After a long van ride from Minneapolis, The Ride:Well tour leaders arrived safely into San Diego Wednesday night and slowly, the cyclists are arriving today. We’re being hosted by the fabulous Faith Chapel church who have generously allowed us to take over their campus with our bikes, sleeping bags, and spandex.
It’s been great getting to know each person as they come in and hear why they’ve decided to donate their summer to riding bikes for Blood:Water Mission. There are definitely some serious cyclists on our team (the south team) as well as some newbies, like me.
We’ll be spending pretty much every minute for the next two months with each other, and with that comes cooking for each other, cleaning up after each other, and doing each others’ laundry. We rely on the generosity of host churches and homes, and sometimes with that, surprises abound.
That’s where the part about the janitor and the wake up call comes in.
One of the other leaders, Erin, and I volunteered to do laundry last night for the people who needed it (we have a very limited amount of clothes with us so laundry is almost a daily task). The church has a laundry area — it just happens to be pretty far from the area we were sleeping. We decided it would be easier for us to sleep in the classroom next to the laundry area so we could keep the laundry going into the night and first thing in the morning.
We planned on waking up around 6:30a to finish the last load, but at about 5:45a, the door to the classroom opens, and a very sweet, older man walks in the room. He turns on the light, sees us passed out in our sleeping bags, apologizes, and leaves.
I bet he wasn’t expecting that.
We went back to sleep and five minutes later, he returns with another man — a tall, muscular, Harley-Davidson looking guy with a big beard and bigger biceps.
“Are you ladies supposed to be sleeping in here?”
Oh crap. We are so busted.
“Well…” (I said, stammering)… “We thought it would be easier for us to keep the laundry going if we were in here…” (I continued, trying to dig my way out and wondering how crazy my bed-head looked.)
“It’s no problem,” the Harley guy continued. “I just feel bad for you guys sleeping on the floor when you could have been in the Bridal Suite down the hall. It’s so much more comfortable in there.”
So, our Harley guy ended up being a very sweet teddy-bear of a guy and even as I walked by later with our sleeping bags, he explained how badly he felt that we were sleeping on the floor.
And so begins the journey.
We’ll have a few days of training and cycling here in San Diego, and then Sunday, we’ll be leaving from Faith Chapel church (time is yet to be determined, but if you’re in the area, I’d love for you to see us off and will update my Twitter and Facebook Page with the details when I know).
Thank you so much for all your prayers. This is going to be an amazing journey for an amazing cause!
Oh, and just because you’re not doing a bike ride, did you know there are some easy and super fun ways to help support Blood:Water? Make a “lemon:aid” stand, coordinate a water walk, or….click here for some more awesome ideas.
Comments
21 responses to “Spandex, Janitors and Lemon:Aid”
oh my…memories flooding over me..get ready…it’s happening and you haven’t even got on the bike yet…crazy
i absolutely love the idea of having a Lemon:Aid stand. totally doing that.
loving you…. praying ascending.
.-= Crystal Renaud´s last blog ..Pray for Amy =-.
ride like the wind friend. or at least have the wind push you a little. ;)
.-= Los´s last blog ..Thomas Merton On Fear =-.
Can’t wait to ride through East Texas with you guys! It’s exciting to help support Blood:Water; our church (Grace Community Church; http://gcc.org) will host you guys in Tyler again.
FYI – Our Tyler peeps have donated over $110,000 to BWM! They rock!
Faith Chapel is a light in our community. I love them even more for allowing you guys to prepare for your journey there. I’ve gotta say that I’m sitting here moved to tears thinking about what you guys are doing and about blood:water mission. I’m also moved with hope in what I’m seeing with your generation that I think my generation has missed in a way… you guys are saying there’s a real need and we have a chance to make a tagible difference in a lot of people’s lives in Jesus’ name… and you are willing to put your money, blood, sweat and butt bruises where your mouth is. The more of you who rise up to do that kind of thing, the more people who will be inspired to do likewise. As Jon talked about on SCL, you are giving us all the gift of going first. You are living the better story… and all of us will be the richer for it. Thanks for encouraging me again today to make my life count.
.-= RawFaith´s last blog ..What Are We Really Looking For???? =-.
praying for you my friend. wish you were riding through alabama. i’d come wave to you!!!
.-= Jan Owen´s last blog ..Those Lazy Days of Summer =-.
You are so sporty…here I SIT in Nashville in disbelief. Proud of you!
.-= Lindsey Nobles´s last blog ..The More Godly Lindsey =-.
Be safe. Excited for all of y ou guys. See you in Arizona.
Are your going through AZ? If so let me know the date and rough estimated time. I encourage everyone to keep an eye as they bike through your state or town and give them some encouragement on their way.
.-= Carol Asher´s last blog ..I am Hungry! =-.
Be safe and have fun!
.-= patriciazell´s last blog ..#44 THE RETURN OF CHRIST: THE CAST, PART TWO =-.
Ann, Glad you met our Joe. He is the best guy and is such a blessing to the Faith Chapel family…and the fact that he is a burley-He Man is always a plus. Hope you guys are enjoying your stay. My son Jordan had a blast taking some of your team out for a surfing lesson. Bike dudes meet surfer dude!!!
Kathy Meek
Faith Chapel
Pastoral Staff
He was so so sweet! Thank you all for being amazing hosts!!
This sounds random, but what do y’all plan on eating?
I know you mentioned cooking…
I am guessing that Taco Bell is not on the list of stops.
As much as possible :) We will burn 6k-10k calories a day and we need food as fuel to keep us going. Some people don’t mind what fuel (and sometimes it doesn’t matter) but lots of clif bars, bananas and sandwiches! :)
Be safe! Have fun! Lots of prayers going up for the whole team.
.-= Jenna B.´s last blog ..30 Things in 30 Days-Day 22 =-.
Sounds like your adventure is off to a good start! Praying the journey will be blessed in unusual ways, protection of everyone’s health, and strength to make it through every day.
(oh and so not surprised about the Teddy Bear Biker…lol)
.-= Kristine McGuire´s last blog ..Talk To Da Hand! =-.
My friend and former roommate Karl Feller is on the South Team with you. Hope you have met him by now. He’s a great guy and super funny! I read Mad Church Disease last fall when I was in the midst of a season of suffering and God used it in a powerful healing way in my life. Glad he is riding with you and vice versa! Hope to see you both when you come through Arizona!
Don’t you love it when the Harley guys turn out to be teddy bears?
Be safe …
.-= Linda Stoll´s last blog ..Addicted to Relationships =-.
And why couldn’t the bridal-suite-in-the-know guy have shown up earlier?
Such is life.
Keep on riding. God bless!
.-= Lucy Ann Moll´s last blog ..where’s God when daddy abuses? =-.
That was a great idea sleeping next to the Laundry Room.
It is great hearing how you are, Anne. San Diego is
pretty crowded, hu? We used to live in Lemon Grove, CA.
Prayers and Grace!!!!
.-= Carol´s last blog ..Keepers at Home! =-.
Blessings on this adventure!! I know it will be a great chance of a lifetime and I pray that the message of the Blood Water Mission is shown to many!!
.-= Katherine´s last blog ..God and the Great Wall =-.