I'm Back!!! - And there is a little less of me to go around.

Well it has been a couple of weeks since I last posted but that was not because I didnt want to write - it was a matter of scheduling and simply not having enough time to get online and post my thoughts.

So, a quick update. July began with a week at home with the family completing final preparations for our Summer StreetReach mission week which pretty much took care of the entire second week of July. We had an awesome time and I will write more on my other blog about our experiences there. The third week of July was another one at home with the kids, this time recovering from StreetReach and preparing for the most awesome 2 week vacation with friends and family at Smith Mountain Lake in Va.

So, where has the Challenge been while all of these other activities have been ongoing? Well, I must say that things are going well, but to be honest I think I am just a smidgen behind schedule. The last time I posted I had just reached the milestone of having lost 60lbs - which was awesome. Our mission week, two weeks on vacation without access to a gym and a little indulgence here and there has meant that I at my weigh-in this morning I was at 244lbs - which is a total weight loss of 70lbs.

Now, dont get me wrong, 70lbs weight loss in about 8 months is an awesome achievement, but I really want to reach this goal on the date that I have set myself. So from here on in I have 10 weeks of hard work, sacrifice and self-control to help me reach my target. I believe that I can do it. I believe that I can reach the weigth loss goal that I set, but that is, and always has been one small part of this challenge. I really want to reach my sponsorship target for Compassion. My best count at this point is that my efforts have inspired the sponsorship of between 40 and 50 children. Again, this is not a small accomplishment, but I set myself a target of 210 kids sponsored and that is what I really want to see happen. I know how to lose the remaining 34lbs - I have no idea how to get the rest of these children sponsored.

I need your help. I am thankful for those of you who have taken the challenge and sponsored a child already, but I have one more request for you. Would you be so kind to decide that you will be an advocate for this cause and take it on yourself to find one more person who will become a sponsor? If you have received that first letter from your sponsor child and had that little hand drawn crayon effigy sent to you then you will feel like I feel - that we should be doing everything we can to use the wealth that God has blessed us with to reach out to those who are in need.

I am now 70lbs lighter than I was last Christmas. I know have 4 daughters - 2 biological girls who are here with my wife and I, and we also now have 2 sponsored 'daughters' who live in El Salvador who we write to, and send pictures to and pray for regularly. This has been an awfully big adventure - and somehow I feel it is only just beginning.

For those of you who like those reality TV shows with the before and after pictures then I have included a few of those at the end of the post. For those who are wondering what antics I can get up to next then you need to stay tuned for the next blog entry because I will be starting P90X in the next day or two. I am sure that will be an adventure in itself.

Thank you for your support, and please consider clicking on the COMPASSION links on this page and start sponsoring a child today. If you have already sponsored a child then become an advocate and leave a message on this post to that effect. I am working hard to meet the weight loss challenge, will you help me reach the sponsorship challenge?

Let's change lives together.

The (less) Fat Man