All Good Things Must End

    

 This is the message I received from Love146 - a fun wrap up to Tread on Trafficking.

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First, take a well deserved deep breath.... Cool down. We've been watching in awe for the past eight weeks -- humbled and genuinely blown away by the love and passion you all have put into making Tread on Trafficking an overwhelming success this year. 

 

You did it! Over a thousand of you treaded this year & you've raised well over 

We believe that Love protects, defends, restores and empowers-- this is the Love that you're bringing to children. The diversity and depth of the stories you've shared are amazing but there's one consistent theme: The bravery of precious children affected by sex trafficking moves us-- literally-- we are moved and we've started moving together. 

For some treaders, these have been the first steps beginning a more active lifestyle, and for others, they have been the first steps on their journey as an Abolitionist.

Now the moment you've all been waiting for: It's time to announce the Top Treader Award Winners!

In addition to the work of Abolition that you've enabled by Treading on Trafficking -- the children you're protecting and restoring-- your effort has also been a tremendous encouragement to our Love146 Staff! It's given such a fresh energy to our team, and we feel so loved and supported in the (sometimes difficult) work we're doing. Congratulations on crossing the finish line for Abolition!!! 

From the bottom of our hearts, Thank You.

 

End of Tread Just a Day Away

This last week, after the race, I hardly ran at all. Not because of injury or anything negative but because my husband and I hit the weights hard! We've found that we really like to work out together. It's the first shared interest we've had since college. I spent the first part of this week just recovering. I was spent, front and back of me. It was kind of nice.

I said all that to say that it is a new day for me. Two months ago I was down and now not only am I up and running, I'm stronger and healthier. It's a more complete kind of health than just dieting or just trying to do a litle extra exercise to make up for the sweets I had earlier in the day.

The last day of the Tread is tomorrow! To wrap this baby up, I'll go for a nice long run in the morning - thankful with each step for this opportunity to raise awareness and funds and for such a speedy recovery. Thank you, God!

Thank you to those of you who have supported this journey - in prayer or through a donation. Together we raised $365 to go toward care for survivors and those vulnerable to exploitation.

To make a one-time gift, visit my donation page at http://Love146.kintera.org/tread/jenmellick

Middle of June...already??

It seems like only a few weeks ago that I began talking to people about Tread on Trafficking. In actuality, that was almost three months ago! Time flies.

At the time that I started to talk to people I was having a hard time getting around, and now I'm about to run my first 5K since my stress fracture. Woohoo!!

As always, the healing process is only a side note. The real story, the real plea, is about the women and children enslaved by sex trafficking. Entire communities and even cultures are tainted by this. It is destroying them from the inside out. Thousands and thousands of people are forever broken because of this most horrible evil.



Please, if you have not already done so, please give to Tread on Trafficking.

To make a one-time gift, visit my donation page at http://Love146.kintera.org/tread/jenmellick

Challenge Accepted...Challenge Extended

Chad and I have registered for the Hope Challenge 5K on June 18th.  I am pretty excited about it!

The last week has been encouraging. I have a certain level of paranoia that I've been calling "caution" that I'm letting go of a bit. Yes, I'm still being attentive, but overall, I've been good to go. I just don't want to push day after day. I will give myself an opportunity to recover. The 2 miles on Monday was a test. The 3 miles yesterday was an accident. Either way, I feel good.

Much more importantly, I would like to raise the campaign to you once again. I feel like I'm back in it and want to challenge each of you to join me in this. The ultimate goal is not that I recover. The goal is that we do what we can to help out women/children who are enslaved by sex trafficking. Please get involved.

Do what you can.

To learn more about trafficking or Love146, visit their website at http://www.love146.org/.

To make a one-time gift, visit my donation page at http://Love146.kintera.org/tread/jenmellick.

To make a pledge, visit the Pledges & One-Time Gifts page here on my blog.

Sorry for the Delay Folks!

