Today is an incredibly important day for many of the residents here at Portland Rescue Mission. It marks the end of early morning training sessions, of getting out of a warm bed to step into the chill of the morning to do something so incredibly against everything they ever thought they could do. March 17th is the Shamrock Run and for the brave men and women taking part, it is the half marathon they have spend four months training for.
Portland Rescue Mission’s recovery programs, The Harbor for men and Shepherd’s Door for women and children, both have their own running clubs that meet on different days to train.
Heather, one of the women’s coaches, previously spoke about how running brings the group of women closer, “When you’re on the road, we’re all just a mess. We’re all broken. We’re just here and we’re just here to do a goal of just hanging out and being with the Lord in fellowship. And it’s so beautiful and I love it.”
Running gets difficult and Emily, one of the residents at Shephard’s Door felt that firsthand. “Endurance on the pavement is similar to endurance in life. One is physical one is emotional… Sometimes when people want to push me, I get cranky.” She responds that her coach helps her focus on what is really important, that they are all there to support and love each other.
“Heather tells me that she’s here cause she loves me and she wants to help me and she doesn’t have to be here. I really appreciate that because I didn’t look at it that way before.”
Janet, one of the volunteer coaches, shares how important community and fellowship with other is, especially during their long training sessions “We each have good and bad days, all of us, and it’s the other people who get you through those bad days.”
We all need community and its that fellowship that gets us through the tough moments. If you are interested in being part of this incredible journey, please e-mail us at volunteer@pdxmission.org.