The Challenge: 1 hike - 2650 miles.

Mark Dupray is a young man of vision, outrageous faith, and belief that he can make a difference. Mark is preparing to hike the entire Pacific Crest Trial, in one shot, crazy as it sounds.  Alone, 2650 miles.  Yes, 2650miles, from Mexico to Canada, 20-25 miles or more a day for months, through deserts, mountains, and the elements.  He leaves the end of April 2009. Mark has joined with FaithQuest Missions to dedicate this trek to raising funds for Christian relief for the poor of Malawi, Africa.

The Need: 1 Million Orphans

Malawi is a largely forgotten, land locked country with very few resources, in east Africa.  Child mortality is as high as 50% in some areas at five years and average lifespan is just 37 years.  Rampant AIDS, malaria and a great host of other maladies are killing swaths through villages there. There are an estimated 1 million orphans in Malawi at this time.  It's ironic that Malawi is often called, "The Warm Heart of Africa".  It's people are legendarily gracious and welcoming even in spite of their overwhelming difficulties.  They're sick and hungry and also hungry for the Word of God.  Photo: This young and near starving Malawian boy was photographed by John Gash in the Nkhoma Valley

The Call: Join us to change Malawi

The UN is not going to save Malawians.  Their greatest hope, like ours, is in Christ and then in the followers of Christ in His church.  Mark is trusting that his effort of his can serve to draw attention and action to this growing crisis.  He's wants to reach out to Christians across the country and challenge them to sponsor this hike as a way of together making an impact in Malawi.  Mark hopes to raise awareness, prayers, and enough money to make a transformational impact on several specific regions including the Nkhoma Valley. Mark's goal is to raise at least $15,000 in this effort.  The vision is to leverage the funds through FaithQuest to engage 5 additional USA churches to join in the effort, adding to the 25 churches that are already engaged with FaithQuest / Y-Malawi. This additional impact is estimated to generate between 2 - 5 million dollars of tangible resources for helping the poor of Malawi over the term of the project! Mark is doing the hard part. Let's join his vision, support his efforts, and transform the lives of the children and communities of Malawi! 

To sponsor Mark and support the FaithQuest Challenge now, click here: http://www.firstgiving.com/faithquestchallenge

To visit Mark's trail journal at www.postholer.com/mdcalpoly  and use the drop down menu in the upper right corner of the page!

To receive more information on how you or others you know can be involved, please write Mark personally at mdcalpoly@gmail.com. He will reply to you personally up until he leaves for the hike!  You can also write us here Challenge@FaithQuestMissions.org