Mission Trip

It has been a long time since I have posted to my blog, but late last night, I returned from my first ever mission trip.  I wanted to share some of what the group of 24 experienced down in the Dominican Republic with Project 52 this past week.  If you don't know about Project 52, I encourage you to visit their website at www.p52website.com.  They also have Facebook and Twitter.  I would go into detail about the organization, but I think this post will be long enough already.  I kept some short journal entries, but I know as I start typing, I will have much more to add, so I apologize if this gets a little lengthy.

On Friday, February 22nd, we were scheduled to leave early in the morning.  Due to our lovely Iowa weather, our flight was delayed, which meant we would also miss our connection flight in Atlanta.  My brother was flying from Arizona, so he obviously did not have any issues with snow, but our delay caused him to have to sit in Atlanta for quite a while by himself.  We got another flight scheduled from Atlanta, which brought us to another airport.  We then hopped on a bus for a 3 hour drive to camp.  When we got to camp, we ate, got settled in, and it was time for bed.

Saturday, we woke up, had breakfast, and did a tour of the school we were working at.  This also gave me a chance to see the gym that the group had worked on the previous year, so that was a really cool experience seeing that.  I had heard so much about the work the group did the previous year, so it was great to see it in person.

Next, we went outside the school grounds into the community.  Before we left, Christian Santiago, director of the Lighthouse Projects DR, told us to keep in mind that we would see some unusual things.  His words for us were, "It's not good, it's not bad, it's just different."  This was an eye opening experience.  It made me appreciate everything I have.  I kept thinking about my 1 bedroom apartment and how sometimes I complain that I don't have enough room and now sitting here in that apartment it seems like a palace.  We handed out candy to children and you wouldn't believe the smiles on their faces.  They were so appreciative of something so small.  It's even those little things that made me realize how much we take for granted.

After that we ate and then went to work in the afternoon.  I thought I was in pretty good shape, but I found out pretty quickly that I am not used to manual labor.  Another thing I take for granted.  I should be more thankful for the opportunity I have and the job I have.  One thing I remember from that afternoon is when Bill Clark from Project 52 and I were talking about the workers on the site and how they never quit working because if they do, they will get replaced right away.  That made me really think about the times I don't give 100%.

Sunday morning, we woke up early and headed to Las Charcas to play softball.  Apparently, I am a little rusty playing because I took a routine fly ball off my head, but Ryley caught it off my head, so we still got the out.  We ended up rallying in the last inning to win.  After the game, we had a lunch prepared by Christian's family and it was awesome.  After lunch we headed out for more softball and then gave equipment to the guys we played against and to the kids from the area.  Probably one of the coolest things that happened to me on this trip was as we were leaving one of the guys gave me the biggest bear hug and he had a tear rolling down his face.  Even though we couldn't understand each other, I knew how much he appreciated what we had done.

Monday morning we headed out to the job site.  I got to try out laying brick for the building that will be dorms at the school for teams to stay when they come for mission trips.  It was something I had never done before, so I enjoyed it.

Tuesday, I spent the whole day scooping rock into buckets to be poured into the cement mixer.  After work, we played a couple games of basketball.  By the time that was over, we were all pretty exhausted.

Wednesday, I woke up pretty sore.  I could really feel it while I was scooping rocks again.  I still enjoyed it though because my dad, mom, brother, and me were all working in the same area, so we got to have some family bonding while working.  We quit working a little early and some of us played softball against some 14-15 year old kids.  It was fun to see how much they enjoy playing the game even though they did beat us.  After that we ate, showered and headed off to church.  Church was an awesome experience.  A young lady, Debbie, who is from the area and worked with us during the week translated part of the service, but most of it we could not understand.  Even though we could not understand, it was clear how passionate they were about worship.  Another highlight from church was when a 9 year old boy came and just rocked the percussion.  He was extremely talented and we really enjoyed watching him.  All the people were very appreciative and thanked us over and over for joining them in worship.

Thursday was the last day of work.  It was almost sad to leave the work site that day.  Even though it was tough work in the heat, part of me wanted to keep working.  I can't wait to see the finished product.  After supper, we had a time of reflection on the week.  It was pretty powerful to hear everyone's highlights of the week.

