New Habits

I’ve started jogging...it’s a miracle! Yesterday, June and I ran 7K and hiked 4K - just over 7 miles. While I used to run cross-country and track in high school, it was more years ago than I’d like to publicize. So for me, 7 miles was another miracle!!

This craziness started when June, who was a nurse back in the US, started teaching our Thrive Africa staff about the spiritual and physical aspects of Temple Maintenance. “My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in me, whom I have received from God. I am not my own, I was bought at a price, therefore I honor God with my body.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

Together we learned about nutrition and exercise and committed to an 8-week fitness challenge that included daily meditation on the verse above, healthy food choices, strengthening exercises, and walking or running. The goal was that in 8 weeks our healthy choices would become habits. Whether we were interested in shedding a few pounds, increasing our strength, having more energy, or all of the above, it has been fun to encourage each other along the way. Our gate supervisor must think it’s pretty funny to see all of us running laps around the mission base and waving to him each time we go by!