We have a number of Team Samaritan’s Purse members who are currently in training or have just finished their races. Here are a few of our supporters.
Last year in October, Dennis Langkos served in Haiti with us, building shelters for the hundreds of earthquake victims living in transitional communities. He became inspired to raise money through Team Samaritan’s Purse for our orphan ministry projects. On September 4, he biked in the Shenandoah 100 race outside of Harrisonburg, Virginia. He shared his experience with us recently:
“The Shenandoah 100 ended up going pretty well. I was able to finish in 11:45. It was a long day, for sure, but the weather was good (albeit a little on the humid side). I know it was Christ’s strength that pulled me through, especially when I felt like there wasn’t much fuel left in the tank, which was pretty much the last 25 miles of the ride!
“The prayers of many family and friends were also evident, as I didn’t have any crashes, flat tires, or mechanical problems, which many of the other racers experienced on a tough course like that.
“All in all, I was proud to wear the Team SP colors and was thankful I could use some of my God-given abilities to raise funds and awareness for SP’s orphan ministries, and hopefully, in the process, to do a small part to extend Jesus’ kingdom into the lives of “the least of these.” Thanks again for your support!”
Chloe Contarino competed in the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach, Virginia, last year to raise money for an orphanage in Honduras. This year, she is raising money for Children’s Heart Project, to purchase a plane ticket to send a child to the United States for life-saving heart surgery. She’ll be representing Team SP in the New York City Marathon on November 6.
“I will be running the 2011 New York City Marathon less than 6 months after delivering my son via emergency cesarean, which not only seems like a foolish attempt, but a potentially dangerous one as well. And yet every time I fret over my training plans and the severe lack of time, God always seems to say to my heart, ‘trust me.’
“I have no idea how this will turn out in the end, but it is my continual prayer that my running this marathon would bring Him glory, regardless of what it takes to get me to the finish line. And one of the ways I am choosing to honor Him through this is by raising funds and awareness for the Children’s Heart Project.”
Rusty and Sara Osborne are competing together in their first race—the Kansas City Half-Marathon—to raise money for wells in South Sudan. They have been avid supporters of Samaritan’s Purse for years.
“This will be our first long race since having kids, so the training has been a little harder (OK, a lot!), but we are excited about the Kansas City Half-Marathon (13.1 miles). We are also happy to be able to do a little advertising for Samaritan’s Purse as the season for Operation Christmas Child approaches. Please consider “running alongside us” by supporting Samaritan’s Purse!”
If you would like to learn more about supporting Samaritan’s Purse, go to our site here