This is Emilda Soriano. She’s 18 years old and attends Salem Student Center in Iloilo City, Philippines.

The student center she attends serves a community in which many of our families scavenge here.

Child development specialists say that Emilda has the mental capacity of a 3-year-old. But this, and her environment, haven’t prevented her from qualifying to represent the Philippines in track and field at the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece.

Regrettably, qualifying and going to Athens are two different things.

Emilda is currently training … hoping that something can be done so she can join the other 7,500 athletes who will be competing in the games.

She’s not able to make plans because activities like this can’t be funded by our Child Sponsorship Program. However, Compassion Philippines has submitted a proposal requesting additional assistance for Emilda.

This is where you come in. Let’s raise the money to send Emilda to Greece. The amount is just shy of $20,000.

Make a donation to allow Emilda to compete in the International Special Olympics. (UPDATE: Mar. 8, 2011 – 100 percent of the money has been raised.)

Assuming we can raise the money for Emilda, I plan to have at least one follow-up blog post about Emilda before the games begin and one after she’s raced. Depending on what the Philippines Country Office can support, there could be more, including video. That’s what I’m pushing for.

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At the 12th Philippine Special Olympics, Emilda Soriano won a gold medal, two silver medals and a bronze medal in track and field. Her national triumph qualifies her for the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens, Greece.

The Philippine games represented the first time Emilda was away from her parents. The Special Olympics were held at Pangasinan in the north of the Philippines, many kilometers away from where Emilda lives in Iloilo, in the southern part of the country.

Emilda had a high fever on the day of the competition. Reynaldo, Emilda’s father, says,

“I cried so hard thinking about how she was doing. I got worried because I knew she would still compete despite the fever. I was so sad we couldn’t be with her.”

Despite her high fever, Emilda did compete and win the 100-meter dash.

“She was very happy. Well, she’s always happy after running at the track. Winning or losing doesn’t really matter. It doesn’t even matter whether she was in a competition or not. She just loves to run,” says her coach, Gen Mahinay.

Months before the competition, the chances of Emilda joining the national event were very bleak. Her parents could not afford to buy her new shoes, a uniform and vitamins. They had no money to pay for the psychological and medical tests necessary before competing. They couldn’t even afford the transportation fare to go to the local sports complex for practice.

For Emilda and her mother to go to practice twice a day – once in the morning and once in the afternoon – they need close to $1.25 a day. That’s a huge amount for parents who sometimes can’t afford to feed their two daughters.

So Emilda and Vilma walk four kilometers every day to the sports complex.

Reynaldo earns $6.25 a week as a tombstone maker. Vilma tries to augment this by washing clothes, but she can’t work every day because she can never let Emilda out of her sight.

“She is a teenager now, and living in this neighborhood is dangerous, especially for someone who is mentally challenged.”

The family lives in a crowded squatter community beside the public cemetery. Half-naked drunken men litter the streets every hour of the day.

For 10 long years, Reynaldo and Vilma hoped for Emilda to get well. When she was 2 years old, Emilda had a convulsion from high fever. She was unconscious for six days. After she woke up she never responded to people in a normal way.

Vilma enrolled her precious daughter in a regular kindergarten only to be disappointed that Emilda could not grasp the basic concepts that a child her age should easily understand. Vilma held on. She worked hard washing clothes and used the family’s little money to keep sending their daughter to kindergarten for 5 years.

Emilda never recovered.

Still today, Emilda cannot recognize letters, colors, or numbers; she can’t sing, dance, or memorize Scriptures. Although she can talk and communicate, she can’t stay focused on a conversation long and loses a sense of what she’s saying after a few sentences. But she can run.

“My problem was she couldn’t run in a straight line,” Coach Gen explains. “But she practices so hard every time. I tied her foot to the end of the lane so she could see where to go and somehow that worked.”

In several of the local competitions in Iloilo, Emilda lost some races because she would crisscross from lane to lane, although she sometimes did cross the finish line first.

A few weeks before the Special Olympics in Pangasinan, Joseph Alba, the director of Salem Student Center, called Vilma to tell her the good news. Emilda would compete at a national level. The student center bought her new shoes, a uniform, plane tickets and paid for the psychological and medical tests.

“We will support Emilda all the way. We are very proud of her achievements.”

Although the student center and the church can shoulder Emilda’s local and national competition expenses, it’s beyond their ability to help her compete internationally.

The government cannot financially support athletes competing in the Special Olympics and so help must come from elsewhere.

Emilda lost her chance to compete in one international competition because her family did not have the money. Nobody backed her up.

Today, Emilda is one of the best-known students at the Integrated School for Exceptional Children of Iloilo City. She got into this school because of Compassion, and it is here that she was introduced to running.

