Settle in folks here comes an extended post: I would like to introduce to you a new series of posts that will happen on Tuesdays called Triathlon Tuesdays. Maybe some of you have heard by now,(and are still hysterically laughing) but I have decided with a few friends to do my very first triathlon come September 26th. Why you might ask. Well that is a very good question with two answers.
1) I needed a little summer motivation when it came to working out, so why not do something completely outside my comfort zone.
2) I want to change lives! Yup. you read that right. My girlfriends and I are participating in this triathlon as part of a World Vision team. This means that as part of our training and participating we are also fundraising for Clean Water Wells in Africa.
See a couple of months ago I read and was radically challenged by a book called "The Hole in our Gospel." It was written by the president of World Vision and was an amazing book. As I turned every page I was challenged that I needed to do something. But what? What was I going to do to better be the hands and feet of Jesus and respond to the great need in our world. Jon and I have been long time supporters of World Vision and so appreciate the way that they work in communities to meet the most basic needs to give children and families the best life, life to the fullest. After reading the book I had lots of ideas, lots of things crossed my mind and a few different options were explored. But then as I was visiting World Visions website I learned about Team World Vision. Here athletes (or non-athletes like myself) can participate in events with the purpose of raising awareness and funds. My initial thought was that this is great for someone who is a runner...or an athlete...but not for me. Days past and I could not get it out of my head. What if I did that. What if I trained and participated and what if because of my efforts enough money was raised so that children and families in a village thousands of miles away from me could have clean, drinkable water. Clean water is something we take for granted. In communities around the world where clean water is not available children die from all manner of disease and from simple things like diarrhea. 
Every day, nearly 4,000 children die as a result of drinking unsafe water. Every 22 seconds a child perishes from waterborne diseases such as typhoid, cholera, and dysentery. Six million people are blind as a result of contaminated water and bacteria. The issue of clean water is one of the most powerful lessons I took with me from the book, and here with a simple triathlon I could possibly do something about it. And so...here we go. With a few girlfriends who have never done anyting like this before we are embarking on a summer of training, raising awareness and hopefully raising funds. While it will be a physical challenge for us we are so excited because it could mean life to the fullest to children around the world.It is our goal to raise $3,000 dollars. That is enough money to build a well for a village in Africa and change the lives of few hundred people. So here it is. A new Lyons Happening Blog Series: Triathlon Tuesdays. On Tuesdays I will report on our training, the lessons we have learned in the process as well as sharing with you some facts and figures about the water issue that I have learned through World Vision. Hope to see on Tuesdays.