Long time gone

This should have been posted a long time ago... but none the less here it is.

Cycle touring without a computer is not conducive to electronically updating the story. It's now Day 12 of the bike trip and after 11 days straight of riding at least 90km per day, I'm finally sitting on a bus and letting the scenery fly by via the power of fossil fuels. It's amazing how fast 100km/h feels after only riding a bike for almost 2 weeks.

We are currently about 270 miles from San Francisco, and are opting for some cheap public transit as a partial rest day. When we get off the bus we'll ride approximately 60km the valley of giants and once again enjoy the redwoods.

Time deadlines dictated that Andrew and I have split from Nicola and Rachel who are going to take the Greyhound to San Francisco tomorrow. We'll take the next 3 days to ride in across the Golden Gate Bridge, hopefully around sunset on Monday night, just to optimize the epic factor of the trip.

Throughout the trip we have all been blessed. God showed up in mysterious ways both big and small. From two couples on Harley's that offered us food and a place to stay, to the directioanl angels as we called them who offered us directions before we even asked and kept us on the right track, saving us many miles of back tracking. We've also been blessed with safety despite a game of pannier bumper cars with a car and a few RVs that got a little too close, but those deserve a blog all of their own.

Overall, less than 3 days from San Francisco, everyone still likes eachother, we have some great stories, and we have all experienced some amazing scenery. We've embraced that the trip is not about the accomplishment of riding 1700km from Vancouver to San Fran, but is about the sights, sounds, smells, and people along the way and that's all that really matters. In the end we will have a richer story to tell and a greater appreciation for the communities we come from when we return.

I will fill in details when I can get to a full sized keyboard. Until then,

Greetings from California!

Day 3: Relax

After a few days of heavy travelling we took Tuesday to relax, sleep in, visit the beach and make some required purchases (shoes...) at MEC in Winnipeg. Unfortunately the only perspective we got of Winnipeg was a nice downtown surround by sprawling strip malls. Next time through I'll have to recruit some locals to show off some of the hot spots.

We camped at another amazing Manitoba provincial park where the firewood was free!

Day 2: Loss, close encounters and seeing Him through creation

A McDonald's breakfast seemed well deserved after our low budget camping and exciting evening. Advice would be to avoid the bagel BLT's and stick to the egg mcmuffins. The BLT had a bagel that was harder than my 100 psi bike tires. Ontario is a huge province. It took the better part of the second day to finally reach Manitoba.

Driving west has the advantage of gaining hours in the day as you drive, thus 25 hour days! A lively discussion about gender roles, dating, and chivalry developed during the drive and was a great way to kill an hour or two of the somewhat redundant rocks, trees, and water scenery that was so prevalent throughout northern Ontario.

Nearing Kenora meant we needed to stop for our 3^rd gas stop. We met a surfer who was travelling from Boston to Whistler to Panama. He drove a 4x4 Ford Panel Van with big mudding tires, and a giant winch on the front. He had adapted the inside for sleeping and living, including a hand blender, a sink, and two dogs, one friendly, the other terrifying. Mark did what he is famous for and struck up a conversation with the surfer dude, and with the owner's permission I cautiously stuck my head inside the big white van. No sooner did I do this than the terrifying dog decided I was a threat to his humble abode and lunged for my jugular. Thanks to a quick acting owner and some friends who were ready to once again finish my fights, I received a mere head but and all my important veins and arteries remained in tact. However, the trauma remained, and in the shuffle and love of bare feet I managed to forget my shoes at the gas station, which I realized 60km later in Manitoba when I couldn't find them to walk around. After some quick economics calculations we decided it was worth a shot to go back and look for them, but not before striking up a delightful conversation with Erika at the tourist information centre in Manitoba.

Mark once again demonstrated his innate ability to strike up a conversation and keep the person engaged by asking deeply inquisitive questions. Most of the controversial, “No Go” conversation starter topics were discussed with this lovely tourist info girl, who found herself working on a holiday Monday.

When we returned to the gas station, the shoes were gone. The only thing left to do was eat dinner at Casey's in Kenora. Good food and fellowship ensued and everyone left on a good note. With bellies full of food the next 150km to the campsite were sure to be drowsy. As we drove down a winding Manitoba road, the lightning rolled constantly through the skies above, adding to the excitement of dark road. As everyone had almost dozed off, we awoke to Severs yelling “Deer”, from the drivers seat only in time to hear a smack. Fortunately the only damage was to the back wheel of Severs' bike which the deer seemed to think would be a good way to wake himself up.

