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Josh and Nate were two of my basketball teammates at Baptist Bible College in PA. Josh is easily one of the funniest people I’ve ever met! And Nate was in my class, so we had a lot of great times together. But what has made both of them the men they are to so many people is their love for Jesus Christ. Josh has spoken to me several times about bringing the efforts of Ball for Lives to his area of upstate NY. The X Fund was started at their church last weekend!

They asked for this race to benefit “Helping Haiti Rebuild” a ministry their church in Marion has started. Any donations Ball for Lives receives will be sent to this ministry. I hope you were able to see the beautiful orphans that Laurie and Kellyn dribbled for last month in Philadelphia. Let’s continue to use Dribble the World to save these precious lives, just as Christ gave His life to save ours.

-Occh

Laurie will be dribbling to support The Fondation Madame Mauviette Toussaint, an orphanage in Haiti that she was able to work with while she was on her Spring Break from BBC  in March.  Here are some of Laurie’s favorite pictures from her time there.

Laurie was used mightily during her time in Haiti. She was a blessing to the children at the Fondation and to all of those she came in contact with. Her desire to seek Christ and use her talents for Him is inspiring to those around her. Here are some more pictures of the basketball courts in Haiti and a group photo of Laurie and a group of kids she was able to play soccer with throughout the week.

Check back next week to see how she did! We’re praying for you Lau and can’t wait to see you dribbling on Sunday! Praise the Lord for what He is doing with you and through you!

-ash

Whitney before dribbling 13.1 miles!

     If you told me 5 years ago that I would dribble a half marathon, I would say you were crazy.  Even a year ago, I could barely run a mile!!!   The Lord has really blessed me this last year and changed my heart so much.  This time last year I barely knew what Ball for Lives was.  I knew that Occh had dribbled the 2007 Marathon, but I was only beginning to find out why and now it is such a HUGE part of my life.  Everyone involved has become my family and they continually challenge me to strive for God’s will in my life.

     I loved seeing Ashley and Eric run their races. Running around NYC, cheering them on, was so much fun.   Even at those races, I had no desire even to run a half, let alone to dribble one.  Being a spectator is fun and it really motivates the participants, but it didn’t really challenge me.  It is something I love doing, supporting others, and I can do it forever. 

     One day though, I received an e-mail for a World Vision 13.1 Marathon in NYC to help people who don’t have something as basic as clean drinking water;  and I just felt that God was tugging at my heart strings to get out of my comfort zone, to challenge myself physically, to do something for others.  I really didn’t give it a second thought, I e-mailed Occh and Ash and said I was doing it!  If you know me, you could tell I am no runner and at barely 5ft, I was never encouraged to play basketball or even dribble one, but I had no doubt that I could do this if I put it in the Lord’s hands.  It was something I really wanted to accomplish before my 30^th birthday (yes, I am 30!!) 

Check out those green DribbleTheWorld shirts!

     Occh and Ash had to basically teach me how to dribble. Occh made me do drills everyday to work on my ball handling.  He really knows what he is doing.  Through it all, everyone in Ball for Lives was so encouraging, always believing in me.  I just want to thank everyone: Thank you Occh, Ash, Mundo, Steve, Jimmy, Cristian, Ron, Femundo, Ana, Morgan, Fairview Gospel Church, ACTION! Group!!! Thank you for your love and prayers!

Whit tore it up on Saturday!!

     This past Saturday was one of the most amazing days of my life.  It meant so much to know how many people were standing behind me, but most of all I knew that Jesus was in control.  I have two good legs, two good arms, I am capable of doing this.  There are people all over the world who are suffering, who are hurting, who need food, who need water, why can’t I run 13.1 miles for them?  And I did it! And it was not that hard considering what others have to go through daily.  To think that God could challenge me, that He could use me, boggles my mind, but He did, and He can use you too!! 

     You may not be called to dribble a marathon, but maybe you can visit an elderly person in your community, or volunteer  at an afterschool program, who knows?  I am so excited to see what He does next in my life.

Whit was amazing on Saturday! Great job! Thank you so much for sharing with others your desire to continually be used by Christ! The Lord is pleased with your compassionate heart and willingness to take action in helping others halfway across the globe. Your story is definitely an inspiring one-one that only Christ could write! Thank you for EVERYTHING you do for Ball for Lives. We love you girl!!

