Good Luck to the Women of Hobble Creek!

Tomorrow is August 19. Early in the morning on that day several of my dearest friends will don wet suits, swim caps and goggles. They will park bicycles and towels in "transition area 1" and place running shoes and power bars in "transition area 2". Then they will eagerly wait at the edge of rainbow lake for the signal to begin The RUSH Triathlon in Rexburg, Idaho. They will all finish with impressive race times, and will have an absolute blast talking about the experience for a long time to come.

These are some of the women of Hobble Creek, our old neighborhood in Boise, Idaho. They are multi-talented, incredibly fun to be with and full of grace and charity. They come from all kinds of backgrounds and have many varied personalities, but see the good in all those around them and contribute to the neighborhood community in an extremely positive way. Not all of these amazing women will race this year. Some have trained for a running race called "Hood to Coast" which they will participate in with a relay team. Some, have spent their summer preparing for a youth camp which changed the lives of many teenagers in the neighborhood through its planning and execution. At least one of them is having a baby this week, and one of them had a baby last spring. One is the spouse of the church congregation's bishop. Because our church has a lay clergy, he will volunteer as many as 30 hours a week or more in addition to his full time profession, and his wife will valiently serve by his side, mostly by keeping their family running smoothly in his frequent absense while volunteering in church labors as well and working as a volunteer in the school, etc. etc. One of them has organized service trips to orphanages in Haiti, and spends much of her time finding community service opportunities at the local soup kitchen et al., and then finds people to serve in those opportunities with her. Heck, one of them runs a household of six children while her husband travels for work several days a week. Get the picture that they are all amazing in their own ways?

All of these women have made a great impact on my life, and some of the very sweetest and dearest relationships I have are tied to Hobble Creek and the women there.

So here's to them! I wish them Good luck in the race tomorrow. I had planned to be with them, and had feebly tried to train without them, but the race of endurance to bring Lucy home is the race I will run this year. I hope next year this blog has a post of us all, at the end of the race. The Hobble creek women and me.

love you guys!