Fueled by adrenaline we pressed on towards Grand Beach Provincial Park. Moments before arriving, the skies had cleared and we were blessed with the sights of the Northern Lights, capping off a wild day of adventure. We arrived at the park, appreciating the great late arrival policy that Manitoba parks had.

God was gracious in all of our encounters. Keeping us safe and providing visible reminders of his beauty and sovereignty over creation.

May you also get the chance to see the creator through the beauty of creation.

Day 1: If life is a highway, it's a long highway

5:00 am comes early when you go to bed at 12:30 am. Van Dorp's (Carrie, Jack, and Jody) graciously accommodated for our short sleep and provided coffee for the early departure. I awoke once again feeling like it was Christmas morning, I was 8 years old, and still believed in Santa Claus. It's really quite amazing how long you can run on adrenaline alone. The Chi-Cheemaun afforded the opportunity to eat an over priced boat breakfast while Terri promptly assumed a somewhat comfortable position beneath a row of seats, awaking to find her friends had abandoned, replaced by strangers who now sat all around her.

We were back on Highway 6 by 9:00 am and cruising across the island. We stopped at an opportune location, took this picture and took some time in corporate prayer reflect on the journey ahead, ask our Heavenly Father for safety, patience with each other, and an overall great experience.

Day one was driving, driving and more driving. Dinner was Pizza in Marathon where Leigh learned to drive standard in the parking lot while we waited.

There's a lot of hills and kilometers between Marathon and Thunder Bay. We arrived in Thunder Bay around 12:30, took a few minutes to appreciate the Terry Fox Memorial and ponder where we would sleep. With no immediate solutions we pressed on into the city in hopes of finding an out of the way park or something where we could inconspicuously place our tents for a few hours of shut eye. A ball diamond on the outskirts of town beside the railway tracks seemed the best bet. I apprehensively fell asleep pondering the potential implications of our perhaps mildly illegal camping conduct. No sooner did I fall asleep then I awoke to sounds of the apocalypse... or at least what my sleep clouded brain thought was the apocalypse. Camping 50 feet from the railway tracks makes you wonder if you've actually pitched your tent on the tracks when a freight train lumbers through in the night.

After three train terrors we made it through the night and were on the road again with another 5 hours of sleep and on to day 2.

Plan B

The bus was deemed unfit for the epically daunting task of travelling across the country. In Owen Sound there is a mechanic named Wolf; he's the VW bus king. Wolf said our bus shouldn't travel, so our bus won't travel. It's a shame, and for a brief moment it seemed like all was lost, or would at least be piled into a small, somewhat rusted, suspension reduced, 10 year old Toyota Corolla, to create some semblance of the original plan.

Enter Mr. Hibma Sr. My father when catching wind of the news said I could not take the Corolla, perhaps crushing the dream all together. But wait, then he offered his Volkswagen instead. Alas, the trip will continue, in a TDI Jetta, meaning cheaper gas, guaranteed reliability, and air conditioning! The format for the trip may be a bit different but the VW spirit will be there. The offer of the car has been a blessing. "He saved summer!", said a friend who is coming with us. Thanks Dad.

Departure is tomorrow. I wake up every morning now and can't fall back asleep, while there may be multiple reasons for my insomnia, the trip is certainly placing some anxious excitement on my mind.

Ciao for now!

The next post will be from the road. Here's to tethered Blackberry's and massive cell phone bills!

Adventurous: A Preface

There are certain occasions and events in life that we reflect on with utmost fondness. In many cases these occasions become placeholders around which we orient the rest of our lives. It may be a graduation or a wedding or the birth of a child, all these event mark significant milestones in life.

The month of August is set to be a placeholder in my life. I'm living out a dream that causes many people to gasp in jealousy, a dream that has been spurred on by a number of factors including; books read, freedom from commitments, a friends passing, a perfect time for transition and the stars aligning, that is if I actually believed in that sort of astrology bunk.

Let me start with a book. A book that will change your life and the lives of those you pass it onto. I was an adventurous person before I read thus book, but I was restrained by patterns that had developed in my life. The book is Donald Miller's "A Million Miles in a Thousand Years" (www.donmilleris.com). The basis of the book is this: We are drawn to stories. The elements that make up a good story, make up a good life. Live your life to write a good story. This book would create an economic disaster if it were required reading in highschool English courses. If we taught our children that there was more to life than houses, cars, and a weighty bank balance, the economy would certainly crash. After reading the book I wanted a better story, not that I was writing a bad story before, but now I wanted a better one.

