For those of you who don’t know, I lived in Guatemala when I was seven. Our family’s mission was to provide water to the Ulpan Valley, a valley in the middle of nowhere. And to be honest, that is one of the biggest reasons I am here. It showed me at seven that the world was bigger than Knoxville, Tennessee, and that people needed help.
But we weren’t there alone. We were with another American couple. Their names are Kris and Dee Dee. They lived life with us. I have distinct memories of Kris, my dad, and me shooting cans with the slingshots we bought in the market. And I would always try to impress Kris because I thought he was cool.
When we moved back to Knoxville, they soon followed us, and we had dinner with them once a month for the past like five years. My last memory with him was this. I went to their house two days before I left for training camp. We had breakfast, and I hung out with the boys. Kris asked me questions about my trip, and we whipped out a globe, and I showed the boys where I would be going.
Kris died about a week ago. I went home for his funeral. Both were really surreal experiences.
Being home was strange. I got to see my family, my room, and my Dog. But the entire time, I felt off. The race was still happening, and I wasn’t there. But it wasn’t about me in the slightest.
I was glad to be at the funeral. To me, it seems severely unfair that God let this happen. A guy faithfully serves him and raises his kids to do the same. If I were God, he would be on the list to keep on this earth. But I am not, and I know God has a bigger and better plan than we could imagine.
Kris’s involvement in my life and my family’s life is a huge reason why I am in this race in the first place. I don’t think I would be here if I hadn’t moved to Guatemala when I was 7.
Dee Dee, you are one of the strongest people I have ever seen. Thanks to you and Kris for giving our family love all these years. It has genuinely made an incredibly deep impact on us.
-Drew McKinney
