Houston Rivers' Summer Updates

Hello Family,

We hope that everyone is doing wonderful and enjoying the hot weather this summer has brought. It has been in the high 90's, with a heat index of over 100*. We are living our days indoors as much as possible and staying hydrated.

The Houston Rivers are in competition and training mode. Lee is registered for the Ventura Marathon in Ventura, CA on September 13. We will be traveling there for the race and to enjoy a few days on the West Coast beaches. Lee is in week 8 of training and loving every second of it. Q is 13 weeks out from her fitness competition, the Formulation 1 Classic, in Stafford, TX, scheduled for October 17. We are super excited to be able to support each other in our fitness and health goals, so exchanging stories of our training regimen and battle wounds has been comical; additionally our household is looking to invest in Epsom salt, as we have a lot of achy body parts to soak.

Another blessing rolled around earlier this week. Lee received a promotion and raise through IIE that takes effect August 1, 2015. He will continue to travel like crazy and may be taking on some new programs and responsibilities. He is scheduled to be in NYC next week for a team retreat and to meet Bill Gates' team, who is funding a grant that his company is applying for and to discuss what IIE has to offer if they are chosen to administer the grant. This grant is worth half a billion dollars. Q on the other hand is settling into her new position. She has been able to slowly step away from providing intense crisis intervention for clients, and is now focusing her attention on program planning and being out in the community on a regular basis. She is diving into research and submitted a few proposals for conferences. She just spent the last two days with a phenomenal friend and UN speaker, Indrani Goradia, doing a pilot training that will hopefully be conducted all across the U.S. and globally. They too, are in the process of getting the attention of Bill and Melinda Gates. The work they are doing is focused on gender-based violence and forced marriage initiatives, specifically in the Caribbean and India.

A lot of good things are happening for us and through us. We are simply grateful for the ways in which God blesses and uses us on a daily basis. Pray our strength in the Lord (physically and spiritually) as we continue training our bodies and feeding our souls on a daily basis.

In the same way, we pray for each of you. We look forward to hearing about the awesome things happening in every one's world.

Con Amor,
Lee & Q