CAA staff in New York City Marathon!

Anna Ruberti, who is working for Christian Action Asia (CAA), is running in the New York City Marathon on Sunday, November 7!  Her letter to friends and family is so encouraging!  I was glad to meet Anna when I was in the U.S recently. Happy 40th Birthday Anna, and may God strengthen you for this marathon event!  We will be praying for you!

"This year, to commemorate my 40th birthday, I have decided to run the NYC Marathon. I wanted to prove to myself that I was strong-willed enough to be counted as part of the 1% of the population that has successfully completed a marathon. 

Another goal was to be involved in God’s work in the field. This goal first came to me when I accepted Jesus into my heart at the age of 13. Somewhere along life’s journey, college, work, husband and four kids interrupted that dream. But just recently, I became a part of Christian Action Asia (CAA) which has been granted tax deductible charity status in the U.S. We help abandoned, orphaned and disabled children on the Tibetan Plateau in Qinghai, China. Currently we co-manage two orphanages that are home to about 400 children. We have also provided the first and only rehabilitation facility in the region.

Qinghai is the size of Texas, and unlike Texas, it is home to some of the poorest people, such as herders who have traditionally lived in tents in sub-zero temperatures. A recent earthquake in Yushu left more orphans, and CAA will be involved in more orphanages within the next few years.

It is challenging for me to ask for money, but the friend who suggested that I run for CAA convinced me when she said, "If you're passionate about something and you believe in it enough, you should have no reservations about asking for financial support."

I am passionate about saving the life of innocent children who have been abandoned by their parents because they were born with a deformity, or born as a girl, or who are unwanted for some other reason. I am passionate about helping the people of Qinghai to see that as a family and a community, they can learn to cope with a child with cerebral palsy or a cleft palate. I am passionate about providing healthcare to a child suffering from seizures due to a brain tumor.
Would you please join me in my passion for the children of Qinghai and pledge to support my run? Even just a dollar a mile will help. The Lord has placed in my heart to raise US$10,000. Sounds crazy, right? That's exactly what I thought too. But this is God we’re talking about. This is His grand plan. I have it easy – all I have to do is run 26.2 miles and ask for your support, and He will do the rest.

Would you also ask your friends, co-workers, neighbors and kid’s teachers to support my run? All that they give will go towards saving children's lives!  Thank you so much!"

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27