The Ups and Downs

Whoever said Georgia was flat should not be allowed to have dessert for a month!   Oh the hills today!   We are feeling God's strength each pedal of the way, though our knees and legs are definitely feeling it.  It was a cooler morning in the 70's which was super nice and we met the afternoon thunderstorm at our hotel driveway.

Coming in to Forsyth this afternoon we rode past a birthday party in someone's yard.  They asked if they could take a picture of us. They did and we stopped to visit.  We handed out cards, answered some questions,  collected a few donations, wished the cousins a happy birthday and were on our way.

I think the party gave us a craving for blizzards especially when we saw a DQ the exit before our hotel.  As we rode up to it we heard Addison Road, playing followed by Toby Mac and other familiar artists.  Dripping with sweat we spoke with the manager about the Refuge Ride and she offered us anything we wanted on the house.  We got the blizzards plus!  Practically the entire staff got in on the thank you picture! They even told us they would be praying for us.

Outside, some motorcyclists were waiting to see who belonged to the unicycles.  They are a bikers ministry and after hearing about our project gathered around and prayed for us!

Just a few of the many great connections of the day. 

More Than Road Kill

Who knew there were so many cactus and armadillos and snakes in Georgia!   We sure didn't.  The armadillos must be nocturnal since we've only seen them "sleeping" by the roadside.  And only one in 15 snakes we've seen are alive.

We met a super kind lady a few days ago named Ethel outside a post office as we were passing through town.  She said we were shining brightly with all our colors and she just had to talk to us.  After exchanging only a few sentences she grabbed our sweaty hands and started praying for us for God's protection and blessing on our journey.  It was just what we needed to get our day off to the right start.  She encouraged us more than she'll ever know.  She phoned yesterday to see how we were progressing and to let us know she is still praying for us and having others pray too.  God bless Ethel!

We've had so many opportunities to share the purpose of the Refuge Ride and the need in Syria.  While riding through Dublin, GA, police approached us with lights flashing saying they saw us balancing at a traffic light and just had to pull us over to meet us.  Immediately before this we were being photographed for a local paper.

When we stop at an intersection to figure out which way to go or when we rest by the side of the road, people will roll down their windows to see what's up.  We give them our card and explain the Refuge Ride Project and many will donate right then and there.

People will drive by us slowly or pull ahead and stop and watch us come by.  Dustin will usually ride up next to them and hand them a card.

At gas stations and restaurants people will ask us all kinds of questions, spanning a wide range of brilliance.  Most common: "What is that?" (referring to our unis) and "How far are you going on those?" We take every opportunity to share!

Today an ambulance whizzed by us on the road and scared us with, "What the he**?!" over the loud speaker.

Thanks for journeying with us. This is quite an adventure!

The Journey Has Begun!

 After an encouraging send-off from our organization OM USA in Tyrone, GA, a teammate graciously drove us the 5 hours to Tybee Island on the coast. 

After being dropped off at our wonderful donated accommodations at the Sea and Breeze Hotel we walked down to the pier where we would start our adventure the next morning.  We had butterflies in anticipation of the journey actually happening after so much planning, praying and preparing.  We knew we were not ready to the level we would have liked organizationally but were excited to get on the road and work things out as we went.

That was four days and 129 miles ago.  We can now say the Refuge Ride has officially and successfully begun.  We have been amazed by the generosity and kindness we have already experienced.  Someone handed us cold water from their car window as we rode by.  Numerous restaurants and hotels have graciously donated food and rooms.  People have prayed with us for safety and success in parking lots.  People have donated instantly when hearing about our cause, even from their cars while slowly driving by to talk to us.  We were invited into a home for graham crackers, bananas, almond milk and prayer.  When resting by the side of the road, people have stopped to asked if we were OK or needed anything. 

On the downside, we have been chased by 3 dogs.  Hopefully that number won't increase too much!

The journey continues.  Stay tuned...

 

Refuge Ride Revving Up!

Things have been coming together for the Refuge Ride and we are quite encouraged.  It has been a mad scramble the last few weeks preparing for take off, but ready or not, off we took!

We arrived in Atlanta Wednesday afternoon, July 19th, bringing not only Refuge Rideg gear, but all our equipment for the Switzerland outreach in a few weeks: 4 large cases, 2 small cases and backpacks.  Fortunatly our 2 boxes with big wheel unis which flew cargo were also waiting there for us.  After being picked up at the airport by fellow OM Artists, we hit up Chick-fil-A for lunch.  Apparently our order took a bit longer than normal so the manager surprised us with coupons for a free meal and dessert on a future visit! Gotta love those smiles from God!  

We are so thankful for the huge recent blessings lately:

- kind office workers dropping Dustin's medical bills from when he broke his arm from $2,000 to $250!
- friends donating a GoPro for us to capture adventures down the road.

- friends willing to keep replacement tires, tubes, cranks, spokes and cycling clothes ready to ship out to us at a moments notice if need be.

- friends who work for Delta coming to our house to pick up our big wheel unis in 2 big boxes to drop off as cargo at the airport, covering the $55 shipping fee and saving us $600 in excess and oversized baggage.

- friends making UPS runs for gear returns and taking us to the airport.

- nice Delta workers who are sending us a $250 check for busting a wheel on one of our cases during the flight.

- friends calling from across the miles just to pray with us over the phone.

- friends sending us on our way with inspriational cards and gifts.

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