The man who discipled and pastored me, Pastor Ferdie Cabiling, also known as @therunningpastor, is on his 5th day of run as of today. Pastor Ferdie decided to run across the Philippines as he turned 50 last September 8, for the benefit of the Real Life Foundation‘s 250 scholars. Pastor Ferdie aims to raise 2 Million pesos for the scholars in the next 40 days by running 50kms per day except on Sundays which is his rest day.

I’ve always been amazed of Pastor Ferdie because of his tenacity and intensity. When he decided to run across the Philippines for 44 days, with the goal of running 50km per day, I wasn’t surprised.

Pastor Ferdie is the same guy who discipled me and showed me what it means to be passionate for things that matter. I remember there was a trip when we were room mates and he would wake up really early to read the Bible and then go to the gym. At night, he would read the Bible for an hour again.

Now, you might ask why he is running. Two major reasons. One is he is running against poverty and bringing hope to students who deserves to have good education. To raise 2 million in less than two months is amazing and would definitely benefit a lot of deserving students.

Second reason he is running is close to home. He is running for “those who can’t.” Pastor Ferdie and Judy has a son named John Philip , who suffers from Sturge-Weber syndrome thus he has difficulty running because of his delayed motor skills. Pastor Ferdie told us that John Philip has become his inspiration to run especially when the going gets tough.

Pastor Ferdie, thank you for inspiring us and showing to us compassion for the poor and love for the family. You have always been an inspiration to me ever since I was in grade school. Your love for the poor, for Jesus and for your family is something the world needs today.

For more information about #Run50 and #RunAcrossthePH, visitwww.ferdiecabiling.com.ph.

Also read “A Pastor’s Race For The Next Generation” featured on Rappler.