One common sight on summer mornings in the Methow Valley is that of Linda Mendro training for her annual triathlon. Her land-based workouts take place on the quiet streets between the Twisp Park and TwispWorks, and she swims in Patterson Lake, all in preparation for a mini-triathlon consisting of a 13-mile bike ride, a 3-mile run/walk, and a ¼-mile swim. Impressive by all standards, but especially so when you consider we’re talking about a woman who will be 79 later this year.
For many years, Linda participated in the ChelanMan triathlon, but when the annual ChelanMan was canceled in 2020 due to COVID, Linda forged ahead on her own, Methow-based, endurance race, completing the athletic feat in 100-degree heat.
Now, any septuagenarian who completes a triathlon is a hero of mine, but Linda’s heroic status is amplified by the fact that she uses the event as a fundraiser for Peniel House, the orphanage that she and her husband, Wayne, support in Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo. Linda’s biking helps break the cycle of poverty, her jogging aids the dash toward an education, and her swimming keeps hope afloat for the 150 young residents of the orphanage.
Linda’s 2020 pandemic mini-tri was so successful that she decided to do it again in 2021, and began training a few weeks ago, hoping to complete the event — and the fundraising effort — in August.
So imagine Linda’s disappointment when she fell off her bike and suffered a vertebra compression fracture recently. Not only does this injury mean pain and four to six weeks of inactivity, but it also means that Linda’s triathlon fundraising mechanism is tabled until next year.
Or so she thinks.
Here’s what I think. What’s to stop us from sponsoring Linda’s triathlon even though she won’t be undertaking it this year? Absolutely nothing.
Whether or not Linda completes a triathlon this summer makes little difference to the Peniel House residents, but whether or not she receives donations for her intentions makes a huge difference in these kids’ lives, in the form of medical and educational expenses.
Adequate medical care and secondary education are the key to Congolese orphanage residents’ path out of poverty, and it takes relatively little — about $200 — to send a child in the Congo to school. Could we sponsor Linda’s intended triathlon to the tune of five children?
When I think of the number of valley children — and valley residents of all ages — whose lives are better for having had Linda in them, I like to think that we can help her make a difference in the lives of other children who are important to her.
If you’d like to help Linda turn her triathlon dreams into support for kids, send checks made out to Compassionate Vision to Linda Mendro, 317 Poorman Creek Road, Twisp WA 98856.
