564km run for The Gift of Love Feeding Program in 3 hours. Records smashed and joy all around to help schools in our region with their daily lunches. We want to thank the children for running their hearts out, believing in others and for all those who gave as well.

I (Matt) experienced an amazing moment in my life this summer that I would classify as one of the top 5 impactful moments of my life; and it came as a HUGE surprise. We were home this summer from Guatemala; resting, working, finding out 3 of us have Celiac, enjoying Canada, prepping for a bunch of push ups and generally processing through the inner workings of the soul. I would call it a good summer and a hard summer. The summer of 2013; which also happens to be my 40^th year on the planet.

The day was Wednesday August 13^th. My lovely wife Kerry and our friends Loren and Cathy Jespersen were organizing a small golf tournament for Fe Viva. They had worked hard getting it ready and yet there were still problems leading up to the day. One problem was me; I am not a fan of golf and I mentioned to Kerry that I was planning not to go, but attend the BBQ afterwards. She said that I could not skip it because I have to represent Fe Viva that the tourney. So I went, had lots of fun and then at the BBQ received one of the biggest surprises of my life. Towards the end of the BBQ it was revealed to me that this whole day was all a guise for a 40^th birthday party. I was not going to be in Canada to celebrate with friends there, but Kerry and Cathy planned a great big one for my.

It was an amazing experience. At the end of the night, friends and family spoke of blessings, prayers and encouragement over my life. I cried the whole time. The words people spoke over me were so powerful that I would say that it was one of the top 5 experiences of my life. Those blessings were huge and they will remain with me for the rest of my life.

Now during this time I was preparing for another big event, because I like to do big, crazy events, and the power of this night created something that blessed many people. I call it the Power of the Blessing. I was preparing to do 10,000 push ups in one week. (Another crazy idea that I always seem to come up with.) I had a few people who were joining me, but that night I found out that there were many others that were going to join me. I had not promoted this event that much; I was tired all summer and just wanted to stick to my word that I would do these push ups and hope that we would raise a few thousand dollars. That night I found out that people were going to sponsor a good amount and as it turned out we raised over $72,000 that week.

I strongly believe that this all came about because of the blessings that people spoke over me.  These words created something incredible. It was not because I had a good idea, or was an incredible promoter, but because of the love, power and blessings of people and their belief in me. I would like to thank everyone for blessing me, encouraging me and believing in me. One thing that God has spoken again and again this year that I will use for the rest of my life is this:

The Power of Blessing

I (Matt) experienced an amazing moment in my life this summer that I would classify as one of the top 5 impactful moments of my life; and it came as a HUGE surprise. We were home this summer from Guatemala; resting, working, finding out 3 of us have Celiac, enjoying Canada, prepping for a bunch of push ups and generally processing through the inner workings of the soul. I would call it a good summer and a hard summer. The summer of 2013; which also happens to be my 40th year on the planet.

The day was Wednesday August 13th. My lovely wife Kerry and our friends Loren and Cathy Jespersen were organizing a small golf tournament for Fe Viva. They had worked hard getting it ready and yet there were still problems leading up to the day. One problem was me; I am not a fan of golf and I mentioned to Kerry that I was planning not to go, but attend the BBQ afterwards. She said that I could not skip it because I have to represent Fe Viva that the tourney. So I went, had lots of fun and then at the BBQ received one of the biggest surprises of my life. Towards the end of the BBQ it was revealed to me that this whole day was all a guise for a 40th birthday party. I was not going to be in Canada to celebrate with friends there, but Kerry and Cathy planned a great big one for my. It was an amazing experience. At the end of the night, friends and family spoke of blessings, prayers and encouragement over my life. I cried the whole time. The words people spoke over me were so powerful that I would say that it was one of the top 5 experiences of my life. Those blessings were huge and they will remain with me for the rest of my life.

Now during this time I was preparing for another big event, because I like to do big, crazy events, and the power of this night created something that blessed many people. I call it the Power of the Blessing. I was preparing to do 10,000 push ups in one week. (Another crazy idea that I always seem to come up with.) I had a few people who were joining me, but that night I found out that there were many others that were going to join me. I had not promoted this event that much; I was tired all summer and just wanted to stick to my word that I would do these push ups and hope that we would raise a few thousand dollars.

That night I found out that people were going to sponsor a good amount and as it turned out we raised over $72,000 that week. I strongly believe that this all came about because of the blessings that people spoke over me. These words created something incredible. It was not because I had a good idea, or was an incredible promoter, but because of the love, power and blessings of people and their belief in me. I would like to thank everyone for blessing me, encouraging me and believing in me. One thing that God has spoken again and again this year that I will use for the rest of my life is this:

If you know you are loved, you can accomplish anything.

