Family and Friends,
This is invitation to you to help support adoption abroad and at home.
As some of you already know, this weekend I will be running in an the inaugural Chosen: Marathon for Adoption (www.marathonforadoption.com
) this weekend. There are two distances: a half and a full marathon. I will be running the half, which is 13.1 miles. I've been training for this for several months, working through a knee injury from my time in the Marine Corps, some shin splints, and a grade 2 ankle sprain. I've dropped all the muscle mass I gained from lifting weights over the years, and have spent most of my Saturdays this semester either running in the morning, or recovering all afternoon and evening. It's been tough training, and this Saturday it will pay off in Gruene, TX.
Why do this to myself? Because it's a way that I can expend my time, energy, and money on something that matters a great deal to me: adoption. I know that sounds odd, given that I'm single and not in the process of adoption myself. But in spite of, or perhaps because of, my stage in life, I can support this in other ways as my passion grows for it. The Apostle Paul uses the metaphor of adoption for how God brings us into His family, declares us His sons and His daughters, and gives us an inheritance as a blood-descendant would in ancient times. Early Christians were known in part because of adoption. Weak, sick, or unwanted children would be left on doorsteps or on hills outside of towns to either die or be taken by temples or brothels to serve as prostitutes from a very young age. Christians would take the children into their own homes, raise them as their own children, and rescue them from a short, dangerous, and rather unsavory life. We talk a lot about ending abortion through legal means, but what about expending our lives and resources in that cause?
Do you realize that there are really only 40,000 adoptable orphans around the world. By adoptable, we mean orphans who can be adopted by Americans because they are not being supported by the nation in which they currently reside. That means that if 6% of professing believers adopted a child a piece, that 40k would be taken into homes. That statistic sounds simplistic, and obviously taking a child into your home is a monumental commitment - one you may not even be able to make at this point.
SO here's what I'm soliciting: I've paid my entry fee, covered my training, travel, and equipment costs, and spent the time and energy preparing myself. I'm asking you, now, and anyone to whom you send this, to sponsor me this weekend. For every mile I run in under 10 minutes (not just average, but actually run under 10:00), you put money aside. You pick the amount, you send it in, and it will go to an adoption currently in progress that is being held up due to financial constraints. If you commit a dollar, the maximum cost to you is $13.10. If you commit $10/mile, the maximum you'll spend is $131. To make sure I actually run that time and that distance, you can follow my live updates every mile on my Facebook (facebook.com/dustin.kunz
), or check twitter.com/dustinkunz
after the race where I will post as soon as I regain my fine motor skills after the race.
You can send the donations to 1318 James Ave #B, Waco, TX 76706 or use PayPal and send the money to dtkunz@austin.rr.com with the memo as "adoption." If you would prefer to support the Ukrainian orphanage directly, there is contact information on the Marathon for Adoption website. Other fantastic resources can be found on the website for the now past "Together for Adoption Conference" website (www.togetherforadoption.org
). The good news is that, even though this support letter is going out late due to some red tape I needed to cut through, there IS NO DEADLINE for your support.
I appreciate any and all support, and encourage those who can make it out for this and similar events to join the runners and volunteers and learn more about adoption, about how to support those who are already taking part in this mission, and to enjoy what God is doing in the world!
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." - James 1:27
"He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love steadfast mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God?" - Micah 6:8
"Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation." - Psalm 68:5
--
Cpl. Dustin Kunz, USMC (OIF Veteran)
B.A., Theology / Philosophy, Univ. Mary Hardin-Baylor
M.Div Candidate, Truett Theological Seminary, Baylor University
and Runner
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1 comments:
As an adoptee, I can fully profess that this is the best blessing ever to happen to me. Instead of being raised by a teenage mother who clearly wasn't ready (and did everything within her power at the time to get rid of me), I was adopted by two loving parents, who had previously adopted my older brother. I learned at a very young age that, yes, blood may be thicker than water, but love is thicker than anything.
I plan to expand the circle and adopt as well myself. One adoption fell through earlier in my life, but thankfully it's because she found an even better place. Once I marry again (someday, if God has it in the cards for me), I hope to share the blessing I was given with another child.
To anyone reading this: For every horror story you hear out there in the media, there are a thousand stories like mine, where I was surrounded by a great family. We're not perfect, but we love, respect, and support one another. Yes, there are issues of abandonment that I work through - but how much more abandoned would I feel if God hadn't seen to it that I had a great home?
Run a mile for me Dustin!
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