Paddle Boarder with a Purpose

Last month (March 2010) a local girl here in southern California decided to do something big, something outside her comfort zone. She wanted to raise money to help fight breast cancer, a vision that was fueled by a close friend being in the thick of the battle herself. Jodie Nelson is a professional surfer but also but decided to paddle from our main land shore across almost 40 miles to the island of Catalina on a stand up paddle board. It took her around 9 hours to complete the crossing.
Jodie came to our church on Sunday to talk about her journey. She talked about the major obstacles facing her, the people who advised her that it was a little too much to take on and how God just impressed her to go for it. Her hopes to get media attention for this worthy cause were realized much more than she would ever dream.
About 3 hours into the journey, she got a huge surprise visitor! A Minke whale surfaced and decided to swim along with her for a couple hours. This is not just any whale . . . there is a small percentage of this type of whale compared to the large number of Blue and Humpback whales that migrate through southern California every year. He decided to frolic around her and make Jodie his companion for the day. Needless to say, the media attention grew tremendously. She made the news on all the major TV networks and made a guest appearance on the Ellen DeGeneres show, NBC nightly news, the Today Show, CNN Anderson 360 and other LA news outlets to tell her story. The exposure continues to grow but even you can do your part to help out.
You can get the "I love Larry the Whale" t-shirt which goes to support the fight against breast cancer. There are also some other goodies that can be found here or you can keep up to date with what is going on by following on Facebook. You can also subscribe to Larry the Whale blog here. 
The t-shirts and other accessories are pretty cool and the cause is needs no explanation. Check it out and let us (and them) know that you are lending your support.