Early one Saturday morning this last November 40 elementary students gathered in a park to run. These children were from the Christian Academy in Japan and had come to run to raise money for wheelchairs. They had already gone to their parents, friends, and neighbors and gathered promises of a donation for every 500 meter lap they ran, and now they were eager to start. I was there to cheer them on knowing that young children could not run very far for very long and would need much encouragement. Before the run Ms. Ellison again explained they were running for Jesus; they were using their healthy legs to raise funds for wheelchairs to give to those in another country who aren窶冲 so fortunate to have legs that can run. Then they were off.
Seeing the small legs on those tiny kids and seeing how fast they took off running I was sure some would make 2 or maybe 3 laps, then rest for 15 minutes and then maybe run another lap or two. How wrong I was!. This was not an easy, level track, yet there was not one single slacker in the entire group! How they ran still amazes me. Two second grade boys ran side by side the entire hour!
The determination they showed to run and so help others was simply incredible. The amount they raised was also totally unexpected. In that morning those children raised 650,101 yen. One first grader, little "Will", single-handedly had over 90,000 yen in pledges. Their gift makes it possible to send 125 wheelchairs to Mongolia!
The Christian Academy in Japan窶冱 motto says that they "equip their students to impact the world for Christ." They certainly did that day! Wheelchairs of Hope salutes the elementary children who ran, the high school cross country team members who showed up to run along side of the children and encourage them and keep track of laps run, the parents who got up early on a Saturday morning to take their children and show that this was something worth participating in. Thank you to the many sponsors who pledged as they could, so accumulating such a generous amount. Thank you Christian Academy for your generosity in giving many not just the gift of mobility but also opened the doors of hope.