Friday we left camp on a bus and headed to the resort where we spent a day on the beach and caught a show in the evening.  A few of us got called on stage for a dance contest, which was a great time.  It was great to spend time with the group and just relax and have a good time.

I am more than happy I went on this trip.  There are so many things I learned.  As I mentioned before, I have a new appreciation for what I have and the opportunities I have here in the United States.  We have opportunities a lot of people in the world will never have.  One other thing I learned is the value of relationships.  I have never really been shy, but I think sometimes I get so busy with my life that I forget to just stop and talk to someone I don't know and just get to know them.

One thing I also really gained from the trip was the devotion time.  There were a lot of things I took away from the devotions and it also made me realize I need to take that time every day.  It all goes back to getting caught up in the busy lifestyle.  It's not that I don't have the time, it's that I don't make the time.

The one thing I learned the most is that you don't have to do something big to do mission work.  We can do it in our everyday lives.  As pastor Jon Dawson explained, a mission trip like this can recharge your batteries, but you can do mission anywhere at anytime, even if it is something small.  The challenge I have given myself is to use the things I have learned from this trip in my daily life.

It was great to spend the time working with the 23 awesome people I went on this trip with.  Many of them I knew before, but some of them I got to know over the course of the week and we all got along great.  Project 52 is a great organization that is doing great things.

Below are some links to check out and a few pictures.  Thanks for reading.  I know it was long, but I hope you enjoyed it.

Lighthouse Project Facebook

Project 52 Facebook

This is a link to a blog written my teammate John Kelling.  It is a great story about Debbie who is a great person who worked with us most of the week.  http://my-fathersvoice.blogspot.com/2013/02/rolling-santo-domingo-style.html

Pictures

Sorry, I forgot to post the link for some pictures.  If you have to search, my bib number is 22364.

http://www2.brightroom.com/97708/22364

Post Race continued

After that she kept telling me to just take it a mile at a time.  She said "this mile is special because after this you will be on 22, then that mile is special because you will be on 23, and so on."  Then after that she said something that was what makes this story so awesome.  She said, "Just remember why you are running this race.  Marathons are painful and you want to quit, but it doesn't even compare to going through chemo."  After hearing that from her, I ran the rest of the race without walking.  I will never forget that conversation I had with her.  Very inspirational.  I tried to find her after the race, but didn't.

I got to mile 25 and that is when the fans were on the side of the road cheering and it was awesome.  When I was at about 25.75 miles, my Team in Training coach came to bring me across the finish line.  At this point, I was digging as deep as I could and giving it everything I had.  If you look at the pictures, you will see one where they captured the pain I was going through at the end.

I got to the last .2 miles and I looked over and saw my aunt yelling my name with a sign that read "Go Adam."  Then, I heard the song Starships by Nikki Minaj playing.  My teammates know that song gets me pumped up, so it was very fitting as I crossed the finish line.  Once I crossed the line, I had a huge smile on my face.  It was such an awesome feeling and awesome atmosphere.

My legs are still pretty sore even 2 days after the race, but it was more than worth it.  I am so glad I decided to experience this with Team in Training.  I will be continuing to do events with Team in Training.  I met a lot of great people that I hope to keep in contact with.

Thank you, again, to everyone who helped me in this journey by donating and also just all of the support from everyone and all the congratulations.

Also, to Matthew and the others I ran for:  there were over 24,000 people running at the event.  We were all running because we are inspired by you.  We ran to help fight cancer.  Just know that you are heroes and you are inspiring people every day.  Also know, that you have a lot of people that are happy to support you in any way they can.

I would also encourage anyone to join Team in Training for an event.  You will not regret it.  They have all kinds of events you can do and it is a great experience.  Let me know if you would like more information.

Thank you again.  I have posted this before, but I love this quote from John Wooden.  You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you.  

Get out there and do something good for someone.  Big or small, they will appreciate it more than you may ever know.  Please also keep Matthew and others in your thoughts and prayers.  He is in his marathon right now and needs the support to help him win that race.  

Post Race

Well, I just got back from San Francisco, so I thought I would give a little recap about my experience this past weekend.  

