Living Water

Happy Monday, lovelies! Today, I'm linking up with my friend Sybil for Make A Difference Mondays, and talking about water. 

This past weekend, some girlfriends and I ran the first annual Vines Into Water 5K up in gorgeous Los Olivos {aka: wine country}.

This race was put on by causelife, an organization that seeks to provide clean water for those in developing countries, an issue that now carries more weight in my heart after seeing its gravity first hand.

In case anyone's new around here {hello!}, I was beyond blessed to go on a mission trip to Kisoro, Uganda earlier this year. I can't even to begin to explain the effect this had on my heart. 

There were two days that our villages hosted medical clinics, where our incredible team of doctors and nurses were able to serve this community in their mission field. During these days, I saw the effects of malnutrition for my very own eyes. 

You know what else I saw though? I saw the love of Jesus at work. I saw the look of unbelievable graciousness in a father's eyes when his son received medical attention. And the look of joy in eyes that saw clearly for the first time in who knows how long with the aid of a new pair of glasses. 

His love heals. Sometimes bodies, but always hearts. And what a crazy privilege that we have to be a part of that?

Today, I want to share how you can be a part of helping to provide clean water to those who don't have access to it. The very team that I was incredibly humbled and blessed to be a part of is actively engaged in this mission, and you can join them. 

Fuel Uganda is committed to bringing Christ's love to Karamoja, Uganda through clean drinking water. Their well-drilling efforts are providing the drinking water, and Christ Himself is providing the Living water for community transformation. 

Watch the video here to see exactly what incredible things are happening over there, and be moved by the desperate need for clean water sources. 

Feel your heart tug? Get involved! You can give here, and trust me, with how Spirit-lead this organization is, you will be making a difference. 

Well, We Didn't Dye!

This past weekend I finished my first fun run, a Run or Dye 5K!

The run itself was a blast! And I would definitely say we got our fair share of color. 

But why don't you judge for yourself:

It was great! A fun way to get out and get some exercise. And the paint didn't stain, win!

To be honest, I was going to write a few constructive criticism points for Run or Dye. They're coming to Santa Barbara later this year, and I thought there were definitely some things that they could improve on. 

But, shortly before writing this post, I got an e-mail from the company. 

Get this: they sent out an e-mail to every registered runner acknowledging and apologizing for the problems. They went on to assure us that they would make improvements to avoid the problems in the future, and offered each and every one of us 50% off of any event of our choice. For us, and a friend!

Say what???

I think it takes a lot of courage to admit your mistakes, and for the Run or Dye organization to show such humility speaks volumes about the people involved. 

As I said, the run itself was so. much. fun!

And with the event improvements and clearly professional leadership involved, I know this organization will put on many, many more successful events in the future!

I, for one, will absolutely be signing up for round 2 when they come through Santa Barbara. 

Check out their schedule to see if Run or Dye will be coming your way!