Lisa Smith-Batchen was the first woman to ever accomplish this feat; no man has ever done this! That is to run from the lowest point in the US to the highest point in the continental US.  Jason is doing this run to raise money for clean water.

A young child from Siena home that needs clean water.

One of the groups that will benefit from the run will be  the children at Siena Home, an orphanage of the Religious Teachers Filippini in India. Many come to Siena Home for refuge and we need to provide clean water to all who come. Lisa, myself and several others will be with Jason. Follow us on the websites below.

Please pray for Jason and help us as you are able. God bless you. Sr.MB

ps – Here are some sites about the event
www.jasonplester.com
www.store.nike.com

Extensive flooding in New Jersey after Hurricane Irene has affected the home of the Religious Teachers Filipini and they NEED your help. All donations will be appreciated. Please send them to Sr. Mary Elizabeth Lloyd, MPF, 455 Western Ave., Morristown, NJ 07960 as a check made out to Religious Teachers Filippini Missions. 100% of your donation will be dedicated to helping the Sisters make it through this natural disaster that has devastated New Jersey and the surrounding areas. Bless you and thank you!

The summer of 2008 Lisa ran the Badwater Double (a little over 300 miles). Immediately after that, she did the Funace Creek 500, which is 500+ miles on a bicycle. These two events generated over $500,000.00, all of which went to help the children who need so much.

Ultramarathon running legend Lisa Smith-Batchen has one thing in common with the iconic “Energizer Bunny”: she has a super-human ability to go the distance. However, Smith-Batchen is not powered by batteries, but by an internal drive to make a positive difference in the lives of children, and that goal is what energizes her to keep going. Smith-Batchen has completed eight Badwater Ultramarathons, one 300-mile Badwater Double, and been the only American woman ever to win Morocco’s 150-mile Marathon Des Sables.

She completed the 300-mile “Badwater Double” in 2006 to raise money and awareness for AIDS orphans. Now she is setting out to do an unprecedented 810-mile run and ride to raise more funds for the same purpose. She has already collected $150,000 in donations since announcing her aggressive attempt of the “Death Valley 810.” The money will go to AIDS Orphans Rising, an organization that benefits those orphaned by the AIDS virus, and she hopes to exceed the $294,000 she raised in 2006. “There is no greater purpose than helping children who have been orphaned by AIDS,” Smith-Batchen said.

“These children lose everything; I am so blessed to have the opportunity to use athletics to raise money for this worthy cause. I have increased the difficulty of this year’s event in hopes that our donors will help us contribute even more to AIDS Orphans Rising than in 2006. Together, we can have an incredible impact on children’s lives.”

Sister Mary-Beth Lloyd of the Religious Teachers Filippini founded AIDS Orphans Rising, and 100 percent of all donations directly benefit the lives of the orphans. They receive shelter, food, clothing, and much-needed attention from those who care. The organization succeeds by providing the children with skills necessary to live productive lives.

The inspiration behind the event comes from Sister Mary-Beth Lloyd, and it has been the inspiration behind the spirit of Smith-Batchen for 25 years. It is the first time she will accompany Smith-Batchen as a member of her support team. She will summit Mt. Whitney with her, something that Smith-Batchen said she is excited about.

On July 9, Smith-Batchen begins her 810-mile journey in Las Vegas, Nev., where she will run to Badwater, Calif., in Death Valley National Park, the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere at 292 feet below sea level and nearly 160 miles away.

By Teresa Griswold
Jackson Hole Weekly
July 2, 2008

Marshall Ulrich Will Run Across Death Valley … Again!
Fundraising to support “The Real Work of Peace and Justice”

From September 13 through November 4, 2008, Marshall Ulrich ran 3,063 miles across America from San Francisco to New York City. He ran an average of more than 58 miles—or two marathons plus a 10K—every day, for 52 and-a-half days in a row. That’s the equivalent of 117 marathons in less than 53 days. He broke the record for those over 50 years old (Grand Masters), and broke the record for those over 40 (Masters). He was 57 years old at the time. In 2010 a documentary and book will be coming out about the run.

