Posted by: Kendell
Well the
secret is out; Kendell Kauffeldt is going to run the London marathon. I know that for many of you that will be the
biggest surprise news flash yet in 2014, but it is true. I have signed up and committed to running the
26.2 miles (okay that is scary) on Sunday April 13, 2014, so mark your
calendars because if the earth tilts slightly on its axis that day or there are
freak weather phenomena that day or slight tremors in London that day it is not
due to global climate change or a sign of the times it’s because there will be
a once in a life time event happening and that is me running 26.2 (thanks
British Royalty for the .2, I guess on the day I will not have pleasant thought
towards them for that additional .2 of a mile).
So you might
be asking yourself why is he doing this insane thing that is for skinny
athletic people who just can’t seem to find enough challenges in normal life
(just teasing Bev). Well I asked that
same question to myself today as I was running a 7 mile training run and the answer
remains the same.
I am running
to raise money for the projects that Samaritan’s Purse is doing here in
Liberia. As I am sure you are aware, my
wife, two sons and I have been working in Liberia for the past 9 years and I am
as committed to the vision, mission and purpose of the organization today as I
was the day I signed up for this assignment.
The reason I took this job with Samaritan’s Purse here in Liberia was
because as an organization we are committed to the eternal. That is we want to assist physically those we
help and work with but more importantly we want to help spiritually those we
work with and help. Sustainable peace
and joy can only be found through the love and transformation that comes from
being in relationship with God through Jesus Christ. In my 9 years of working here I have seen
lives, families, villages transformed through that work of Samaritan’s
Purse. That is why I am running the 26.2
mile of the London Marathon; I want to raise money so that more lives, families
and villages can be transformed. And
that is where you come in, I want you to join me, I want you on my team so that
you can be part of what God is doing in Liberia, but I will get to that towards
end of this post.
I hope to
post regularly and keep you informed of how my training is going (so that you
can pray for me, honestly I need you prayers. I am praying that God will return
before April 13, 2014). In my posts I
also hope to let you see into some of the work that Samaritan’s Purse is doing
in Liberia. And lastly, I have a passion
for leadership and so I will share with you a leadership thought as well.
As this blog
is getting way to long (who knew I could ramble so much, no remarks from the peanut
gallery necessary Bev, Joni, mother in law ……) I will just share a leadership
thought as it relates to my question above, “why am I running 26.2 miles?”.
Leadership
thought……..
Good leaders
are willing to take risks, to challenge themselves to take on something that is
out of their comfort zone but will have a positive impact towards their vision,
mission, purpose and objective. Taking
risks takes courage, another leadership trait of good leaders. I have heard it said that “if you always do
what you have always done you will always get what you have always
gotten”. Researched risks will allow for
growth, it will force you to read, it will humble you, it will cause you to
rely on the strengths of your team and it will strengthen you reliance on God;
these are good things and they only happen if a leader is willing to take risks.
T.S Eliot said “Only those who risk
going too far can possibly find out how far they can go” ( I am not sure T.S
knew just how far the marathon is). Yes
you may fail but in life we need to be ready to fail, learn from our failures
and make the necessary adjustments.
Fredrick Wilcox give us a sports analogy that hits the point home,
“Progress involves risk; you will never steal second base and keep your foot on
first base”. So I encourage you this
year, step out, take a risk, challenge yourself and watch God grow you into the
person and leaders you never thought possible, I am testimony to that. There are only two people that I know of that
have walked on water; Jesus (He had, shall we say, an unfair advantage) and
Peter, but Peter had to step out of the boat.
So that
brings me to the end of my first ever blog post. But let me remind you that I
need you to join my team, come on I’m doing the hard work, donate to the work
the Samaritan’s Purse is doing in Liberia by clicking on one of the links
below.
Stay posted
for the next blog when I will again look at leadership but also connect to our
projects.
If you are from the US/Canada, please use this link to donate:
If you are from the UK, please use this link:
