Relay for Life 2008: Final Report

What a weekend!  We woke up to rain Friday morning and kinda groaned.  Not today!  By the time we picked up the tents and the helpers and got down to the lake the sun had come out.  We staked out our spot and then left to run some errands, etc.  I never did get a nap!  The sun shone most of the day; a little cloud, but no rain...until 15 minutes before it was time to get to the event.  Then it just poured.  The David Thompson Brigade which started their 50+ day canoe trip from Rocky Mountain House, Alberta arrived at 6:00 p.m.  That was pretty neat.  

The Relay for Life kicked off at 7:00 p.m. in the rain, thunder and lightning.  We got soaked the first half hour.  Thankfully we all had changes of clothes.  Our team plan to have some people walking the whole time was to split into three groups with each group walking a half hour then taking an hour break.  It worked pretty well.  We had at least a couple people on our team walking the whole time.  After that first hour of rain, it tapered off to a drizzle through the night and it wasn't bad at all.  

I managed to stay awake the whole night and walked 22.4 km or 14 miles so I felt good with that.  Our team of ten people walked 184 km and raised $2100.00!  Way to go team!

It might have been more "fun" if the weather was nicer, but it was a great experience for a good cause.  I challenge you to find an event near you and get your church involved.  It's a great way to get outside the four walls of the church and do something in and for the community.

Thanks again to everyone who contributed to my walk!

As if that wasn't enough excitement, we had our church picnic this afternoon.  After a whole day of rain yesterday, it turned out beautiful today.  We even got in a ball game with the kids.  So...I'm a little worn out, but I think one more early to bed night will get me back to normal.

The first picture is a shot of the David Thompson Brigade.  The second is our Relay team.

Further Reading

Since you obviously don't have a lot to do if you are a regular to this site, I thought I'd give you the links to a couple of other blogs that I check on regularly.  You can find them under "Blogs of Interest" in the right hand column.  

The first one belongs to my son, Jonathan.  It is brand new and his first post will tell you what you might expect there.

The second one belongs to my son's father-in-law, John K.  He has a special concern in what is going on in the Anglican church, among many other interests.

You don't have the same connection to them as I do, so perhaps you won't have the same loyalty, but you may find it interesting to check them out.  However if you think that going there will lessen your time spent here, please don't go!!!  

Dave

P.S.  I plan to write about my Relay For Life experience soon, but I need to let it sink in a little more and I'm way too tired to do that now.  Hopefully a whole night's sleep will do the trick.

 

 

Relay for Life: The Day Before

Just wanted to let you know that I've surpassed my Relay for Life goal, thanks to your help. My on-line pledges currently stand at $260 and my in-person pledges are $270 for a total of $530!!!

I went to the Team Captain's meeting on Tuesday night and learned a little more of what to expect. About 25 teams involved here and all kinds of crazy events and competitions going on. I have no idea how they expect you to have time to actually walk. The not-so-good news is that it is supposed to rain tomorrow and Saturday. Thunderstorms tomorrow! They say it will go rain or shine, but I don't know about lightning.

So tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. I plan to be down at the lake where we walk to put up a couple tents. I still need to gather my gear and grab some snacks and hope to have time to sleep for a couple hours.

I probably won't do a "Day After" report. I expect to be pretty wiped out. Then Sunday afternoon is our church picnic. But I will update you and hopefully have some pictures, weather permitting.

Thanks again for your help.

Dave

Thank God for Canada

I saw something in our small town this morning that I've never seen before.  It was the windup for our Sunday School class at Tim Horton's.  As we were sitting there drinking coffee, visiting and watching the traffic go by, we suddenly saw three guys walking down the street with a dog.  "So what?" you say.  These guys were in flak jackets carrying automatic weapons accompanied by a police dog!  Apparently there had been a stabbing and they were tracking someone.  I haven't heard yet how it turned out.  

After wondering why they were leaving us sitting behind a mere pane of glass while they were just across the street with protective gear and  their guns out, another thought struck me.  I'm 50+ years old and I've never seen anything like this before in our country.  Thank God!  It's a regular scene in many countries in our world.  People in Israel, Afghanistan and many other places live like this everyday.  I am thankful that this is such a strange sight to us.  It's not that we deserve peace and safety more than others; it's simply God's grace.  I hope this serves to make me even more thankful for the peace and freedom we so easily take for granted.

Dave

Only $30 to Go!

The Cancer Society's Relay for Life is just over a week away- Friday June 27.  The weather has warmed up and supposed to be getting warmer still as the day/night approaches.  Valerie and I have been out every day this week for a half hour walk to try to get in a little better shape.

I am very near my goal of $500.00 in pledges thanks to some generous donations.  If you haven't taken the opportunity to pledge me yet I still need $30.00 to reach my goal.  Will you help me over the top?  You can pledge me online here with a credit card.  Check "Pledge a participant."  Click "Next" and follow the prompts.  Enter my name as David Groff.

Thanks to all who have given so generously and to those who will help me top my goal!  God bless you for your gift.

Dave 

A Late Father's Day Gift

My wife says this is about how I end up doing it!

Dave

A Prayer for Father's Day

Our Father in Heaven, on this Father’s Day we come to You on behalf of fathers.  We acknowledge You as the perfect Father.  You are the One who shows us what it means to be a father, challenges us to a higher level, and helps us get there.

Today we thank You for our fathers who were there for us and who are there for us still.  We thank You for their love and their sacrifices.  We thank You for those who led us to You and taught us how to live for You.  We pray for fathers who do not yet know You personally.  We pray that You will open their understanding and draw them to Christ.  Help us to be godly examples to them.

We remember our Dads who are no longer with us and we ask that You will help us to honor their memory by the way we live each day.

We pray also for everyone for whom this day is a hard one.  For those whose experience with their fathers is or was not a great one.  Lord, we pray that You will be a Father to them and help them forgive.  We pray for fathers who have lost a child.  Lord, give them Your comfort and peace.  We pray for husbands who are unable to have children.  Lord, bless them with the role of a dad in other ways.  Bring children into their lives who need a father figure.  We pray for fathers whose hearts are broken by children who are estranged from them and from You.  We pray for healing in those relationships.  We pray that You will intervene in those situations and give hope and Your Almighty help.  We pray for our fathers who are sick or elderly and in the last years of their lives.  We pray that they will feel our love and appreciation.  Help us to be there for them in every way we can.  Make these relationships sweet in the remaining time we have with them.

For each father here, whether we have children at home or grown, we thank You for these special gifts You have given us.   We confess that we have not been all we should have been for them.  We made mistakes.  We've fallen short of Your ideals.  At times we have been too busy, short-tempered, unkind.  But we thank You for Your patience with us and Your forgiveness.  We thank You for second chances and third; however many we need.  May we not live in the guilt of the past, but press on to be what You want us to be today and tomorrow.  Help us to grow in wisdom, love, patience.  Help us to grow to be more like You to our families.    Help us to raise them to know and love You.  Lord, make us a blessing to those You have blessed us with.  We ask these requests in the name of Jesus our Saviour, to the glory of our God and eternal Father.  Amen.

Dave