The last two weeks have not been conducive for devoting myself to running. I was out of town for the Christian Alliance for Orphans Summit VII and then last week we had a death in the family so I was in Colorado.  It's not just that I was out of town but that my schedule while out of town was tight. Now that I'm through it, I have no excuse for not picking up my routine again.

Last night I ran 1.4 miles. It sounds kind of pathetic, but I am starting to feel stronger (in that area of my leg). It's hard to describe how the leg can feel weak (not the muscles). I'm feeling like I can put more weight or pressure on my leg now. So I pushed beyond a little bit last night to test it. If it hurt afterwards then I would pull back. Honestly, my leg feels alright, but my muscles are feeling it - which is indicator to me (now that I've learned my lesson) to hang out at this distance for just a bit.

So here we go! Back on track!

To learn more about trafficking or Love146, visit their website at http://www.love146.org/.

To make a one-time gift, visit my donation page at http://Love146.kintera.org/tread/jenmellick.

To make a pledge, visit the Pledges & One-Time Gifts page here on my blog.

Off and Running!

It's not much, but I ran 1/2 a mile yesterday! :o) That sounds pretty pathetic actually, but I started off hearing the doctor's voice saying, "start off with 1/4 of a mile...if that feels okay, do that for a couple of weeks then do 1/2 a mile for a couple of weeks." Folks, that's just crazy.

I honestly feel fantastic. There's absolutely no discomfort in my leg.I will stay at 1/2 a mile for at least a week while my muscles and tendons all get used to it, but this "1/4 of a mile for two weeks" is bogus. Sorry, Doc.

So, though it looks like nothing, it's a very promising start! Better than I had hoped.

Fundraising Stats - Amazing!

Only a few days in, nearly half of the fundraising goal has been met. Thank you so much to those of you who are supporting this, monetarily or in prayer.

My fundraising goal:

$750.00

Money raised to date:
$340.00

Wanted to share this email message with you...

This Sunday, May 1st, over 500 Abolitionists are hitting their streets, gyms, pools, and yoga mats to get in shape and raise money & awareness about child trafficking. Tread on Trafficking is an 8 week virtual event where those working out can ask sponsors to support them for miles or hours they "tread." Tread on Trafficking has already raised $20,000 this year and it hasn't even begun yet; we're off to a fabulous start! What's made Tread on Trafficking so awesome, though, are the Treaders: people who just want to do something, who are passionate to make a change in their lives and in the lives of children. We wanted to share with you a story from one Treader, Dawna Lamson:

 

Progress!! Just in Time.

I cycled a couple of days ago...and it went very well!  Yes, it was at a low level because I knew that I needed to take a baby step, but it went very well. I'm encouraged to keep going.

Sunday is the big day! I won't push it, but I feel confident (not only by the cycling but the way my leg feels stronger) that I will be able to do a little bit. I will start slow as the doctor told me to - because I don't want this to go on and on.

Thank you for your prayers! Even a week ago, I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to get started on May 1st, but I feel much better since then.

Onward and upward!!

Jen

The Wild World of Pledging

I understand the hesitation to pledge. Who knows how many miles or how many hours I will run!?

Pledging money is a good way to make me work for it. Starting off, I'm not going to be able to put in a lot of miles or hours. I guarantee that. However, over the eight weeks, I plan to increase my time and distance. How much? I can't be quite sure because I'm not sure how it will go with my leg. I will ceratinly do what I can.

I may only be able to do one or two miles a week starting off. I'm afraid that may be true. (Please pray for healing!) In the end, I'd like to be doing at least four miles a week. That's pretty modest and trying to take the doctor's orders into account. Over all, I want to log at least twenty miles over the eight weeks.

So while the argument may be that pledging money could get really expensive, that's not necessarily true. I hope that this will give you an idea of what I'm hoping to do. I would like to do more, but I can't be sure what will happen.

I am also completely open to someone pledging X amount of dollars up to X number of miles. For example: $5 a mile, up to twenty miles. I'm good with that. I just appreciate your support.

God bless you and keep you,
Jen

To learn more about trafficking or Love146, visit their website at http://www.love146.org/.

To make a one-time gift, visit my donation page at http://Love146.kintera.org/tread/jenmellick.

