Friday, August 27, 2010 4:16 PM
Before starting the ride I stood up in a church service in my home church, told my fellow members what I planned to do, and asked for contributions for one of our mission projects (Ghana Clean Water). As I sat back down I thought to myself, “Geez! Now I really do have to do this. Lord, at least let me get to Kansas!” The support of my church, as well as that of my lady friend, Lee, and my four adult children, meant a great deal to me along the way.
Some of you know, while others don’t, that I am an “avid” cyclist. In fact, you might say “insane” cyclist after reading this. My good friend and cycling buddy, Steve, with whom I have enjoyed many week-long bike rides, and I have been planning for some time now to ride across America. Well, our plans have come to fruition and we leave on our excellent adventure this Wed. We will start in Yorktown, VA and finish 4200+ miles later in Florence, OR. We are taking three months to do it as we want to see the country close up and enjoy the towns in which we stay and the countryside through which we ride. If you’d like to see the route you can Google it at TransAmerica Bike Trail.
But I’m not e-mailing this to you to prove my at least partial insanity (most of you are well aware of that already). Two weeks ago I realized that this would be a great opportunity to raise some money for a mission project my church sponsors, the Ghana Clean Water Project. The project drills wells and constructs bathrooms for villages in Ghana so the people can get water from somewhere other than the ponds in which they and their cattle bathe and use as bathrooms. So far our church has sponsored wells and bathrooms for 12 villages. I have attached an explanation of the project.
So, last Sunday I asked members of the congregation to pledge a penny-a-mile of the ride (which, for the math-challenged, comes to $42) for the Ghana Mission and got a great response. I wanted to give my friends the same opportunity so–if any of you would like to contribute you can send a contribution to: Presbyterian Church of the Way, 3382 Lexington Ave. No., Shoreview, MN 55126 Attn.: Ghana Mission. The check can be made out to Church of the Way (COTW) with “Ghana Mission” in the memo line. If you decide to contribute make sure your name and address is included as I have promised to send anyone who pledges a penny-a-mile (or more, of course) a post card from somewhere along the route (worth the cost in and of itself). I will have my cell phone with me and hope to find internet access for e-mails along the way. I decided not to get an i-phone, blackberry, or similar device as it would be too much work dragging along the teenager to run it for me.
Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers and, God willing, I’ll be back in late July.
Bruce
