Come rain, hail or shine, Barrhead’s Joni Kindt will run this month to boost awareness about the world’s 143 million orphans.
She also has another aim: to raise orphan adoption funds for friends Candra and Riley Sexton.
The Camrose couple face expenses totalling $64,000 for adopting three little Ethiopian boys. Although they can cover about two-thirds of the costs, they still need a further $20,000.
Joni is seeking donations as she trains for her Barrhead-Leduc run, which will take place over three days – July 26, 27 and 28. It is a distance of 143 kilometres.
“I will run one kilometre for every million orphans,” said Joni last Tuesday.
Although officially a run, Joni admits she might walk some of the way – even crawl, if necessary.
“Whatever the weather I will be setting out,” she said. “I’m not an athlete, and have never done anything like this before, but I’m determined to complete the distance.
“People should feel free to run alongside me, even if it’s only for a short while.”
Sponsorship can be in the form of cash or bottles, with every penny helping the Sextons, who hope to bring their new sons home to Canada in September.
Joni plans to cover roughly 47 kilometres a day, from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., in three stages: from her home at Peanut Lake corner to Gunn; Gunn to the Devon overpass; and finally from the Devon area to Leduc, after staying overnight in Spruce Grove.
Driving Joni’s effort is her faith in God – she goes to Bethel Pentecostal Church – and first-hand experience of adoption.
Joni and her husband, Ben, have three adopted children, two from Ethiopia: six-year-old Ty and Leena, who turns four in August. The other child is a Liberian from Calgary.
They have bonded with the Kindts’ biological children: Zackery, 14, Taylor, 12, and Noah, nine.
The couple know only too well the cost, emotional and financial, of the adoption process. But they also know the overwhelming joy that results.
“It can be a long, daunting and heart-wrenching process,” said Joni. “For us, however, it has been the greatest decision we ever made, hands down. It has changed our whole family.”
She said the decision had taught Zackery, Taylor and Noah to think and care deeply about others.
“Fortunately, Ben and I can provide easily for other children, so we thought ‘why not do this?’ All our children light up our lives. They are amazing.”
The Kindts’ friendship with the Sextons was another wonderful legacy of adoption, founded on a connection between their sons.
Remarkably, Ty was best friends in his Ethiopian orphanage with one of the boys destined to join the Sextons. It means the two little buddies will be living just two hours apart in Canada.
The families detect the hand of God in orchestrating an unlikely reunion, which could happen in just two months.
As Joni keeps training for her ambitious run, she has urged people to pray for the Sextons as they embark on their own amazing journey with three new family members joining their four other children.
She says the Sextons have supported other families, raising money for them. Now it is their turn to be blessed.
Joni also – half-jokingly, perhaps – has another plea for well-wishers.
They should pray for her left knee … and pray that she survives her “crazy” enterprise.
HOW YOU CAN HELP:
Donations can be mailed to: RR3, Barrhead, Alberta, T7N 1N4.
They can also be dropped off at Barb’s Sewing on Main Street, inside Sears; any donations up to $300 will be matched.
Bottles in the Barrhead area can be dropped off at the Kindts’ home or at Du-al Contraction. Joni can be contacted at 780-674-4757. She can also be reached by email: [email protected].
Donations can be received on this website: http://3for3.webs.com/get-involved.
