After the World Race, I plan to continue to live a life that matters. My friend, Josh Stinger, and I have started a non-profit called Bike Raising. We are just getting off the ground and need your support. You can help us make this a success by joining us in prayer and supporting us financially. Please contact me with any questions, comments, and feedback.

 

Bike Raising is a platform for cyclists to race their bikes for something greater than a trophy.  We provide an opportunity for athletes to intertwine sport with charity.  Through our partnership program, our events generate funding and awareness for organizations making a difference on the front lines.  Bike Raising's goal is that through our events we can connect athletes in a unique way with our partners by providing a platform to race, give and love.

 

R A C E. G I V E. L O V E.

Our motto and goal... We achieve this through these principles:

Racing: We host cycling events to provide the athlete an opportunity to race their bike for a worthy cause.

Awareness: Through our events, newsletter, website and speakers, we seek to bring awareness to human suffering around the world and to create opportunities to respond.

Change:: Bike Raising is dedicated to bringing hope to the afflicted, to facilitate an escape from a life of burden. We provide the athlete an opportunity to help change lives.

Engage: Our hope is that when cyclists are finished with a Bike Raising event, they leave with something more than just a good workout.  We want the athletes to personally connect with our partner organizations and have the opportunity to invest in their causes through short or long-term commitments.

HOW IT WORKS

Bike Raising hosts cycling events that raise money for other non-profit organizations.  We provide a platform for these entities to get in front of a crowd, explain their mission and motivate people to join their team.  Funding from our events go directly to the associated partner organization for each event.  Most of our events are setup on a campaign basis where we'll host several races until we meet or exceed our goals.  Bike Raising itself operates on external donations from our support team and individual donations through our web-site and at our events.  Please browse our web-site and if you have any comments or questions please use the contact function at the top of the page.

 

 

 

Once Jaco and Maria discovered Eric and these children, they knew God was calling them to help. With little more than their own personal support, the Rudolph's set about the task of living out God's call. 

Currently the children sleep in large revival style tents on grass mats with blankets. At this time, a building is being constructed to offer more suitable living conditions. In order to prepare the children for this transition, several of our team mates feel called to return to Mozambique for the month of March. This preparation will consist of, among other things, the Raise UP! Project. 

Just a quick update from the field. We have been working in Mozambique over the past few weeks relocating and orphanage. It has been hard work, we poured out more sweat than we drank and successfully moved an orphanage to a location to benefit the children. In doing so we built relationships with many children and had to walk 6 kilometers in the middle of upper 90 degree weather to just get water to drink. More will come soon, but internet is hard to come by in the "bush" of Africa!

 

P.S. We only have 4 month left on our amazing journey and with that said we Marissa and I need about $3000.00 more dollars to raise to reach our support goal. Please pray about this and give us a blessing if you feel led! 

 

 

 

With Jesus being the reason for Christmas, most people will be heading to church next week for the annual Christmas service (for some, this may be the only trip to church during the year). I just would like to warn you to not be to troubled or upset if you go to "church" and dont find Jesus. Yes it is a tough and sad thing to say, but "church" in this day and age is not what Christ meant for it to look like and in a lot of cases he certainly isnt sought first. We claim to be Christians, but we go to church and cant even find Christ. We find fancy bulletins, comfy pews, big stages, great lighting, a programmed sermon, and many fake smiles.

 

Here are some thoughts about why the "church" isn't working: (from The Organic Church)

 

1.    The homes and hearts of people are open to the Gospel. But it's relationships that bring the Gospel home.

2.    The Church is at its best in two's and three's, not two hundreds or two thousands, "Where two or three are gathered together, there am I in the midst of them."

3.    People are longing for a greater cause. "Church as usual" doesn't cut it anymore. They read of the church in the New Testament and they have a piqued interest. People see the church they are caught in and it is like gazing down an old soggy street. It doesn't compel people to venture further down the road. More vision statements, concerts, sermons, and blueprints for bigger auditoriums are not enough.

4.    Jesus didn't die and rise from the dead so that we could have better bulletins and more comfy pews.

5.    "Christianity has been buried inside the walls of churches and secured with the shackles of dogmatism (stubbornness). Let it be liberated to come into the midst of us and teach us freedom, equality, and love.