The weekend started early Friday morning as we boarded the plane from Des Moines.  We arrived in Denver on time and shortly boarded the plane to head to San Francisco.  Again , the flight was smooth and on time.  I spent the afternoon relaxing and waiting for my family to arrive.  They arrived in the evening, so we went out to eat, hung out for a bit and then decided to call it a night.  

Saturday morning, I decided to go for a little jog to stretch out my legs and clear my head a bit.  I ended up jogging some of the crazy hills of San Fran and decided to cut it short so I didn't wear my legs out.  For lunch, we had the Inspiration Dinner.  This was a very cool event. We ate and then there were a couple speakers.  The first speaker was a guy who lost his wife to cancer and he is very active with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society because he promised himself he would do whatever he could, so people didn't have to go through what his wife did.  He has ran 50+ marathons and calls himself the back of the pack man.  He is all about enjoying the experience and had a lot of jokes about being one of the slow runners.

The next speaker was a cancer survivor.  She had a great story about her experience.  The day of the marathon was actually the 4 year anniversary of the day she found out she had cancer and she was going to complete her first half marathon.  She was very inspiring.  

After that, they announced the top fundraisers and the very top fundraiser was a lady in our group from Central Iowa.  She is very dedicated to Team in Training and she is also a survivor herself.  She raised over $40,000 by herself.  I was in awe when I heard that amount.  

After that, the family and I went on a bus tour of the city, walked across the bridge, and went to eat.  Then, we went in search of my pre-race breakfast.  I like to eat peanut butter on bread or toast before I go run and we had a little trouble finding peanut butter.  I finally decided I was just eat something else, but my mom and my brother were determined that I was going to get my peanut butter and they came back to the hotel with a jar of it.  That made that peanut butter sandwich extra special.  We hung out in the hotel for a bit and then I decided it was time to get some sleep.  

I was very surprised on how well I actually did sleep.  I got a good night's sleep and woke up about 15 minutes before my alarm went off.  I took a quick shower, ate my breakfast, and got all ready.  Then, it was time to head down to the lobby to meet the team.  After a few pre-race pictures, we headed out to the start.  The start was a block down from out hotel.  It was so awesome to walk out of the hotel and see a swarm of people.  I had a little trouble finding where I was supposed to be at first, but finally found it.  I was just looking around in amazement.  There was a guy standing next to me and I looked at him and said, "Never miss an opportunity to run with 20,000 women in San Fran."  He thought that comment was hilarious and he said it was his 4th time running the half there.  

Then, the race began.  When I started running, I just got a big smile on my face because it was just awesome to be experiencing it.  The first part of the race was pretty slow because there were so many people packed around you.  We couldn't have asked for better weather and it was really cool to run around the city and see the sights as you are running.  

I felt great from the start.  My IT band pain popped up in mile 3 for about a mile or 2 and ironically went away after that and it never bothered me again.  I don't understand that at all, but I am very thankful for that.   We got to mile 6 and there was a huge hill.  I have never ran on a hill like that before.  Then, after that you had to go down, which was almost worse than going up.  After that it was relatively flat until I believe mile 10 or so.  I just kept on running and enjoying the sights.  Every once in a while, I just found myself randomly smiling because it was just so awesome.  

I think it was about mile 18 and I finally took my first break to walk.  That was farther than I thought I would go without walking.  After that, it was just fighting through it.  

I think the coolest story of the whole trip happened to me on mile 21 or so.  I ran alongside this lady from Pennsylvania.  She told me this was her 58th marathon and she recently did a 50 mile run over in Switzerland.  She has ran in all 50 states and was telling me about Des Moines and how she really enjoyed it.             

The time has come

This is it people.  Tomorrow morning at 6 AM, I will be boarding the plane to San Francisco.  The time has finally come.  I am starting to get a little nervous, but I think once we get there and I have some time to relax and go to the inspiration dinner, I will get excited and confidence and adrenaline will take over. 

I have spent the last couple weeks resting and taking it easy on my leg.  I  got a massage the other day and she also showed me a few stretches I should do.  I have been icing, sretching, and using my foam roller a lot.  I have a little more confidence in my leg than I did before, but those feelings might change at mile 16 or so on Sunday. 

Last night I took the time to write the names of people I am running for on my jersey.  I have 4 individuals other than Matthew that I will be running for.  Two of them are battling cancer right now and two of them I will be running in their memory.

