Guess what?! The Kearney Area Down Syndrome Support Group Step Up for Our All Stars 2017 is just around the corner and is scheduled for April 1, 2017. And it gets better! You don't need to live in Kearney to register and to make a difference by supporting Down syndrome awareness.
Registration starts at $10 and there is an option to just donate, or make an additional donate. Please support Team Tob-Bo-Nator (named to honor my buddy Toby and his amazing younger brother, Boaz) today.
I truly love Toby, Boaz, and their family. Did you know Toby and Boaz both have Down syndrome and their parents lovingly adopted them internationally and in my opinion, saved them from a much unhappier, less enriching life? I have been running for Toby since July 27, 2014 and he has made a remarkable impact on not only my life but my daughter's. We finally got to meet him last summer face-to-face and I miss him immensely...his amazing hugs, his kisses, his performance acts, and his contagious joy and by golly, Boaz was equally delightful (or maybe more so for darling daughter as she isn't often around younger kids).
My eyes are now more open to those with special needs and I am learning how to be a better friend to them. I love reaching out to the gentleman at church and extending peace. I love seeing him go out of his way to extend peace to others. I love the joy he brings into church, to mass, and to our community. And I love that I am learning to speak and communicate with those who may not be able to speak and communicate like I do. And that is okay. We are all created in God's image and have something remarkable to offer to others as long as others (myself included) are willing to open their eyes to see deeper within one another.
Daily Gratitude: I feel blessed to be able to participate in the Kearney Area Down Syndrome Support Group event virtually.
Daily Bible Verse: And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” Having said these things, he spit on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. ~ John 9:2-7