After beginning a running regimen to fight depression and to meditate, I felt led to run for something, not just away from it. Hence, the insane marathon idea.  I will run the Mississippi River Marathon in February. Not one to suffer alone, I decided to drag friends and ministries close to my heart in with me. I wanted to complete the marathon while championing their causes and raising money to help  meet specific needs.
Sixty five thousand (of the 85,000) will go to complete the new living quarters at the Arms of Mercy,Inc. in Greenville,MS. Arms of Mercy is a free 90 day live-in recovery program for men struggling with alcohol and drug addiction. I have volunteered with this group for 13 years. We have outgrown our current facility and received donations to pour the foundation and lay the piping already. This money will be used to frame and fill it.
The other $20,000 in my goal is to help my Ethnos 360 missionary friends the Crouches. Nate and Lauren have been friends of mine for a decade and a half. After completing a tour of foreign mission duty, they have returned to the US (Pennsylvania)to help prepare other missionaries for the field. The money donated will be used to help them with any budget shortfalls, insurance and medical expenses, traveling costs, homeschooling supplies, and family fun time. They are precious and passionate people that I am honored to call friends.