                         --Minna Canth

6.    The movie The Passion of the Christ was a huge hit selling more tickets than anyone imagined, $600 Million in sales. However local churches saw no increase in attendance after the movie. Therefore, there are people who want to believe in and hear the message of Christ, but they are not interested in the institution of church as it is.

7.    It is not the local church that will change the world; it is Jesus. Sunday services doesn't transform lives, but rather Jesus within peoples hearts changes lives.

8.    The church has forgotten who her first love truly is. (Rev. 2:4)

9.    How many times do you experience prophecy at church?

10.     The church is planting seed substitutes, not even the Word of God. The church gives well meaning messages ABOUT the Word of God. 

a.    Example: I received Christ by reading a tract, then I was discipled by a fill in the blank booklet that had me look at verses in the Bible, but not really read it. I was trained to use the tools with others. I went to seminary and studied many books about the bible, but rarely the bible itself. I became a pastor and developed my own curriculum and gave that to people. People would come on Sunday to hear me preach the Word, but they received a message about the seed-a seed substitute.

-Mohandas Gandhi

 

  

 

 

    So many things seem to happen on the World Race. Each day brings new faces, new experiences, and new thoughts; however, when it comes time to blog it becomes strangely difficult to recall all of those moments. If I didn't have a camera and take pictures I would be out of luck. Therefore, today as I am wondering what to blog about I realize I should blog about the one thing missing, the one thing on my mind all the time, and the one thing I love the most: My amazingly beautiful wife, Marissa!

 

   

 

 

 

We were all in Bangkok this morning. We head to Africa in less than ten days and so we are giving one last push for ministry here in Thailand. However, this week it looks a little different than it has over the past 5 months. I am leading the guys on a spiritual backpacking retreat in Khao Yai National Park. We hope to rest in the Lord, challenge one another spiritually and physically, and continue to grow into who we are in Christ.

 

    With the guys heading into the woods for the week, we will be away from the women and I will be without my other half and my true companion for the next week. I just thought I would express my feelings for her, since it seems to be what is on my mind all day and night. First I want to thank the Lord because he has truly blessed me with the perfect girl.

   

Her laugh melts my frustrations away.
 
Her beauty shines through any amount of darkness.
 
Her eyes show a real compassion and love.
 
I get lost in peace and warmth when she is in my arms.
 
She is my fruitful vine within my house.

 

Genesis 2:24 states, "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they will become one flesh." I speak in truth when I say that we are like one flesh. It is a very real feeling. There is always a part of me that is not whole when we are apart.

 

Proverbs 12:4: "An excellent wife is the crown of her husband..." Marissa is without a doubt my crown! I am so blessed to have her in my life and I am so excited to see what plans the Lords brings to our family.

 

Proverbs 31:10-31
 A good woman is hard to find,
   and worth far more than diamonds.
Her husband trusts her without reserve,
   and never has reason to regret it.
Never spiteful, she treats him generously
   all her life long.
She shops around for the best yarns and cottons,
   and enjoys knitting and sewing.
She's like a trading ship that sails to faraway places
   and brings back exotic surprises.
She's up before dawn, preparing breakfast
   for her family and organizing her day.
She looks over a field and buys it,
First thing in the morning, she dresses for work,
   rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started.
She senses the worth of her work,
   is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.
She's skilled in the crafts of home and hearth,
   diligent in homemaking.
She's quick to assist anyone in need,
   reaches out to help the poor.
She doesn't worry about her family when it snows;
   their winter clothes are all mended and ready to wear.
She makes her own clothing,
   and dresses in colorful linens and silks.
Her husband is greatly respected
   when he deliberates with the city fathers.
She designs gowns and sells them,
   brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops.
Her clothes are well-made and elegant,
   and she always faces tomorrow with a smile.
When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say,
   and she always says it kindly.
She keeps an eye on everyone in her household,
   and keeps them all busy and productive.
Her children respect and bless her;
   her husband joins in with words of praise:
"Many women have done wonderful things,
   but you've outclassed them all!"
Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades.
   The woman to be admired and praised
   is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-God.
Give her everything she deserves!
   Festoon her life with praises!

