What is the hardest you have ever run? Perhaps it was a race? Perhaps you were late to something important? Or was it when you were afraid and had to escape? How hard did you run, and what were the stakes?
Now, how hard would you run if your childhood depended on it? Hard enough to pull the muscles off of your legs? That is what these kids did.
Here in South Africa, we are working at a school, and the track season just started up. Logan, one of my teammates that I have previously mentioned, has taken over helping teach track to the students. I have never been much of a runner or been in track, so I took a back seat to this activity.
Until Friday, the 26th of January. The school was having a school track meet to see which kid would represent the school in track. We invited the team Yada (the team of girls we lived with in Cambodia) to come and help with the meet. And praise God for them.
The meet was about to get started. Logan was working with the kids, and I didn’t have a task at that point, so I went and joined my friends Gianna and Bella at the medical tent. It was supposed to be just handing water out to the kids after their race, but it was so much more.
After the first few races, I began to notice the kids were more distressed than they should have been. Some looked badly dehydrated. Others were physically shaking and breaking down into tears. These kids, some as young as 7, were making American high school numbers! I flashed back to the first question I was asked by a student about 3 weeks ago. “I am a runner; how do I apply for scholarships to come run in America?” At the time, I thought it an odd question for a boy of 12 to ask, but it was beginning to make sense. They ran to escape the world they were born into, and if they lost, it was over. In their minds, if they lost, there was no escape.
As they began to run after each race, it started getting worse. Not only were these kids having to deal with the emotional toll, but also the physical toll. Most hadn’t had water in some time, and you can forget about electrolytes. Because of this, their bodies were ill-prepared for them to run so hard. Then when a runner would begin to cramp up or have a leg spasm, the emotions would compound and result in a panic attack. They’re just kids. Some ran hard enough to pull muscles. Three had to be carried out on a backboard, and one had to go to the emergency room.
Now let me say all of the children are okay. But I do want to emphasize the importance of this. The little girl who went to the emergency room, (a young girl named chade pronounced jade but with a ch instead of a J sound) I remember working with her after her race had just finished. She was shaking, tears in her eyes. Chade then, as the pain set in, lost any ability to stand. I set her down under our tent. As Chade lay there screaming in pain, crying, all she would talk about was her next race and how she had to run again. Now, of course, I didn’t let her. We had her friends run for her. But even then, after I had met the needs within my capacity, I called over my friend Gianna (and thank God for her) to help. She began massaging Chade’s legs to help with the pain. As I sat there, Chade squeezed my hand and cried, still worried about her race… and eventually was carried out and taken to the emergency room.
Now, as stated, all of the kids have recovered and are okay. The lessons from all this. Logan said it best: “leave no room for any children to feel unloved, for God leaves no room for us to feel unloved if you feel unloved by God, you’re the one pulling away.” These children were afraid, and they needed to know that they were going to be okay and that they were loved. So let me ask one more time. What is the hardest you have ever run?
In other news the NSS has left the school and are handing to off to team Yada well it is had to say good bye we know it’s in good hands. On Tuesday we will be traveling to the country of lustoto. Where we will be for a month. I will update you again when we get out of lustoto. Thank you for all your prayers. Amen