Armed with ideas of grand adventure I started putting plans in motion. It just so happened that a friend would be in BC for the summer, providing an deal destination for adventure. On top of that this friend's Dad was willing to provide a bright orange 1974 VW Westfalia Camper van as transportation to BC and back.

July 28, 2010 - My last day of work. My employer has graciously bid me "all the best on my travels and future endeavours. Leaving me a day to get my things in order, a day for a friend's wedding, and a day to pack the bus.

August 1, 2010 - The bus, as we have been referring to it, is departing Owen Sound, ON at 5:30am. Terri Brunsting (the lonely female on the trip out), Mark DeVos, Andrew Severs and myself will be putting our faith in the little orange bus to traverse this great country in record time, at a maximum speed of 94.4km/h, downhill, and not much more. The plan, as it stands, is to reach Thunder Bay before we first "pop the top" and bed down in the little bus. At this rate we should be able to reach Calgary in 3 days, thus maximizing the amount of time spent and required to travel through the mountains. If you have any suggested stops along the way, other than gigantic geese, and other "world's largest" please comment and maybe we'll add them into the mix.

When the bus finally crosses this fair country, with it's small 2.0L air cooled engine which develops somewhere around 65hp brand new, two of us (Andrew and Andrew) will join two others (Rachel Herron and Nicola Gladwell) to begin a more eco-friendly leg of the trip, as we spend 15 days cycling from Abbotsford (or Vancouver), to the loving city of San Francisco.

Why San Francisco? Why not San Francisco, is really the only reason I can give. Destinations for cycling trips are less about the actual destination and more about the journey and the accomplishment when you actually arrive. In order to ensure there is still material to write about on the trip I will stop the preface here. The hope is to keep updates flowing through the wonders of technology as we travel, allowing us to share our story, and hopefully it will encourage you in your story.

Fruit

A message shared at Sauble Beach - July 2010

It's that time of year. The strawberries and cherries are fresh, the peaches are on their way, and all the summer fruits remind us why this really is our favourite season. Personally, I'm partial to Cherries, they're not too sweet, a little bit tart, and a trick to eat because you have figure out how to get that pit out of the inside, separate it from the good fruit and not confuse which part you're supposed to eat in the midst of all of that. Once you've reconciled which part of the fruit to eat and if your mother isn't looking or perhaps when you're on a camping trip you get the joy of seeing how far you can propel that little seed out of your mouth.

Cherries, a delicious and delightfully entertaining snack

Fruit is extremely important, both for our nutritional health as well as our spiritual health. The scriptures talk about fruit in many different ways. They talk about fruit so much, it almost seems like they are written as a gardening handbook. If you search the word fruit on a Bible search engine it comes up 197 times! This number pales in comparison to the 697 times love is mentioned, but by sheer number makes it is clear that fruit of some sort or another is an important topic.

The last time I read through the gospels I was struck by the importance that Jesus and those who come after him place on this concept of bearing fruit.

Matthew and Luke both start their gospels with the story of John the Baptist.

John follows in the tradition of the Old Testament prophets and we know that he's a prophet because of the way he dresses; clothes made of camel fur and a leather belt. (Matthew 3:1-2) and then Matthew goes on to quote Isaiah 40:3 saying that John fulfils the prophecy of, “A voice of one calling In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.” John comes baptizing and preaching a message of repentance telling those who meet him in the wilderness that the kingdom of God is coming; things are about to change, but we haven't got to the fruit part yet.

In the Old Testament, Prophets and Kings were chosen by God to declare repentance and offer guidance to God's chosen people. While kings lead the nation, Prophets brought the word of God, often disagreeing with the leadership of the King. Under this system God's chosen people and the leaders they followed repeatedly turned away from God and served other gods. The king's court usually had its own prophet, but these prophets often disagreed with prophets such as Elijah and Amos that were actually chosen by God. In many ways the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem around 500 BC, resulted in a diminished view of the role of prophecy because the king's prophet foretold something that did not come true. Minor prophets that come after talk about the end of the prophecy. (Micah 3:6) And prophets were less important until John the Baptist came along again.

When John was baptising there were two major Jewish sects; the Pharisees and the Sadducees.

