Greetings from Walker, LA (Home of the Renegades) and March Charity Reveal

Run Stats:
Day: 93
Miles Completed: 350.3
Miles to San Diego: 1749.7
Avg Miles/Day: 3.8
Estimated Arrival Date in San Diego: 23 June 2017
Marathons Completed: 13.4
Shoes: Skora Fit/Skora Tempo
Playlist Favs: Shuffle
Guest Runners: None

Bible Verse of the Day: You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." Galatians 5:13-14 (NIV)

Run Reflections: I'm continuing to head west on I-12 and today I'll be passing through the city of Walker, LA. It's currently 59 degrees in Walker with a forecast for a high of 72 and light winds. The past week has been an off week distance wise as we've had a lot of rain and thunderstorms. It's hard to believe I'm 3 months into this journey. Overall, I'm enjoying doing this and am pleased that I have been able to stay pretty close to the pace for the year that I set for myself. It will be interesting to see how things go as the hot weather of summer approaches.

Walker, LA: Walker is city in Livingston Parish and is considered part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Statistical Area. The area now known as Walker was founded by Michael Milton and his wife, Martha, in 1853. The Miltons were a pioneering family from North Carolina that settled an area in Alabama, before clearing 400 acres in the piney woods east of the Amite River and Denham Springs. The Federal government recognized the growth of the settlement and opened a post office as Milton Old Field in 1856. Michael Milton was appointed as postmaster in 1858. In 1890 the post office was renamed after Dr. William Elliott Walker, M.D., a legislator from nearby Springfield, who had also served as a Lt. Col. in the Confederate Army. Walker became a city in 2011 by proclamation of Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.

I wasn't able to find out a lot of additional information on the town of Walker but I did find some interesting information about upcoming things to do in the surrounding Livingston Parish area. These include the following:

• 1-3 April 1st Annual Denham Springs Fair
• 15-16 April Relive WWII - Honoring Those Who Served, Sidney Hutchison Park
• 16 April Blessing of the Bikes, Magnolia Beach Plaza Truck Stop
• 21 April Every Dog Club Dog Show
• 30 April Denham Springs Antique District Spring Festival
• 5-7 May Tickfaw 200 Powerboat Poker Run

Another highlight I found in the Walker/Livingston Parish area is the Bass Pro Shop Outdoor World in Denham Springs Bass Pro Shops. Located on 75-acres along I-12, the 163,000 square-foot store has won numerous awards for the architecture and design of the store. In addition to the normal Bass Pro retail offerings, the store also features an expansive boat showroom and a uniquely designed Islamorada Fish Company restaurant capable of seating 300 people. Per the store web site, guests should plan on staying several hours as there is a lot to see including Fred, the alligator snapping terrapin that is approximately 125 to 150 years old and Donnie, a rescued Raccoon that calls our store his home. Donnie was rescued as a baby and was never able to learn to care for himself. Donnie is one of the tools that the store and staff use in educating the hundreds of children who come to the store on field trips each year. It is not unusual to find any of the ducks or turtles that live in our indoor pond roaming in the store. I've included a picture of the store from their website and think I'll have to take a short detour on my run to check out both the store and the restaurant.

March Charity: This month's charity is UrbanPromise International (UPI). Headquartered in Camden, NJ, it was originally created by a small group of college-age missionaries to provide a summer camp for neighborhood children--providing a safe, loving, fun, and creative place for local youth to escape dangerous city streets. The mission of UPI is to prepare emerging leaders to initiate, develop, and sustain Christian-based youth development organizations and to seed their ministries as they serve vulnerable children and teens in our world's most under-resourced communities in North America and around the world including Honduras, Uganda and Malawi, Africa. They currently have over 50 after school or summer camp programs and 15 world-wide ministries including support for two orphanages.

We became aware of this outstanding organization because the daughter (Margaret) of our good friends Jack and Teresa Wooten works for them. We've seen first hand what this group does and how they invest in and make a difference in the lives of children and youth. We recently received a letter from them indicating the need for resources to buy maize for their kids in Malawi. According to their web site, maize is a staple in Malawi and is used to make sima, a dish present at almost all Malawian tables. Apparently, due to economic conditions in Malawi, the cost of maize has risen dramatically recently. In the month of March, I was able to run 117.7 miles. Based on that, we are going to donate $117.70 to UrbanPromise to help support this need for maize.

I would encourage you to take a minute and check out what these folks are doing by reviewing their web site. This site outlines a lot of their ongoing programs as well as some of their current support needs. They also have a "shop" link where a variety of products such as jewelry, pottery and coffee are available. All these products are made by the folks they support and all of the proceeds go directly to support their active world-wide ministries.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this and for the positive, encouraging support as I continue doing this. Have a great week!

Cheers,

Pat