The thrill of running through Times Square on election day was beyond compare. But, the torture to his body and spirit were also unbelievable. Marshall suffered from plantar fasciitis, then a lateral tear to a tendon, on his right foot. He temporarily dislocated his tibia. He suffered from severe knee, Achilles, and back pain; as well as horrific sleep deprivation. He was almost hit by a car, and was even shot at!

Although Marshall is still recovering from Running America, he will again be running 146 miles from 242 feet below sea level at the Badwater basin to the 14,494-foot summit of Mount Whitney. Why? Because he knows that the suffering he endured during Running America, and the challenges he will face in Death Valley beginning on July 10, 2009, are nothing compared to how others around the world suffer every day. According to the United Nations, in Ethiopia alone 470,000 children are orphaned by AIDS… every year… creating Child Headed Households (CHH): families lead by a child under the age of 18. And, many women, or young girls of these CHHs, lack skills to provide for those they must support.

You can help change the world! One woman, one child, at a time.

With support and love these kids are making a success of their lives, working at their own micro-enterprises and getting an education. You can help Marshall support this work—the “real work of peace and justice”—by supporting programs that will empower the women and children in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Your donation will help complete an elementary school, a women’s center, and a hostel for the orphans in Addis Ababa. The young and most neglected children are taken into the Sister’s hostel, keeping them together as a family. They are given food, clothing, shelter, and schooling. In the morning all of the children come to school to receive nourishment and an education. When the boys get bigger, they will enter the Christian Brothers school in town. The older girls enter a special program where they learn a skill that allows them to provide for their siblings. Graduates will have the skills to allow them to set up their own restaurants or sewing shops; or to become successful in business and technology, or as teachers and nurses. With your help—and the courage and perseverance of the children— they will have a chance to rise above their terrible situation.

Every penny you contribute goes directly to the mission and your gift is tax deductible!

You can show your generous and sacrificial spirit and give thousands of women and children a chance in life by making a donation today! Please send a check, made out to the Religious Teachers Filippini Mission Fund, to:

Religious Teachers Filippini Mission Fund
Re: Marshall Ulrich
455 Western Avenue
Morristown, NJ 07960

Any donation that you can make will be greatly appreciated!

Thank you, Marshall & Heather Ulrich

About Marshall Ulrich

This will be Marshall’s 16th official Badwater race and 22nd time across Death Valley – both world records. His other crossings include the only 146-mile, unaided, self-contained solo from Badwater to the summit of Mount Whitney; a north to south crossing; and his four-time, consecutive crossing: the 584-mile Badwater Quad. Once Marshall finishes the 135-mile official race again this year, he will continue to the summit of Mount Whitney. All told, his journey will cover 157 miles with about 19,000 feet of elevation gain in temperatures ranging from 120°F to possibly as low as freezing on the summit of Whitney. Marshall is making this journey to raise funds for the orphans from AIDS and women in Ethiopia. Knowing that you have contributed to the Religious Teachers – making a difference in the lives of these women and children – will provide motivation for Marshall to complete his journey. For more information about Marshall, go to www.marshallulrich.com. Look for an updated version of this site as “dreams in action” coming soon.

Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness. ~Maya Angelou

Want to change the world? Use the gifts God has given you! Celine Ferland after receiving her Ph.D in music, the flute, wrote to me and said what could I ever do for the children?

She has changed the world for the children at the missions of the Religious Teachers Filippini in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia. Thousands of children now know the joy of playing a musical instrument and have learned the peace that comes from the mellow sounds of the flute. This beautiful music is helping them realize that there is meaning to life after all!

Learn more — stlucyorphanagefluteschool.blogspot.com and read about Celine’s project. The photos were taken by Celine’s niece, Safia.

