The 67-Mile Journey: Honoring My Grandmother's Forced Walk, and Building a Water Well.

Have you ever said yes to something that stretched you beyond your capacity? 

In a few weeks, I’ll be hiking 67 miles on the Appalachian Trail with two of my  friends, Lauren and Stef. Both are marathon runners. It’s not just for the adventure (though it’s definitely going to be one). It’s to honor my grandmother, Tasia.

At 16, she was forced by Nazi soldiers to walk nearly that same distance—67 miles—with nothing but a letter from her grandmother and the words of Psalm 91 to carry her. “No harm will overtake you.”

And here we are, generations later, choosing to walk—freely, intentionally, and for a cause that matters. We’re raising money for @charitywater to help build a well for a community that doesn’t have clean water. 100% of every donation goes directly to the well.

Training hasn’t been easy (hello 30lb backpacks), but the kindness and support we’ve already received has reminded me—none of us are meant to do hard things alone.

Maybe you’re not hiking 67 miles, but I know you’re carrying something heavy. Let this be your reminder: you are stronger than you think, and generations before us have done hard things.

If you want to be part of something meaningful, you can donate or learn more here: https://www.charitywater.org/67miles/67miles

And as you go about your day, know that I am cheering you on. Live boldly. Love deeply. And let’s make this life count.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey friends, welcome to the Ones who Dared podcast,
where stories of courage areelevated.
I'm your host, vekka, and everyother week you'll hear
interviews from inspiring people.
My hope is that you will leaveencouraged.
I'm so glad you're here.
Welcome to the Ones YearPodcast.

(00:32):
I'm your host, Vekka, and todayI'm recording from Tuscany,
italy, on a gloomy, rainy day,this was the day that we were
planning on going to Florenceand exploring the city and
getting some gelato and justreally taking in some of the
historical points in Florence,but the rain is persistent.
It's going to be here all day,so we're just going to wait

(00:52):
until it's time to do our pastamaking class, which I'm really
excited about.
This will be the second timethat I am doing a pasta class.
We just did one with our friendA few friends and I did one
with Maria, who's from Sicily,italy.
That was so much fun.
A bunch of girlfriends and Igot together and did that, and
this time around, we're doing itin Florence with my family.

(01:14):
So I'm really excited to sharein this experience together and
eat some delicious homemadepasta.
Well, I didn't come here totell you about my pasta
experience, but I just wanted toupdate you on some things
that's been happening lately andwhat I've been up to, and also

(01:34):
how you can possibly getinvolved if you would like.
Have you ever done somethingthat stretched you beyond your
capacity, something that madeyou dig deep and remember that
you were built for hard things?
That's exactly why my twofriends, lauren Steph and I, who
are, by the way, marathonrunners one of them is an avid
hiker, and we are about to hike67 miles in the Appalachian

(01:57):
Trail not just for adventure,not just for the sake of
challenge, but also forsomething far greater, because
67 miles, to me, isn't just anumber.
It represents a journey, onethat connects the past with the
present, because my grandmother,at just 16 years old, was
forced to walk nearly the samedistance from her hometown to a

(02:17):
train station under the watchfuleyes of Nazi soldiers, with
barely anything to call her own.
She carried one thing that gaveher hope, and that was a letter
from her grandmother, shoysta,with the words of Psalm 91
written in it no harm willovertake you, no disaster will
come near you.
And she held onto these words.
She truly believed that theywould carry her through.

(02:38):
She believed that no harm wasgoing to come to her because she
had this letter, she had thesewords, and she held on to them
the whole way through, as shespent three and a half years in
the Nazi concentration campbefore she was liberated by the
Americans.
And so Tassa, my grandmother,walked for two days.
She only got to spend one nightin the barn before being taken
to a concentration camp inGermany.

