Falling In

This week, I thought I'd share how I fell for swimming, how I fell for God and how I fell for Zoe Ministries.

I fell in love with swimming by nearly falling into a swimming pool when I was two years old! I grew up in a small town in New York and at my sister's  first swim lesson, I decided to jump in, too! The lifeguard had to fish me out and sit me on the side of the pool! The very next week, at her lesson I jumped right back in! The lifeguard fished me out again, but this time, he let me join the class.

I spent my childhood as the only girl at the local Boys Club – practicing technique, swimming endless laps and competing -- and sometimes even beating -- the boys at the club!

Fast-forward 25 years and I am still swimming! I am part of a triathlon club and at least twice a week, we get together at the pool or at the beach to practice technique, swim endless laps and compete. Sometimes I still beat the boys. 

I fell for God when I was ten years old. That same sister who I followed into the pool practically raised me when my parents divorced. She was there for me and took care of me as my parents worked multiple jobs, shuffled five children to school and activities. When I was ten, that same sister died in a car accident. The divorce and the loss of my best friend and sister left me hopeless for a while. But, I had a foundation in Christ and I learned to trust him in my hopeless moments. 

I fell for ZOE Ministries in 2006 when I went to Zimbabwe for a mission trip. Through Zoe, we visited AIDS orphans – children who had lost their parents to AIDS or had AIDS themselves. I am a P.E. teacher at Holly Tree Elementary and I did there what I do here: I taught the children to play. While they were waiting to be seen by doctors, I played parachute games, jumped rope, kicked the soccer ball and painted their faces. I tried to show them how to trust God even in their hopeless moments. In return, I was able to see Christ’s face in the faces of those kids! I was able to work with Pastor Greg first-hand and see his servant hood and sacrifice for the orphans. 

In the past few months, I’ve decided to combine EVERYTHING I love and do something BIG for God. This summer I am going to swim ten miles for ZOE ministries. I am going to swim in the Intracoastal Waterway from the Carolina Beach inlet to Wrighstsville Beach inlet in a little under SIX hours to raise money for the families. My goal is $18,000. That money will directly help feed 20 families for three years.