-ash

Fast Facts on Unclean Drinking Water:

• 12 million people die each year from lack of safe drinking water. (WHO).
• Over 80% of the disease in developing countries is related to poor drinking water and sanitation. (WHO) .
• The average distance a woman in Africa walks to collect water is roughly 4 miles (www.whrnet.org).
• Women are the primary caretakers for those who fall ill from water-related diseases, reducing their time available for education and productive economic efforts. (www.unfpa.org)  
• In some parts of Africa, women spend almost 85% of their day getting water, increasing incidences of anemia and other health problems. (www.unhabitat.org)

“Women and children are walking miles a day to get murky water in an attempt to sustain themselves daily.  Why can’t I run 13.1 miles in one day so that there might be funding to build them a well?” – Whitney

Think that’s awesome? Check this out: Whit is one of the hardest working, most driven people I know. Whitney has been so encouraging in every race that she has been to! This is just a glimpse of what she is capable of doing because of the love she has for Christ. Want to see more? Read the post about her called  A Hero Emerges to learn about some of the things that Whit has done recently. 

You’re going to be AMAZING on Saturday Whit!!

-ash

DTW: Mundo, why did you participate in the NYC Half Marathon in the first place?

Mundo: Occh suckered me into it. Haha. No, when I saw normal people like Ash dribbling races for people they didn’t know, I thought why couldn’t I do it? I wanted to be a part of something bigger than me.

DTW: We know that you’ve had some problems with your knee in the past, how did you feel when you first started dribbling through Central Park?

Mundo: Haha, honestly, I thought I was going to die at mile 2 because of the pain I was feeling. It went down for a little while, but once I was out of the Park at mile 8, it turned into extreme pain…by mile 10, I wanted to dive into the Hudson River and cool off.

DTW: How did runners react when they saw you with your basketball?

Mundo: People look at you like you’re nuts, but when you tell them why you’re dribbling, they really respect it. There was a guy named Dave who loved what I was doing. He works with kids in Harlem on AAU basketball teams. There was a woman in I guess her mid-50’s who was really encouraging. People recognized the DribbleTheWorld shirt!

DTW: What helped you to get through this Half Marathon?

Mundo: A lot of things helped me pull through. One was knowing why I ran. I had the chance to run for two organizations in Africa-Bethesda Outreach and A Running Start. I had some pretty amazing people who ran with me for a few miles too. It was cool to be able to run on the West Side and get a shout out from some of the performers. Another thing was seeing people run who had physical limitations. I mean, I have two perfectly good legs. Why should I give up if they don’t give up?

DTW: How did you feel when you crossed the finish line?

Mundo: Relieved. Accomplished. Excited. Exhausted. I had a feeling that I  finally did something meaningful with my life. Working for someone who I don’t even know is pretty awesome.

DTW: How do you think the Lord used you?

Mundo: Christ got me to the finish line. The pain was bad while I was running, but it was even worse when I finished. God didn’t allow the pain to set in fully until after the race. He helped me realize that today wasn’t for me but other people and Him.

DTW: What can others learn from your Half?

Mundo: Anything is possible. As long as you put the Lord first in all you do-anything is possible.

DTW: Any final remarks?

Mundo: Thanks for the support. I’m looking forward to running many more 10k’s for DribbleTheWorld. As far as Half Marathons go, I retire. :]

Great job Mundo! We’re so proud of you! The Lord is pleased with your act of serving Him in a new way.

-ash

^15″… As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

Romans 10:15

March 1: Nate Logan, Gasparilla Marathon (Tampa Bay,FL) Nate has an amazing heart for Christ and is willing to serve Him in any aspect. After dribbling the marathon, Nate, his wife Cherith, and their two children moved to Porto Alegre, Brasil, where they are serving as missionaries. You can check out their work at their website. 

Dan and Nate

August 16: Ashley Ten Kate, NYC Half Marathon (NYC) Ash was our first female runner to dribble in a race! With her involvement, we had our second consecutive year in the NYC Half Marathon. She dribbled for Bethesda Outreach and Love146 who works to end childhood sex slavery and exploitation.

Ashley

August 30: Eric Martin and Micael Carbonneau, Quebec City Half Marathon (Quebec City, Quebec, Canada) Eric and Micael were our first international dribblers!! After they heard about Ash’s half marathon while at Camp Brochet, they immediately started dribbling around the gym.  Three weeks later, they were dribbling through the streets of Quebec City! Fantastique les gars! =]

Eric and Micael

October 11: The 100 Mile Challenge (Jersey and NYC) 20 runners dribbled a basketball 5 miles each spanning 100 miles across New York City and New Jersey to stop the genocide in Sudan! Check it out the above link to see the five organizations that were blessed to support! Praise God for what He allowed us to do that day and for everyone who helped out!!