Reynaldo and Vilma make sure to save the $27 for her annual tuition fee, and Emilda continues to train at the sports complex every day with her mother.

“I would give everything for my daughter. Now that she is enjoying life as an athlete, I try not to worry about her future when she would be by herself once we leave this life. Hers is a very bleak future.”

Because of financial lack, Reynaldo and Vilma may never see their special child’s triumphant moments on the track. If indeed she became the first Compassion-sponsored child to win an Olympic medal someday, they may just have to settle with hearing stories about it.

“We’re just hoping that someday the competitions would take place here in Iloilo where we only have to walk four kilometers to see our daughter compete.”

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Sergio lives in the poor community of Carranza, near the Gulf of México, in the state of Veracruz. Children living in communities like Carranza are normally shy, with few aspirations or dreams. The message poverty engraves in the minds and hearts is, “You are not good enough, you don’t matter, and you are not going to make it.”

But Sergio has been part of the Compassion-assisted A Light to My Path Student Center for four years. The tutors at the center believe children have a God-given potential to succeed even against their poverty, lack of resources and opportunities, and all other circumstances around them.

Sergio and nearly 200 other children in his town attend the development center. They enjoy some classes after school to support their learning. They are taught how to keep themselves healthy by practicing sports, eating vegetables, showering, and keeping healthy practices. Children have a place to feel they are valued and loved.

But most important, children here learn about the love and the plans God has for them.

As part of the regular activities, the children are taken to nearby courts to practice basketball, football and other sports. The church organizes games and events to promote their involvement.

Sergio used to be part of the football team; the church pastor was involved, helping to support the children and guide them to learn to win and to lose, managing their emotions, and playing clean.

But two years ago the school PE teacher found that many children in town had running talent, and Sergio stood out with his speed, endurance and commitment, so the teacher began training him on 600-meter and relay races.

Sergio has liked to run since he was a little boy. His mother, Cita, recalls him winning his first race in his kindergarten sports games.

“He was always running up and down. He usually had many bruises because he was never still.”

After a few months of training, the school had a very strong 4-by-75 meter relay team and started winning races against other schools in the area. The team made it to the state races and then qualified for the nationals.

The state of Veracruz supported their talent and hard work, and provided support for them to keep training. Then, suddenly, a situation rose like a wall in their path. The national races required equipment.

The final races in the state had been very difficult, and a professional coach recommended the team use spikes to run. Children and families had never heard such a thing. Special running shoes were not only needed, but costly — $120 a pair.

With a family of five children and the small income of a truck driver, Cita knows “the only opportunity our children have to get new clothes or shoes is when they receive a gift from their sponsor.”

Sergio’s father works 14 hours a day, six days a week to earn a maximum wage of $12 per day to support his family. Getting $120 shoes seemed impossible.

But child development programs like the one Sergio attends keep telling children they are valued and have the potential to become anything they would like to be. They insist there is nothing impossible to God, and the message they hear from their tutors reminds them of the opportunity they have to do better, to dream, and to fulfill those dreams.

Sergio struggled with this idea over and over in his head. Then on a hot afternoon while Cita was walking in the street market, she found a secondhand pair of shoes that were funny looking. Her heart jumped and she ran to the school to show the PE teacher the shoes.

“These are the shoes we need for the children,” he said.

Still amazed, the mother brought Sergio to try on the shoes, and they were just about his size. The mother then talked to the father and they agreed to use some money they had saved for months and paid the price for the shoes, $20.

“What a great day,” Sergio recalls. After all, he was the first in the team to get the spikes needed for the race, and today he is part of the athletics team at school running 600 meters and as the starter of the 4-by-75 relay race team.

Last year Sergio’s team reached the nationals and won fourth place in their discipline. For Sergio and the other children, winning the races meant satisfaction and recognition by their family, school, teachers, friends and others in their community.

When Sergio participates in his races, the church gives him full support and has always taught him to behave as a son of God. Every time he goes off to competitions, his pastor and teachers pray with him and follow his results.

After winning his last race in the state, he was presented at church and the pastor prayed for him and for his family on Sunday morning. Sergio knows that despite where he is from, he is loved by God and is good enough to win a race. He knows that strength, wisdom and speed, in his case, are all gifts from God.

Sergio is confident enough to race, and he knows he is good. He has received many medals and recognition, but he knows how to keep both feet on the ground. He does not boast about himself or walk around the community with pride; even when he is well known by many, he greets all and smiles shyly. He is still humble enough to do the errands for his mother and church.

Sergio trains on a regular basis, attends the Compassion program, keeps good grades at school, and helps his mother at home. When races approach, the athletics team meets every afternoon to train. They have to go to a main town to find a sand court and train. This requires dedication and persistence.