So what talent has God given you? Share it with the orphans. They need you.

There is nothing in the world so much like prayer as music is.
~William P. Merrill

God’s sign is the baby, a child. God’s sign is that he makes himself small for us. He asks for our love, so he makes himself a child. He wants nothing from us other than our love, through which we spontaneously learn to enter into his feelings, his thoughts and his will – we learn to live with him and to practice with him that humility of renunciation that belongs to the very essence of love. He teaches us to love the weak. In this way he teaches us respect for children. The child of Bethlehem directs our gaze towards all children who suffer and are abused in the world, the born and the unborn. Towards children who are placed as soldiers in a violent world; towards children who have to beg; towards children who suffer deprivation and hunger; towards children who are orphans or unloved.

In all of these it is the Child of Bethlehem who is crying out to us; it is the God who has become small who appeals to us. Let us pray this night that the brightness of God’s love may enfold all these children. Let us ask God to help us do our part so that the dignity of children may be respected. May they all experience the light of love, which mankind needs so much more than the material necessities of life.*

Thank you so very much for all you have done for the children at the missions of the Religious Teachers Filippini. Your countless hours working for the orphans, the hundreds of miles you have run, biked, climbed and even baked will not go unrewarded. Your generosity in helping to feed, clothe, house and educate these children has truly made a difference in their lives. May you and your families be blessed in a most special way throughout this coming New Year. Be assured of the daily prayers and sacrifices of the Sisters throughout the world. We look forward to doing even more for these children in 2009!

*adapted from the 2006 Christmas Homily of Pope Benedict XVI

“Jesus is my Lord” is boldly displayed above the door post of this one room shanty in Brazil. But look closer, below are the words,”and there is nothing that I want!”

On this Monday after Thanksgiving, I pray you have the same sentiments. Most of us do have all we need!

But sorrow, sadness, and terror, abound in this world. We must be strong in our Faith or as Pope Benedict XVI says, “… without faith, there is no hope and without hope there is not future.” Make sure you pass this Faith on to your children and friends. They need your strength.

This International Day of AIDS awareness, spread the word around about the orphans from this terrible disease. In New Jersey there are over 22,000 such orphans, not to mention the millions world over.

My Thanksgiving prayer is for the children and for all of you who work so hard to help them. God hears your prayers and sees your efforts to reach out to them. Continue to pray for them, only divine intervention can help resolve a problem of such dimensions.

God is listening! Watch the attached video clip, these Brazilian girls are happy and getting their lives back in order, thanks to your goodness to them. Nothing better!

God bless you,
Sr. Mary Beth

Happy Mother’s Day to all!

Most of us had great mothers and we can understand what this little girl is going through. There is no sadder time in your life than when your mother dies, or perhaps the saddest moment is days later when you realize she really is gone and life will never be the same.

For the million of children today that are the orphans from AIDS there will be no Mother’s Day for them. Every 14 seconds new orphans are formed from the death of their parents. The family is the basic unit of society, and if we do not help the Child Headed Households* stay together society as we know it will disintegrate!

So what can you do for them? Pray. As Christians we take Mary the Mother as Jesus as our mother and believe she hears our prayers. It is the month of May, offer at least one Rosary for the children. And pray for those kids in Myanmar too!

Something else you might do! The prices of wheat, corn and rice have increased 66% this year. The World Bank believes it is affecting more than 100,000,000 people from having enough to eat. Most of these are children. This week Congress will begin discussing the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill. Just send a quick email asking your representative or senator to support the part of this bill that will help feed the poor. This site

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/ is an easy way to access them by your zip code

I know this feels like work. One quick click! Do it for these kids that have no mothers to feed them.

Thanks so much for working so hard to save the orphans.
Be assured of my daily prayers for your own intentions.

God bless you.
Sr.MB

*Child Headed Households are children of one family, all under the age of 18, trying to live together as a family.