Why
"And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." (Genesis 1:2)
"It's kind of fun to do the impossible." (Walt Disney)
And the Spirit of God surely did move! On September 19, 2009, I swam across the English Channel in 13 hours 31 minutes. When I first dreamed of swimming the English Channel (30 years ago!) it seemed impossible. But Walt Disney was right: it is kind of fun to do the impossible!
At my blog there is a full report of my swim. See September 22 for the long version, and September 20 for the short version, with pictures - just click here.
What follows below is the orginal version of the "why" page, from before the swim.
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Sometime near the middle of September 2009, I, Mike Solberg, am going to swim across the English Channel. It's hard to explain why I am going to do this, but it has something to do with those two quotes. In water I feel peace, as if the Spirit of God is still moving upon the face of the waters. Life was created in water, and water still gives life.
That may account for the water, but what about the swimming? And what about the 21 miles of 60 degree water and powerful tides between Dover and Calais? Well, that's where Walt Disney comes in. It is kind of fun to do the impossible - or at least the ridiculously challenging. I'm not into danger, but without a challenge before me, I feel a dull torpor. Most of the really important stuff in life (like discipleship, marriage, parenthood) doesn't come with much of a finish line. So it's nice to take on a clear challenge, and in the end be able to say to yourself, "That'll do, pig. That'll do." I think that is what real fun is all about - what people used to call "pride," before that word got confused with "arrogance."
I want to swim the English Channel for another reason as well: to raise money to build a school in Waku Kungo, Angola. Angola is not a "sexy" African country. It has no big animals, no rainforest, no tribal nomads with face paint. It has instead the results of a 27 year civil war, from which the country is now emerging. And it has hope - the hope of a peaceful future, the hope of recontruction, the hope of it's children, who deeply long for education. I will raise at least $50,000 to help these children flourish and rebuild their country. Doing something challenging for the children of Waku Kungo is not a burden, but a gift
You can contribute now. Just click the "donate" link at the top of this page. Thank you!