Walking to Stop Cancer

Saturday was Yucaipa's Relay for Life. This is the American Cancer's Society's BIGGEST fundraiser. And I was SO blessed to be a part of it. My mom and I co-captained a team for our church called Refiner's Fire. It was a lot of work, being this was out first year on a team, but it was worth it. Our team raised over $3000 and the whole event has already raised almost $52,000 for cancer research. We set up our site Friday night, then Esther and I got there on Saturday morning at 7:30 and we there until late that night (and back again in the morning with Steve for a sunrise church service provided by our church and another church in Yucaipa). At night they have this very emotional candlelight service where people buy a luminaria for $5 and then the bag is decorated to either honor someone who is battling cancer or is a survivor or in memory of someone who lost the fight. They then line the tracks with the bags and put candles in them and then turn off all the lights. As you walk along the track you can read the names and it's really a moving experience. I walked with my mom and dad (both survivors) and I couldn't have been more privledged to have them here with me. One of the girls on our team lost her mom to ovarian cancer 2 years ago and I have a good friend who's mom is battling pancreatic cancer and I was able to spend some time in prayer for them. If any of you get a chance to participate in a Relay for Life, do it. It's a wonderful feeling to know you are being part of a group of people who are trying to stop cancer from claiming the lives of people we love.