Joe Tomei here, I’ve received a request to post the information below. We have, from time to time, accepted these requests, but I’d like to know how readers feel about them. I’ll be trying to make a poll in a few days about this. Stay tuned!

Dear Kumamoto International Members,

I ask you to take a few minutes to read this post. My good friend and pastor, Norman Smith, will be running 100 miles (160km) on Friday and Saturday, May 22nd and 23rd, respectively. He is running to raise money for Siloam Home for Orphans and Widows in SE India. The Siloam Home for Orphans and Widows has fallen on hard times the last few years as the number of supporting churches has dropped, and inconsistent support has lead them to take out loans for necessities several times.

Norman volunteered to lead the charge for a special fundraiser to wipe out the debt and set the stage to put a better plan in place for the orphanage’s support going forward. His goal is $20,000 by the end of May 2020. He plans to run across Kyushu from the Kumamoto coast over the mountains 100 miles away to the Oita coast. He has set up a site to collect pledges and is suggesting $1 per mile. However, larger donations are more than welcome.

For Norman, this is an opportunity to encourage someone else, help people in need, meet new people and grow spiritually along the way. We grow through adversity, and he expects that those 100 miles will provide plenty of that! He is excited to see how God draws the church family together, meets needs and glorifies God.

Though I will not be running, I am part of the crew to support him during the run. My shift is from 10pm on Friday, May 22nd to 8am on Saturday, May 23rd.

Please consider donating to help the cause. I have included a few links below. If you have any questions, please contact me directly.

Explanation of Run This is an in-depth explanation of why Norman is running.

https://www.abwe.org/blog/running-siloam …

Facebook Page: KO100 (Kumamoto Oita 100 Miles) This page documents Norman’s training since October 2019.

https://www.facebook.com/ko100japan/

Snowball Donation page https://siloam-home-for-orphans-and-widows.snwbll.com/giving-portal?fbclid=IwAR0VZ9u6mXlZn0GeW4--I654lex6HxP9PGKJ3lUltpMyIC1ozRqYQ_F-FRY

(Donation) ABWE Giving Portal – Siloam Home for Orphans and Widows https://www.abwe.org/work/missionaries-and-projects?s=Siloam