Sergio says he prefers the relay race over the 600 meters because the relay is when he gets to run faster to win for the team. But the longer race requires persistence, he has to endure the race, and then at the end he needs to run faster to finish the race in a good position.

Perhaps persistence is one of the things we most need to succeed, and children in our programs need to endure the long run. Sergio is surely learning this lesson. And as the state and national races approach this year, Sergio is growing stronger and hopefully he will endure long enough not only to make it to the nationals this year, but to succeed in life and shape a brighter future for himself.

After all, nothing is impossible with God.

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” — 1 Corinthians 9:24-25 (NIV)

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Some mornings, it’s rainy. Or cold. Most mornings, my bed feels so cozy and the thought of hitting the pavement sounds ridiculous! However, I know in the end, the discipline will pay off when we cross the finish line.

In order to keep our minds off the pain of running, Marc and I usually talk about a number of our favorite things, but rarely do we talk about spiritual disciplines. Although lately I’ve been thinking a lot about fasting, which is weird since training for a marathon means I should probably be eating more food.

However, there are a number of different ways to fast – with refraining from media outlets and food or specific drinks being quite common. But regardless of what the fast is about, they all make me uncomfortable. I told this to Marc, a relatively new Christian, and his response stunned me.

“Well, I don’t understand fasting. Jesus Christ died on the cross for me, and in return, I’m supposed to give up Starbucks? Seems like we’re missing the point.”

Whoa! Instantly, I was humbled.

When I fast, I usually chose something that won’t necessarily bother me too much… like abstaining from Starbucks or Facebook. Marc and I discussed the issue of fasting for the next couple of miles. We compared it to our marathon training.

I realize that much like my marathon training prepares my physical body for the task ahead of me, Christian fasting is a discipline for the soul. By fasting, I make a conscious decision to sacrifice comfort to draw closer to the heart of Christ. Fasting allows us the privilege of sharing in His suffering.

After a couple of miles, I realized that maybe my problem with fasting is that I was missing the point all along. As with all things that are difficult, such as fasting or marathon training, there is also so much joy to be found.

May we challenge ourselves today to pray about a way we can experience the discipline of Christian fasting, and in doing so, enter into the presence of our God.

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Just crossing the finish line of Colorado’s U.S. Trail National Championship June 29 in Steamboat Springs was quite a feat on its own. Winning an age-group division in this 12-kilometer race was even more of an accomplishment. But what really qualifies Tim Smith as a champion is succeeding in all this with a symbol plastered across his chest to represent the millions of impoverished children around the world.

Tim is a Mail Services Specialist at the Global Ministry Center (GMC) in Colorado. As he says, he is “deeply passionate about and committed to our work … to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name.”

Tim is a prolific runner and runs as passionately as he works. He approaches both his job and his races with fervor because in his mind these two worlds are not isolated.

The U.S. Trail National Championship was the 10th race he competed in since March 2007 while wearing his jersey and representing Compassion — clearly Tim utilizes running as an opportunity to speak up for children living in the bondage of poverty.

How many eyes saw his Compassion jersey as he warmed up, raced and recovered?

How many individuals wondered about Compassion or for the first time considered the harsh reality of poverty that affects so many today?

Neither Tim nor anyone else may ever know the results of his choice to race in that jersey. All Tim can stand on is that we are all called to “seek justice,” “encourage the oppressed,” and “defend the cause of the fatherless” (Isaiah 1:17) in every area of life. The results are not our responsibility.

Tim’s grass-roots advocacy captures the core of Compassion’s desire: to break hearts for the poor in a way that permeates who we are and causes us constantly to remember the voiceless.

Not only that, but as Tim explains, “I wear the Compassion shirt because my desire is to honor Compassion and the ministry. … I use the shirt as a platform upon which I can witness to other athletes that I come in contact with.”

Not only could his jersey cause people to consider the poor, but it presents an opportunity for Tim to share with other runners the purpose Christ has given his life. Wearing a Compassion shirt is a simple act, but God uses nonglamorous obedience to further His kingdom.

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“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”  (NIV)

I think I took it out of context to fit my needs as an ambitious track runner, but nonetheless, it’s something I’ve held on to for many years and often recite in my head. 

Want to know why I’m sharing this with you, my friends?  Well, a group of Compassion employees are getting ready to run a 10K Race called the Bolder Boulder. It takes place annually on Memorial Day in the city of Boulder. Last year there were nearly 50,000 registered runners! This year the race will be on May 26 and we are hoping to get 100 Compassion employees registered for the race.

So, while the scripture is a little out of context, we are still running with a prized goal in mind. As Compassion employees, our goal for this Memorial Day race is to run in memory of the 28,000 children who die daily from preventable causes due to poverty.  

If you live in Colorado, or plan to be in the area that weekend, please come and run with us! We would love to have your support in sharing the advocacy message of Compassion.

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