Tuesday, September 18, 2012

International students in a mud run


So here's a fun fact about Little Sis: 

Over a year ago my husband and I got the opportunity to invite 3 Asian boys into our home as host students.  These boys are in high school and a part of a non-profit organization that brings international students into Christian homes, where they live life while getting an American education.  The goal of this company is to place students into Christian homes where they get life on life discipleship and learn about God.  Then they go on to get a degree at an American University and they are launched out into marketplaces in their country where they can lead as Christ believing business men and women.  It has been an amazing experience and we have had the boys for one full year, and just started our second year with them.  Anyways, I wanted to share their first experience at a mud run this past weekend! 




This past weekend, we did a really fun activity with some of the boys in the Leadership International Program.  
In the days leading up to the event we showed our boys many videos of what we wanted them to do, and we told them great stories.  Either way we told them they would have to get up at 8a.m. on a Saturday morning to either come watch us participate, or they could be a part of it themselves.  Finally we persuaded them to have some fun with us.   This was no ordinary fun though, and since last semester they freaked out about carving pumpkins, and having to stick their hand in the pumpkin goo to gut it out, this was definitely a stretch for them.
On the morning of September 8th, we loaded the car with friends and family and headed to Abilene’s Seabee Park to participate in the Big Country Mudslinger Fun Run together.  This event was put on as a fundraiser for the local non-profit organization Abilene Youth Sports Authority.
We went out there and started the race at 9:30am.  We took Evans Choi, our senior student that has been a part of our family since August 2012, Steven Qin, our junior student, with us since August 2011, and Juno Wong, a senior student who has spent a lot of time with us, but is a host son to another family.  (Our other host son had to take the ACT).  We started the race each going at our own pace and we had a blast.  If you are wondering why I said that this would be challenging for our students, it was not just that they had committed to running a 3.1 mile run, but that throughout the 3 miles we were trudging, sliding, swimming, and falling through West Texas mud.
We all had a blast!  Throughout the run there were walls to climb over, logs hanging above mud puddles that you had to balance on, there was a huge slip-n-slide down a hill, and other fun and challenging obstacles that you had to achieve to finish the race.  The best obstacle was the 25 foot long mud pit that you had to crawl through to get to the finish line! It was great seeing the surprised looks on the boys’ faces as they were covered in red mud, taking photos as a family. 

It was a wonderful experience for our whole family, and I am so thankful that the boys participated with us.  I know that it was a new and challenging opportunity for them, but they did have fun.  Plus I love being able to instill fun and healthy-living into them as they live life with our family.  Needless to say, after that weekend I had double the laundry to do, and we had to get the car cleaned inside and out from all the mud! 

Also another fun fact about this weekend is that I got to do this race with my mom! It was just a fun thing to get to experience with her! It was only her second ever 5K, and it was great! Also, my 6 year old nephew joined in at the last minute! It was so fun to do this with them, and I know this will be a memory that he will have forever! He had a blast and did awesome! 



Love my mom!! 

-Little Sis

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