Hope And Courage Across America Journal

We are in Pennsylvania and 254 miles from the Statue of Liberty.  It is hard to believe we are getting that close to the end of our pedaling.  I know we haven’t posted much about the pedaling.  We like to talk more about the people and the ministry.  But pedaling has been a big part of this journey, also.  We have pedaled about 2000 miles, so far.  Not as much as we had hoped.  I had overestimated how many miles we could pedal in a week and still make it to our speaking engagements.  We have personally struggled with that and have prayed more than once for God to help us keep our attitude and spirit in alignment with His purpose for this journey. (It’s not about the miles, it’s about the message.) We have been able to make all the miles since Indiana.  But more important, we are not missing any ministry opportunity since we left Gig Harbor on May 17.

We haven’t talked much about the aches and pains.  You can’t expect to spend this much time cycling without a few aches and pains.  Generally speaking, riding a couple of thousand miles on a bike is good for your physical health.  We are definitely building the muscles we are using.  It’s the joints and ligaments that are taking the beating.  Darla and Grant will feel it in their wrists and neck.  I feel it in my shoulders and elbow.  It has never been so bad that it has kept us from getting back on our bikes the next day, though.

As I said, we are in Pennsylvania.  It is the most challenging terrain since Snoqualmie Pass.  Very hilly and the roads are not ‘bike friendly’.  I was mentioning this in the church we spoke at last night.  When you are following Jesus with the intent to do something for the Kingdom, expect a big mountain early on the journey.  It is a time when we are still weak and unseasoned.  Three days after we started we hit Snoqualmie Pass.  We were still breaking in our bikes, figuring out the RV and the rain didn’t help.  It was a struggle to get over the top but we finally made it.  And you should expect another big mountain near the end of the journey.  It is almost as if there is an unseen force taking one last attempt at stopping you.  Well, we are not worried about any ‘unseen force’.  Greater is He that is in us than any ‘unseen force’.  The hills of Pennsylvania are one of God’s most beautiful creations.  We are blessed to be able to enjoy their beauty at varying speeds between 4 and 25 miles per hour.

Please keep us in joyful, victorious prayer.  We have chosen our finish date as Sept 12.  The 11th is just too crazy in New York.  Our intent is to pedal to Battery Park at the end of Manhattan and see if they will let us take our bikes over to the Statue of Liberty.