To make a pledge, visit the Pledges & One-Time Gifts page here on my blog.

This is why...

Can't Wait to Get Started...

I've been taking teeny-tiny jogs to the car, jumping a few stairs and doing some calf exercises - baby steps, I know. This month is just testing the waters. I know I have to be careful; take it slow, even though I don't always feel that I need to.

I have to be very aware and cautious of my tendency to push. Pain isn't a deterrent for me. Out of breath isn't a deterrent for me. (The stress fracture is proof of that.) My thrill in running comes from those tough last few minutes. I tend to be a "just five more minutes this time" kind of runner. That's how I went from about 2 miles a week to 8 miles a week in three weeks. I just push and push because I enjoy the challenge; I enjoy the freedom in running.

I would have never, ever thought I would be someone who loved to run. I liked the sprint races on field day in elementary school. But that was it! Once I hit Jr. High, you couldn't pay me to run. And that has been true of me until this last summer. Something in my brain said, "Run 15 minutes, just keep your heart rate up for 15 minutes. Piece of cake." It quickly became 30 minutes, and I quickly recognized that I loved that time. I loved to run.

This past December I recognized that I loved to run. I found that the music in my ears made a huge difference. My sweet hubby got me a teeny ipod. It's crazy small. And I discovered after a couple of weeks that I loved to run to bluegrass music. Not Bella Fleck bluegrass. I love running to Nickel Creek. It makes me feel like I'm running on the east coast somewhere; passing a lighthouse; looking out to the distant islands. Pure joy and freedom. I breathed better. My mind reeled with delight as I listened to the intricacies of their music. Heaven.

Before I (finally) went to the doctor last month (3 months after the pain in my leg began), I had started branching out in my music a little. Still no heavy rock. That just scrambles my brain and breathing. But I do love some Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Higher Ground". Oh, I love it! I had also started running intervals. Fun! I digress...

I know that I will have to start slow on May 1st. I won't get to run like I want to on my birthday, but I will do something. Anything! And I am very confident that over the eight weeks, my time and distance will improve. But! I need lots of prayer that God will heal my leg so I can be well enough for the challenge. I know that this blog entry has been all about me - basically, so you all will understand what's going on.  But the truth of the matter is that I could get back to all of it without participating in Tread on Trafficking.

The point is that there are children in the world who are hurting. The word 'hurting' does not accurately capture the nightmare in which they live - night after night. If in my teeny struggle to get back to my running feet I can raise awareness and funds to shed light on the horrendous reality of trafficking and give hope by supporting an organization that truly does restore broken girls....oh, Lord, heal my leg so that each step I take is one closer to truth being reveled and help being just a moment away for some little girl.

To learn more about trafficking or Love146, visit their website at http://www.love146.org/.
To make a pledge for my campaign (per mile/hour or one-time gift), visit my donation page at http://Love146.kintera.org/tread/jenmellick.

God bless you all.

It begins!!!

At Rest Before "Go!" on May 1st!!

I am so excited about this! Let me explain.

Tread on Trafficking stems from the organization love146 - an organization which advocates for and rescues kids who are enslaved by sex trafficking. (It's horrendous; the most evil thing on the planet.) Tread on Trafficking allows each person or team to raise money to help these kids by doing something you love to do (or have vowed to do). For me...it's running!

I thought this would be a brilliant way to incorporate two of my passions - running and my love for children.
Let me further explain what the challenge is for me...I have a stress fracture in my lower right leg, from running. The month of May is the earliest date the doctor has cleared me to run again. So I will be in sort of a rehabilitation time and SUPER excited to get back to running. (Oh, how I miss you, my sweet friend.)

The campaign will run for eight weeks - from May 1st (my birthday!) to June 30th. During that time, I'm looking for people to support this campaign by pledging either for the miles/hours completed or in a one-time gift. If you'd like to get on this awesome bandwagon, go to my fundraising website http://Love146.kintera.org/tread/jenmellick to support me in this campaign.

Let the games begin! I better start warming up!