19th Nov 2012. By Natasha Kim. CM –
I’m one who is always at awe at interesting works and ideas. They are always inspiring, especially when they come from Christians who are working to make a significant change in the world, powered through faith. The past weekend I got to find out what a few of them are currently doing in the marketplace and the ideas they had through the infamous TEDx program. Amazing works can be done through Him as all three speakers are passionate and humble Christians. Their hearts desire? Is just to try and make a better Malaysia. A total of 350 people attended the conference and filled the hall, with hundreds more watching from the live streaming. Christians in the marketplace prove to people that they can make a change and please God by serving outside of the Church as well.
1 Peter 2:12 – Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.
About TEDx
Many who are interested in increasing their knowledge in many different aspects listen to TED talks. These talks are very popular on Youtube and feature many different talks by different inspiring individuals on an international level with millions of people tuning in to watch every week. TEDx is under TED, and it’s a program that gives communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences on a local level, in the spirit of “Ideas Worth Spreading”.
The Xtramiler
At the conference, one of the speakers was Alex Au-Yong. An avid runner, he is known as the Xtramiler. He runs marathons and uses his gift to raise awareness and give back to the community. Last year, he launched a community campaign called The Xtramile Day to encourage community development which managed to raise RM111, 000 in donations for the StART Society for under privileged children. He says, “It was a run to inspire people to go the extra mile.” On that particular day, 100 volunteers inclusive of 400 runners ran together in relay style, accompanying Alex to finish his 100km run in 17 hours from Putrajaya all the way to StART Society in Petaling Jaya. Different people just turned up to join him and help him with the things they could do to help him finish his run e.g providing him water and food, aid if needed, communications support (Facebook-ing and Tweeting about the run) and more. The extra mile was not just about running, it was about different people doing what they can and using the gifts/skills they have. Alex is also happens to be an Ambassador for RunNat.
It began in Singapore, Alex says, “I have a friend who keeps 5 dollar notes and every time that I would pay for dinner and there happened to have change, she used to ask me if she could have that 5 dollar note.” His friend collected these 5 dollar notes for a holiday fund and somehow or rather she would always have extra. Alex thought it was a great spirit to have and started his own collection of 5 dollar notes to the point where he would have stacks of those notes. Just like his friend, every time he set eyes on a 5 dollar note, he would plainly ask if he could have it. “Five dollar notes are not very common, but when you put it together it adds up to a lot.” he says.
One fine day, as he was going through his stacks of notes a thought came in his mind, and it was telling him. “Those 5 dollar notes that you’ve been collecting, they’re not yours, they are meant for people.” He was surprised saying, “What! But I’ve been keeping these notes for myself and it was extra for me.” However he says, “I understood what it meant.” From then on, whenever Alex would hear of a need namely, if someone needs to buy a van, if someone is going through a financial crisis, or even if someone is getting married, he would put his notes into an envelope and send the five dollar notes their way. He then started calling them “High fives” (a higher calling for five dollar notes). So far he has emptied it about five or six times but he says, “I always have extra and it made me realize that sometimes we can be very selfish, that we can go the extra mile but we choose not to. Everything we do can be used for a greater cause namely, the finance that we have we can give it to something else, and the time that we have could even be used to help someone else. That was his journey. “I continue to keep five dollar notes until now because it reminds me that I always have extras, and I realized that even as I’ve collected and emptied and given, that I’ve ever lacked.” That is how extra mile started, with five dollar notes.
He started running about 6 years ago. He says what he realized was that, “It was more than a run and the first mile is something we do naturally.” he says. Alex is an Art Director and that taught him a bit about branding, to a point where he would go to StART Society and say, “Let me teach you a bit about branding, make sure nobody calls you stupid, you are who you are and people need to know that you are intelligent. That was my way of telling them to go the extra mile and do something different.” There was a time where he thought he could not do it, but with God working in Him he managed to gather the strength and a large number of people supporting his run, even people that he did not know.
“Set yourself on fire for the things you’re passionate about and people will come from miles to watch you burn.” – John Wesley
His run began with word of mouth, he told people, “Hey I’m Alex the Xtramiler. Would you like to be part of StART Society” but added on to say, “..what I really wanted was a Matthew the Xtramiler or a Jane the Xtramiler, because I really wanted to encourage people to go further with the different gifts that they have.” In addition to that, what kept him going was this phrase, “Start with the end in mind.” Interesting enough StART Society was where he would finish his run. The whole idea of this was just to encourage little ones to have the capacity to go the extra mile. He says, “I have this spirit and told myself that I can’t show myself tired or in pain. I told myself that I’m doing it with hope and that there is purpose in doing this.”
One step at a time, he had numbers he never thought he would see and people who heard about it were very encouraged. Next year, he plans to run another 100km to collect pledges to build homes for the Orang Asli.
To be continued…
Come back to find out what the next speaker has to say.
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