Mission

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

1 Peter 4:10-11 (ESV)

Zac and I are praying to see the transforming of hearts, as we will be reaching out to non-believers, offering all we have in order to serve in our world as Christ served in His. Our goal is to up-lift believers and non-believers alike. We want others to see, not Paul Bell and Zac Walberer, but rather Christ in us. It is our prayer that fellow believers will be encouraged to use their gifts, in the same way, to love others and honor God.

Whenever Zac or I express to others what our plans are for this summer, we are usually always met with the same response. People will look at us with the same confused look on their face and simply reply, “Are you serious?” We may be a little crazy, but we are definitely serious. We understand that this trip is entirely not possible without God’s provision and strength. It is through prayerful consideration that we have made the decision to run this great distance, but it would be a shame to not take advantage of all the gifts and opportunities that God has laid at our doorstep. We wanted to do more than just run the coast; we wanted to love the coast! Zac and I came up with several ways in which we could use our gifts to not only glorify our Heavenly Father, but to build up the body of Christ and love others as Jesus loves us.

Finally, Zac and I desire to see God’s hand of provision and care throughout this run. We understand that a life lived in complete and utter dependence on God is the life that He has called us to; fiercely radical and unshaken by the world. We want to strengthen our relationship with Christ, seeking Him above all else, ready and waiting upon His will. We know it is not by our own strength that this run will happen, but rather we have faith that God will use this summer to impact eternity.

“Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”

Isaiah 40:31 (New American Standard Bible)

How you can help us:

There are many ways that you and others can support us along our journey. First and foremost we need prayer for our trip. Pray for our safety along the way (with injuries as well), that God would use us by ministering to others, that we would inspire and impact others who would then use their gifts to glorify the Lord, pray we would raise enough funds, we could find as many people who would let us stay with them at night, and that God would protect our hearts and encourage us along the way.

Along our route we need places to stay each night. Preferably we would love it if we did not have to sleep outside even once. But this is probably unavoidable and on those occasions we will be out underneath the stars. However, please take a look at our “Run” page and the map of our route. If you know anyone who lives in these areas or live there yourself and and would be willing to put us up for a night, please let us know! We have exact corssroads for each day where we are stopping. Contact us via email or phone if you could do this for us. 

We also must raise enough financial support for our run. Even though we will be not spending money on places to stay each night or transportation, there are costs that we cannot avoid. Gear (including shoes, tires for our baby jogger, socks, etc…), food (which we value a great deal), and other miscellaneous items to keep us safe and healthy. We would like you to prayerfully consider partnering with us financially in any amount that God leads you to. Unfortunately, because this run is something that we are doing on our own, and not under the jurisdiction or planning of anyone but ourselves, we are not able to offer any tax deduction. Any and all donations supplies that are received which exceed our needs for this summer will be donated to Campus Crusade for Christ to support their ministry at Arizona State University. If you would like to directly donate to Bless The Coast, you can simply go to the bottom of this page and click on the “Donate” button. This will take you to a secure PayPal account, which you can use to send us support via credit card. You do not need a PayPal account to do this. Checks can be written out to Zachary Walberer and sent to 6828 W. Beryl Ave, Peoria, AZ 85345 or Paul Bell and sent to 3818 N. 43rd Place, Phoenix, AZ 85018 if you would like to mail your financial support to us. If you would rather purchase or donate some of the specific things that we need, you can find a list below:

1 Garmin 350 Running watch

5 pairs of Brooks Adrenaline 9 (size 10.5)

5 pairs of Brooks Glycerin 6 (size 10)

2 Southwest plane tickets from Seattle to Phoenix

1 REI quarter dome T2 tent

1 Performance type baby jogger (20” inflatable tires)

If you have decided to donate one of the above items, please call me at 602-315-5576 prior to purchase to make sure the need has not already been met.  

If you cannot support us financially or with a place to stay it is okay! We see these opportunities to help us with your prayers and support as ways you can directly impact the pacific coast along with us, even if you are not going to be running along the way. Pray for us, encourage us, and keep in touch over the summer. There will be times that we are lonely and need communication from our friends and family. Join us in this journey anyway you can.