,000 children in Cambodia are going through these awful scenarios. They had pictures of the brothels, and of the actual rooms these little girls are forced to stay in, while men pay to have sex with them throughout each day. Most of these girls are elementary and middle school aged. They could be your daughters, nieces, or granddaughters. IJM actually goes into these brothels, collect evidence, and team up with local law enforcement to bust the brothel owners and pimps, as well as the pedophiles, and save the little girls. One organization that they team up with for recovery is AIM (Agape International Missions), who do an incredible job trying to give these children back some of their childhood, by showing them the love of God, allowing them to have fun, counseling them, and safely integrating them back into the community when they are ready. Check out their websites by clicking on the blue links, it will be worth your time.

Over $133,000 were raised for the race! It was very cool to see how family's came together for the event, as well as how involved the youth were. It seemed that the whole church formed a giant team to help bring these children justice on the other side of the globe.