The 100 Mile Challenge

November 1: Eric Martin, ING NYC Marathon (NYC) As if Quebec City wasn’t enough, ;] Eric came to the city to dribble in the biggest marathon in the world!! With his participation, we had our third consecutive year of a dribbler in the marathon! Eric ran for Malaria No More and helped raise funds for life saving mosquito nets.

Eric

November 8: Whitney Rodgers, Danny Mundo, Melissa Mundo-O’Neill, Ashley Ten Kate ACT 5K/10K for Darfur (LI, NY) Through working with Save Darfur during The 100 Mile Challenge, we came across Athletes Changing Tomorrow and were able to support the work of another newly founded non-profit who assists those who are suffering injustice worldwide. Thanks Jessica and Amanda for all you girls do at ACT!

Danny and Melissa

December 12: Morgan Cook, Reindeer Run 5K (Orlando, FL) Morgan heard about DribbleTheWorld from a friend of hers and checked out the site! She read about Ash’s half marathon and was challenged to dribble a race of her own. Morgan dribbled for Bethesda Outreach and Society of Saint Andrew to help feed the hungry in her area. Great job Morgan!

Morgan

Praise God for all of the events that we were able to participate in this year! THANK YOU to all those who have prayed, told their friends about us, dribbled, donated, and read our stories! May God continue to be glorified in all that we do!

-ash

“When Dan, Ashley, and others dribbled their races, they were able to use talents that God gave them to glorify Him. I am not a basketball player, nor a runner. So, by deciding to dribble any distance, I placed my trust in God that He would glorify Himself through my weakness.
 
After about six weeks of training, two weeks of alternating cold and warm fronts, and a week of crazy rain, it was race day! A moderate temperature in the 60s, and definitely no snow, my roommate, Nneka, and I set out for the Reindeer Run. We were surrounded by folks wearing reindeer antlers and jingle bells.

Morgan as she dribbles in the Reindeer Run.

 
Before the start of the race, I was able to chat with a few people about the Society of St. Andrew (which benefits people here in central Florida, and that folks can volunteer with) and about Bethesda Outreach. As I was dribbling I could hear people around me noting the website on the back of my shirt and wondering whether I would dribble the whole distance. Although I was not able to respond yet (as I was concentrating on dribbling), Nneka was able to fill in the gap for me and tell people about what we were doing. 
 
After the crowd thinned out a bit more, and I felt more at home on the road, I was able to have full conversations with people as I dribbled about why I was doing this crazy thing. One of my favorite moments was when a woman dressed as an elf offered to dribble for me for a distance. I heard parents saying to their kids, “Do you see her dribbling? She’s going to do that for the whole race, do you think you could do that?” The kids would reply no. Several times I said, “You can! It just takes practice.” I also responded directly to a little boy who asked why I was dribbling, “I am doing this so that people around here can have fresh food for Christmas.” 
 

Morgan and Nneka at the end of the race!

Around the 2-mile mark I was a little loose with my dribbling, and that meant that I was getting tired. I am so glad for Nneka, she began reminding me of why I was doing this. I did this so that people who are hungry will be fed, that those who have who have lost their parents would be surrounded with family. That people would know of the Lord’s love for them. She reminded me of Isaiah, “…those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (40:31) She then began praying for the orphans in South Africa, the churches here that partner with them, the farmers who offer their fields to be gleaned, the volunteers who do the gleaning, and those that would receive the blessings. It was good to dribble knowing that my Sustainer gives me hope, and that He will sustain those working for and benefiting from Bethesda and SoSA.

I finished around 44 minutes. Now, this is no record-setting time, but it does show that even in our weakness the Lord can use us to impact our world, to love others well, and ultimately to give Him the glory.

Now, as a rookie at this, I would like to pass this baton to other rookies! Use your talents to glorify the Lord, but also use your weakness to glorify the Lord. Do something that you will have to trust Him, that He will have to be your Sustainer. Let God use you to change your world. Love others well. Give God the glory!”

Way to go Morgan! Thanks for bringing DribbleTheWorld back to Florida!

