Ever since I posted my marathon story, dozens of people have left comments and emails, calling it “amazing”, “heroic”, and “insane”. While I can definitely agree with the last sentiment, I must respectfully disagree with the first two. The real heroes are you … the people who donated to help the orphans of Loudi, my city here in China.

And the results are pretty staggering, far beyond what I expected. Drumroll, please …

The total amount is $5,243.69, or ¥40,101.
That’s more than double my yearly living stipend!

In all, twenty eight individuals contributed money … ten of them were friends and family (totalling $1621) and the other eighteen (whose donations totalled $522.60) were people I’ve never met before in my life (mostly parents who have adopted children from Loudi). My school in Cincinnati also did a separate collection from students, parents, and teachers and contributed a lump sum of $674.89. Finally, the anonymous donor who generously committed to matching the other donations dollar-for-dollar ended up giving $2625!

The money will be combined with the proceeds from my calendar and my upcoming Loudi coffee table book and given to Love Without Boundaries at the end of this year. I’ll be talking with key personnel in LWB about the distribution of this money, seeking to meet the most vital and relevant needs of this city through some of its smallest citizens. I have full confidence in their financial accountability and the effectiveness of their efforts … and I actually feel quite blessed that such a quality organization already has their fingers deep into this small community in central China!

Thank you to all of you who have stepped up and given so generously. You are the real story here, the unsung heroes who spoke love into the lives of these anonymous children. I can’t help but be reminded of Christ’s love, which was poured out for us before we even knew His name … not because of us, but because of Him. And just as we are graciously invited to live in His family, you also have given a piece of your home to these orphans, showing them a sliver of parental love from the other side of the world.

Thank you!

Posted to webeldotnet on Wednesday, May 30th, 2007 at 10:34 am EST in China & My Life (comment feed). If you refer to this post on your blog, please trackback. Thanks!