(03:01):
And here we are, generationslater, choosing to walk freely,
intentionally and for a causethat matters.
And I am provided with some ofthe best tools, some of the best
resources, whether it'sgenerous friends who are lending
their hiking gear or gettingthe best hiking boots for
Christmas.
And just the contrast of thetwo situation doesn't get away

(03:25):
from me.
Because you think about hersituation and the opportunity
that I have now to do this, outof my own desire, really, and my
own thoughts of justchallenging myself to do this
and bringing friends along withme to hike 67 miles.
But more than that, we wantedthere to be a purpose behind our

(03:48):
hike, which is why we choseCharity Water to raise money to
help build a well in a communitythat lacks access to clean
drinking water, and becausewater is essential.
Especially when you're hiking,you know that water is the
number one resource you need inorder to survive.
So we have a chance to providethat life for people who
desperately need it.
And what I love about CharityWater I've actually heard the

(04:11):
founder speak on the story ofCharity Water.
What I love about thisorganization is that 100% of the
donations go directly to thewell.
Not a penny goes towards admincosts or anything else or
marketing.
100% of your donations will godirectly to establishing a well

(04:32):
where it's needed the most.
And also, if you do donatewhich I'll give you the link
later you can actually trackwhere your donations are going
and you can see where the wellis built and how many people
it's impacting, and you can youknow.
If you desire at some point tovisit that well, you can do that
as well.
But building a well wasactually something that I

(04:54):
written in my eulogy andsomething that I wanted to do
for a long time, so that alsokind of connects to my purpose,
my pillar, and so, yeah, I'mreally excited that this hike is
also going to provide that.
We already raised $259 towardsthat and I think, I believe,
that it's about it is $10,000 tobuild a well.

(05:17):
So, yeah, and training for thishike has been no joke.
Like I said, lauren and staffare marathon runners.
I feel like I'm the one that'sthe least qualified for this
hike because we're going to becarrying bags of that are going
to weigh around 30 pounds.
I'm hoping to have it no morethan 30 pounds and I'm pretty
short, I'm about five two, soit's going to be a lot to carry

(05:41):
that in the bag, and we'rehiking six days, five nights,
hoping to cover the 67 miles.
And so, yeah, I'm reallythankful for our friends who
have been really generous andencouraging and just sharing so
much wisdom along the way, likewearing silk socks under wool

(06:01):
socks to prevent blisters, andso much more.
And so I know that we can dohard things and I know that you
can do hard things.
So maybe you're not someonewho's hiking 67 miles, but I
know there's something in yourlife that may feel really hard,
and maybe it's a toughconversation that you need to
have with somebody.
Maybe it's pushing through wheneverything in you wants to quit

(06:25):
.
Maybe it's finally taking thebold, brave leap on something
you always wanted to do, but youfear, and fear has been holding
you back.
Maybe you just don't feel likeyou're worthy, that you're
enough, and so I just want toencourage you that you are
capable, that you're able.
So this is just a reminder thatyou're worthy, that you're
enough, and so I just want toencourage you that you are
capable, that you're able.
So this is just a reminder thatyou're stronger than you think,

(06:46):
that you're more capable thanyou think, and that generations
before us have endured.
So can we.
We are built for more than justcomfort.
We are built for courage.
So if you want to support ourjourney and be part of something
bigger than yourself, feel freeto donate at charitywaterorg.
Slash 67 miles.
Slash 67 miles, and everydollar goes towards making a

(07:07):
real and tangible impact.
And I will put the link in theshow notes so you can just click
on it and go directly there,and it will have more
information on there as well.
And so, as you go about yourday, just know that I'm cheering
you on to live boldly, lovedeeply and make this life count.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
I hope you're having a fabulousweek.

(07:28):
And, just so you know, you canalways send me a text.
There is a link here as well,on the podcast, that you can
send a link directly.
I think it's called fan mail,so I'd love to hear from you.
I read all the comments, readall your reviews and thank you
so much for listening.
I really appreciate it.
Thank you for listening to theones who dare podcast.
It is an honor to share theseencouraging stories with you.

(07:50):
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