-ash

After Danny Mundo, his sister Melissa, Whitney and I participated in The 100 Mile Challenge , we wanted to be able to do more for DribbleTheWorld- so we did. We knew that the Lord had more in store for us as far as running and dribbling went. We looked up future events, and found the Athletes Changing Tomorrow  5k/10k for Darfur which was on November 8, 2009 in Center Moriches, Long Island.

Danny Mundo and Melissa dribbling through Center Moriches.

In our contact with two of the founders at Athletes Changing Tomorrow, Jessica and Amanda, we donated to their efforts (everyone at the event received a t-shirt…with dribbletheworld.com on the back as a sponsor!) they hooked us up with a media contact (check out the article!) and were huge supporters of our coming to dribble the 10k! So the four of us headed out to Long Island to share with people we had never met our vision to dribble the world.  

We were greeted with open arms when we arrived and tons of participants had questions for us and thanked us for coming. We were asked the usual questions: “Are you going to do that the whole time?” “Where did you play in college?” and my favorite, “Why are you dribbling?” I was so excited to be in Center Moriches that morning with Mundo, Melissa and Whit – along with our small but mighty cheering squad! =D Seeing Mundo, Melissa and Whit be able to discuss with people our desire was really encouraging! Thanks guys! Seeing how the Lord uses people and creating their involvement with BallForLives is really awesome. It’s a priviledge serving with you guys.

The best part? Participating in this event proves that anyone reading this can get involved. It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to dribble a full marathon like Occh, Gian Paul, Nate or Eric. At BallForLives, we’re all about how everyone can use their talents and interests to serve the Lord. In an article on the  BallForLives website, Occh points out just how Whitney has been used by the Lord recently in so many aspects – and now she’s showing a desire to run even more. She’s pretty amazing!

Jessica and Amanda with Ash after the race.

Through dribbling for Darfur in LI, we were able to establish a great relationship with Jessica and Amanda. Athletes Changing Tomorrow has information available on their website about how they specifically are involved with Darfur.

Despite the cold weather coming up in Jersey, DribbleTheWorld still has some pretty cool opportunities coming up in the near future!

Check back soon!!

-ash

Eric was moving through the Five Boroughs (like Occh had mentioned) and finished with an amazing time of 4:00:45!

Eric was collected, composed and focused as he dribbled through the city’s streets. Onlookers couldn’t believe their eyes when they saw (and heard!) him coming. Eric’s marathon was a way to let other people become involved and realize their roles in DribbleTheWorld and I was excited to have a whole new perspective on our events.

Eric Martin dribbling through the streets of NYC.

Being able to watch someone like Eric dribble a marathon was unreal. His desire was not that people might know who he was, but that they would see his service to the Lord and that he was running for so much more than self satisfaction. No matter who you are cheering for on the day of the big race, you become a fan of every single person running that day. We were cheering for Jon’s, Stephanie’s , Caroline’s-whoever’s name we could read on the front of their shirts and it was right where I wanted to be that day…cheering people on.

Eric dribbling through the streets!

I love encouraging people, and rarely enjoy being the center of attention and on the day of the marathon, that’s what I knew I wanted to be for Eric-an encouragement. I vividly remember when I dribbled in August and how Whitney went nuts every time she saw me! She made me feel like a rockstar! I wanted Eric to feel the same way when he ran (but there was no competing with his wife, Rachael in cheering him on-she booked it down the street after him! She ran for at least 5 NYC blocks!)

Eric and Rachael

Isn’t that what we’re supposed to be all about though? In the body of Christ, we are supposed to edify one another, uplift one another, encourage one another. Romans 1:11-12 says:

¹¹I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong-¹²that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.

The previous DribbletheWorld.com record was 4:37:54 at the 2007 NYC Marathon. Other impressive times were 4:41:21 and 4:44:14–Eric shaved well over a minute off of every mile from those times! For those of you who are runners, imagine running around a 9:18 pace for over 26 miles, while dribbling a basketball!!

All that to say-GREAT JOB ERIC!!! Praise God for you and the heart He has given you for people. As far as I’m concerned, you have world record for dribbling a marathon-and if someone finds a faster time, we’ll bring you back to NYC to beat it

We’re still accepting donations in honor of Eric’s effort to help Malaria No More end malaria deaths by 2015. Remember, every $10 buys, ships, and distributes 2 mosquito nets to protect at risk families. If you are inspired in this way to give, donate here.

Keep checking DribbletheWorld.com-Many pictures and videos coming soon!