MARISSA ---I LOVE YOU!

 

 Well, God not only provided us with a ministry location this month, but he also provided me with a task that I really enjoyed. Incase you dont know me, I love bicycles! They are for sure one of my deepest passions in life. It such a relief to see 12 bicycles that have been sitting outside in the wind, sun, and rain for over seven years. I know your asking yourself how this was a relief, but to me it meant fun, excitement, hard work, time with God, and hopefully a great joy for the girls once they had bikes to ride again.

 

The bikes probably could have been in better shape, but I didnt mind. For instance, more than one bike had become the home for a large ant colony. I could follow a trail of ants going in and out of the bicycle frame. Once Josh and I were able to get the rusted bolts loose, we found dirt, ants, and eggs filling the inside of the bike frame! We had our work cut out for us. There were also the bikes that had been in the rain the most and we could not even turn the pedals or the handle bars because there was so much rust almost welding the metal together. However, it was nothing numerous soakings in WD-40 couldn't solve.

 

With the condition of the bikes noted, we made a shopping list and headed to town. The list included handlebar grips, inner tubes, ball bearing grease, paint, sand paper, tape, and of course a few cans of liquid wrench. Once home the fun began. We began taking each bicycle completely apart. Once they reach this stage of rust, it is important to make sure the frame is still intact. It was a slow process, but we managed to repair, rebuild, and repaint most of the bicycles. We even got to see the smiles of the girls faces when they began to ride their bicycles again!

                                                   

                

One day I recently woke up and thought about what that day would look like if I just "hung out" with Jesus all day. What an adventure that would be. Well it is funny because that happened on the very same day:

 

So we were in Bangkok three days ago and our small team of 6...Josh, Johnny, Marissa, Tara and two new people from other teams ...Shanda(i belive you know her..haha) and Stephanie. Basically this month we were allowed to mix up the teams and go where we felt God leading us..so anyways. Were in bangkok and that evening the six of us were to take a train to Chiang Mai...(about 10 hrs north of Bankok, close to Burma and Laos). We were to meet at 6pm to go to the train by 8pm. So in the day we went out to the city and the mall and stuff. There was some big protest and a bomb went off, so traffic ended up being horrible. Marissa and I got on the subway to get back to our meeting place and finish packing at about 4:20pm...the ride is usually about 50 minutes.

 

Long story short we didnt make it back until 6:05pm and when we arrived we found the train time had changed and it was actually leaving at 7:20pm, so the other four had already left in a cab to the train station. So Marissa and I had to run upstairs, throw everything in our pack and try to get to the train. Well we didnt make it..got there 10 minutes late. Now were in the train station trying to find a way to get to chiang mai...finally got a seat on the last train at 10 pm , non airconditioning seat...and rode the train all night and half the next day..about 16 hrs to chiang mai...It took longer because another train broke down, so we couldnt get past the train until it moved. We finally arrived in Chiang Mai and met up with the other four.

 

In the previous month we had decided to go to northern Thailand because Stephanie had a contact there that she said was really awesome so the 6 of us decided to go to hang out and work with him. So it turned out he wasnt going to be around so now we were heading north and had no idea what we were gonna do, but trusted God had a plan. So we were in Chiang Mai, got to the guest house and decided to meet for brunch to talk about what our options may be.

 

While we were talking, an older couple was there for some reason hanging out and eating and they came over and basically were like "well we are heading to Chiang Rai, up north at 2pm, if you want a free ride, but there is an awesome pie shop on the way we have to stop at" So of course we said, heck yeah..and we got to ride the 3 hrs in the back of a pick-up with a cover..it was fun...like we had our own fort, stopped got some awesome pie, and continued north.

 

Now we are staying with this couple at their place..it is awesome and God is amazing. The couple runs this place called the Eden House and they are from Oregon (another story). They have been here for 12 years and they basically rescue girls from the villages and borders who are at risk for sex and labor trafficing. Now they have three houses on their property and about 30 girls...they teach them, take them to school and work and basically are parents to 30 girls..very neat, so we get to sleep in the classroom and I think I will get to fix their bicycles.  It was just an awesome day and God totally had his hand in it all.