Sandy Plentzas Glendale, AZ Age:    41 Married 3 years to Phil Home Church – All Nations Church, Peoria, AZ Served as Camp Administrative Director for International Christian Triathlon Network Visit Sandy’s blog at http://sandyplentzas.blogspot.com

Military Background

Why am I participating in this event?

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.   - Psalm 139: 13-14

            I am proud to be a veteran of the United States military, and after learning about the American Veterans Christian Alliance through Adrian Rosales, I was very interested in being involved.  However, it was the opportunity to raise awareness and funds on behalf of an organization that provides help, hope and healing to women who may be facing, or may have faced in the past, an unexpected pregnancy that was my main reason for deciding to be a part of Operation In God We Trust.  Having resources such as Crisis Pregnancy Centers available for women and girls in this difficult situation is so important for those who are scared, confused and not knowing where to turn.  But, it’s not just enough to have those resources available; these women need to know the resources are there for them.  So, besides raising funds to help our chosen CPCs, I would like to do whatever I can to raise awareness to help make sure that women know where they can go to get help when they need it.  Many people think it’s crazy to do a three-day triathlon like this.  Prior to this, the longest triathlon I ever participated in was an Olympic distance which consists of a 1500 meter swim, at 30 mile bike ride, and a 6 mile run.  A three-day, 300+ mile triathlon just may be crazy!  But, it gets people’s attention, and then I can tell them why I am doing it.

Your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.  – Psalm 139: 16

            Participation in this event is also healing for me.  At 18 years old, I was pregnant, scared, didn’t know where to turn, and chose to have an abortion.  It wasn’t what I wanted to do, but it was the only thing I knew to do.  I cried all the way home thinking of the baby I had just let go of, praying that God would take care of it – and that he would forgive me.  And, also wondering if I’d ever get another chance to have a child someday.  But at 18, my limited perspective and the lack of support made that a choice I was willing to make.  And it was a choice with a very high price.

            It is my sincere hope that my involvement in this event will somehow help someone in need – a scared girl, an innocent unborn child, or even another woman, who like myself, looks back on her own abortion with overwhelming regret and sadness.  It is only out of the love and forgiveness of Christ that I can even reach out like this, and I pray that my efforts are seen as nothing but love to anyone they reach. 

            God not only saw and knew the babies in our wombs before they were placed there, he also saw us – every one of us.  And he loves us, and has purpose for us. 

            So, my purpose at this point in time is swimming 4-5 miles in the ocean, riding my bike nearly 300 miles down the coast of California, and running almost 30 miles – all in the span of three days.  And, as crazy as it may seem to do this, if I thought it could somehow help one young lady follow her heart instead of the pressures of the world, I would do it all over again the next week.