Yesterday marked the 2 year anniversary since the destructive Christchurch earthquake. There were flowers all over the city (many of them in the cones marking road work) and people at work shared stories about where they were when it struck.

The earthquake killed 185 people and injured over 5,000. Billions of dollars have been spent repairing the city, but there is still much to do. This town, however, has not given up. Things are slowly being mended, and it has been over 1 year since any destructive earthquakes have struck.

We still get the occasional aftershocks, but they are smaller and shorter. While many people fear another big one, no one really knows for sure. But we pray often for the city, that it will be rebuilt quickly and that God will not only heal the land, but heal people’s hearts here too.

In honor of the 2 year anniversary, we participated in two runs hosted in town over the last two weekends to raise money for the Canterbury Earthquake Children’s trust. The trust supports children who lost parents in the earthquake.

The first run was an 8km (5 miles) “Colour Run” and the second a 12km (7.5 miles) “Run to Remember.” Both runs were fun and great ways to support a good cause.

The Colour Run took place in Hagley Park. Organizers threw colored powder at us every kilometer, so we looked pretty interesting after the race. We expected the color to wash right off, but the pink proved difficult. It took 3 showers with soap, face wash, and makeup remover before I could go into work without looking like I had a giant rash on my forehead!

Today’s run was in a beautiful location. We started in Victoria Park, ran up to the top of the Port Hills, and finished at Hanson Park at the bottom of the Port Hills. We had stunning views of Christchurch and the Pacific Ocean to our left, and views of Lyttelton Harbour on the right. It was hard heading up hill, but going down hill was pretty nice!

It was encouraging to see how many people turned up at each run. Organizers were hoping for 500 people at today’s race (A Run To Remember), and there were over 2,000! People are ready to move forward and there is a growing hope for the future. Keep the city and its people in your prayers!