I want to thank everyone for all of your support, whether it be donations to LLS or just words of encouragement.  Also, I want to thank family and friends who are planning to come out to support me on race day.  For anyone who has been in a race and had people cheering you on, you know how much that helps.     

Matthew, I will do my whatever I can to cross that finish line for you, buddy.   

I am guessing this will be my last post until after the race.  I am hoping to take a lot of pictures to share.  I am really looking forward to this.  I honestly think this could be one of the greatest experiences of my life so far.  Thanks again to everyone who has helped along the way. 

20 mile run

I am watching the movie "Spirit of the Marathon" right now and realized I never posted about my latest training run.  I ran Sunday because Rachel, my usual running partner, could not make it on Saturday and I always run a lot better with her because we are about the same pace.  When I went to my car to leave, there was frost on the roof, which did not give me the greatest feeling.  We got started and it was still only about 35 degrees.  It slowly warmed up as time went on.  The first 10 miles or so were great and actually faster than my expected pace.  At 16 miles, I was still feeling fairly good, but after that my knee was really starting to act up.  For the remainder of the run, it was strictly fighting through pain.  I could barely walk at the end.

I am pretty sure I have an IT band, so I have been focusing on stretching, icing, elevating, etc.  I even did something I told myself I would never do and consult a chiro.  I went for a short run today and it didn't feel too bad after I got going, so I think if I continue my stretching and take care of it, I should be fine come race day.  It's time to really dig deep and be a fighter.  I am running to honor Matthew and he is a fighter, so I need to do the same.

The Des Moines Register did a little piece on Matthew this week and talked about the benefit motorcycle ride that is happening this weekend.  I am still looking for some bicyclists to start with me at the start.  I still have not mapped out a route, but we can figure that out that morning.  I am looking forward to the event.

This movie is starting to make this whole thing real.  I am getting very anxious to get out there and do this thing.  There are only a few weeks left.  Thanks to everyone for supporting Team in Training.  It is a great organization and I plan to continue this in the future with various events.  

Bone Marrow Donor

It has been a while since I have posted anything.  The main reason I am posting is because I received some good news the other day.  In July at our golf tournament, we had Nancy Webb come and register people for the bone marrow donor registration and I was one of those who registered.  I thought it would be so awesome if I could help someone that needs it.  Well, on Tuesday I got a call from them and I am a possible match for someone.  The first thing I asked was the time frame because I have done all of this training for the marathon and that would be a decision I would have to make if the operation would be in the next month.    But, she assured me that it would be at least 2 months before they would need me, so fortunately I would be able to do both.  They asked me a series of questions and said they would contact me sometime before the middle of November to let me know if I was the chosen donor.  I just thought it was really cool that I could be the one chosen to help someone who is in need.  Someone introduce me once to a quote by John Wooden and it has always stuck with me and I think it is great.  John Wooden said, "You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you."

As I have mentioned before, I am running in honor of Matthew Barker in October.  Recently, they had a day at Adventureland with a lot of friends and family.  You can follow Matthew at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/matthewbarker or visit the Facebook Page "A Miracle for Matthew."  It was awesome to read about their trip to Adventureland and see all the pictures and all the support Matthew has.  I also just found out they are going to be doing an article about Matthew and his family in the Des Moines Register since September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.  It is apparent that Matthew's family is strong and they continue to stay strong through all of this.  It is also neat to see all of the people coming together to support Matthew and his family. 

Speaking of coming together...on September 29th, they are doing the Matthew Barker Benefit Ride.  They are riding motorcycles to different destinations throughout the day.  Since I don't have a motorcycle, but am a cyclist, I thought it would be cool to get a group together to ride our bikes on part of the route.  I do not yet have a route planned, but we could always just figure that out the day of the event.  Pass the word along to your cycling friends.  The event starts at 11 at the Chicken Coop in Urbandale, which is right down the road from Grimes. 

Sorry, somewhat of a long post today.  We are getting close to the big day.  If anyone is still wanting to support me and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, please visit my fundraising page at   http://pages.teamintraining.org/ia/nikesf12/anederhoff

Thanks to everyone and have a great rest of the week.