Remember people; we are loved by the creator of love and He gave His all for us. Let’s give our all for him.

To Those Who Will Not Shrink Back.
Revelation 12:11

(Follow the BLOG links below)

• D-Day
• Day 1 
  
• Day 2  
• Day 3  
• Day 4  
• Day 5  
• Day 6  
• Day 7 & 8  
• Day 9 & 10  
• Day 11  
• Day 12  
• Day 13

After visiting Fe Viva and Casa Esperanza 3 years ago, Jessica Lee, a high school student from Pennsylvania, decided to do something. She started a fundraiser for Casa Esperanza. For the past 3 years, she and her classmates, especially in her Spanish class, have been selling cupcakes to support Casa Esperanza. They have also written the children in Casa Esperanza many times.

This year they decided to join with Casa Esperanza, as they participated in The GOOD Run in March, and donate the funds raised selling cupcakes to Colegio de Fe Viva in Nicaragua.

Here is an excerpt of a letter from Jessica:

“We just finished our final sale of the year. It’s fantastic to look at how much God has supported us through the years. We will be able to send Casa Esperanza $1000 to support The GOOD Run and the school in Managua, Nicaragua. I’m so glad that the children were able to raise so much money through their fundraiser, and I pray that our contribution will be able to bless them as well.

Our club plans to continue running even after I graduate this spring. Our church will be returning to Guatemala this summer. Our team will personally bring the check and the cards to you at Casa Esperanza.

Thank you so much for allowing me to have the opportunity to continue serving Casa Esperanza. I have truly grown through my experiences, and I’ve seen God’s amazing work. My only hope is that I’ve been able to return even the smallest bit of love that the Casa kids showed me three years ago.”

Jessica Lee

Children of Casa Esperanza running for children in Nicaragua again. They love to run and run. This year we used the local track to do the run. Lots of fun and life. The Children roared to life and had a blast.

These are our wonderful friends, Darrell and Lorraine Austin, from Port Dover, Ontario. Lorraine had an opportunity to come to Guatemala this past February with her church. This was her first time on a mission trip and it changed her life. While she was at Fe Viva, she heard of The GOOD Initiative and she went home with a plan. She decided to bake her fabulous banana bread and sell it to raise funds for Fe Viva’s school in Nicaragua (Colegio de Fe Viva) and The GOOD Banana Bread was born. (I have tasted it, and it is goooood!)

As of June 20th, Lorraine has baked over 120 loaves and raised over $600.00. This has also given her and her husband the opportunity to share with others in their community about God and why she is selling banana bread. Not only is she affecting lives of children in Nicaragua, but she is being given opportunities to share “life” with people next door and down the street.

Thank you Lorriane for using what you are good at and making a difference in peoples lives.

On July 1st, the Blacklock and Mundell kids had an Ice Tea/Lemonade Sale in Spruce View, Alberta during the Canada Day Parade there. They had lots of fun and raised $107 for Casa Esperanza Children’s Home. Good job kids!

Casa Esperanza children running for children in Nicaragua. These children broke their running mileage record from 2011. They ran their heart out to help children in a gang area in Managua, Nicaragua go to school.

I’m 64 and just realized my love for running this past year, after retiring prematurely from nursing for health reasons. What the running did for me is help me overcome that loss of doing something I loved. I took up running on the Nintendo Wii Fit, using the Free Run activity which tracks my distance.

Another new experience this past year was my first international missions trip to FeViva World Missions’ base in Guatemala with my husband and three daughters in December. That’s where I got to know the children of Casa Esperanza. I received information about the 2012 Good Run the Casa kids were participating in to help Nicaraguan children go to school and have at least one meal per day. It was watching the Casa kids running on a video from the 2011 Good Run that inspired me to combine my love of running with sponsoring them.

In the two weeks leading up to the Good Run on Feb. 18, I ran 41 km on the Wii, doing 10 minutes at a time, up to 6 km per day. (I had originally committed to doing 25 km.) I was able to raise $750 and inspired my daughter in Portage la Prairie to raise another $110. My greatest fear in asking for pledges was that people wouldn’t respond, but God put it in my heart so I took that leap of faith — and people just caught the vision. I just praise God and am overwhelmed by the generosity He put in their hearts. My life mission is to inspire my children, grandchildren and everyone in my life to be on mission with Jesus: caring for others.

I want to run the Good Race and be an overcomer!