I always remember the Pharisees and Saducees from the children's song “I just want a be a sheep” There's the line that says “I don't want to be a pharisee, cause they're not fair you see”, which may not be too much of a stretch...

The pharisees saw things in black and white, they obeyed both the laws that were written and the ones that were handed down to the strictest point. The pharisee's religious way of living had created a mindset that was not open to the coming kingdom of God that John was preaching.

And then the children's song said, “I don't want to be a Sadducee, cause they're so sad you see”, where may also contain some truth.

The Sadducees, could be considered “Religious rationalists”. They were not open to anything supernatural except the resurrection of body. Both of these groups had a limited view of who God was and how he worked in the world. It must be a little bit sad to always have to treat things rationally.

At some point while John was baptising and calling people to repentance in the wilderness, members of these Jewish sects show up. John addresses them with a viscous warning to produce fruit. (Matthew 3:7) Fruit is clearly used as an image for good deeds and is part of repentance. Repentance from the Greek word means to change ones mind, to return to the right track, there's no implied remorse or guilt in the word just a turning from a wrong mindset to a new mindset. Its the kind of change in understanding when a light bulb goes off. You don't resent the way you thought before, but you will never again think the same.

John is warning the Pharisees and Sadducees to evaluate the assurance they find in their religious understandings.

Sometimes this is where we find ourselves. And so we have to ask. Have I become a pharisee?

Is my understanding of God focused around dos and do nots?

Am I missing the kingdom of God that has already come because I can't get passed how someone else deals with one of the laws i find in my bible?

Does my faith look like a system of rules to those around me, Rules that people do not want to have imposed on themselves?

Or have I become like a Sadducee? Do I focus on the rational, on things like science and let just let God fill the gaps?

Is my view of serving and praising God focused around getting to heaven when I die?

Producing fruit means stepping away from whatever tendencies and mindsets that draw us away from the pure joy found in Christ.

Pharisees and Saduccees understood that they came from the line of Abraham and were God's chosen people. They became comfortable in that, but they missed the point. Their outward actions did not reflect inward transformations of being a chosen people. They lacked fruit; so John called them to repentance.

John's message of repentance and fruit becomes the same message that Jesus would preach. Jesus comes with a message to change peoples mind, a message of repentance. There was a mindset in his day that after all the misery the Jewish people had been through that God would come in power, overthrow the government and establish a new king. The Pharisees and the Sadducees understood that as God's chosen people this is how He would bring about the new kingdom prophesied about throughout the old testament. A saviour like Jesus was outside of their realm of understanding.

Nonetheless, Jesus comes fulfilling the words of Isaiah 61 (Luke 4:18)

In Matthew 7 Jesus speaks of fruit as a way to know true prophets. (Matthew 7: 15-23) As Christ followers emerged, prophecy once again became an important gift. Bearing fruit is a sort of Litmus test for who the true prophets are, their outward actions, or fruit should reflect their prophecies, and those who do not produce good fruit are judged accordingly.

The apostle Paul can help us work out just what fruit looks like. In Galatians 5:22 he defines the “Fruit of the Spirit”. (Galatians 5) All of the fruit of the spirit require a inner transformation that leads to an outward action or fruit. This fruit is evidence of a transformation through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

As followers of Christ, fruit should be evident in our lives and in our communities. We should be a loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good and faithful people, all the time, no questions asked. Right?

Yes, but... No.

I am not loving, when I have somewhere to go and someone is driving slowly in front of me..

I am not joyful when my manager asks me to do something differently then the way I've done it.

I am not peaceful when I am indifferent and apathetic to injustice in the world.

I am not kind when I consider myself before others.

I am not good when I repeatedly fall into sin.

And I am not faithful when I fail to see my relationship with Jesus, as one that is more important, and as real as all the other relationships in my life.

Fortunately, our shortcomings have been washed over by Christ's death on the cross. When we fall short Christ has already reached the mark. When our heavenly father looks on us he now sees the perfection of Christ. This is the gospel message, that has spread throughout the world.

In Paul's letter to the Church in Colossia he starts with a prayer. In this prayer Paul talks about fruit in yet another way. (Colossians 1:3-8)

The fruit of the gospel is central to this prayer. Paul uses a distinctly Greek literary technique here to emphasize the significance of the gospel bearing fruit and growing. The structure is called chiasm and it starts with an A point – We always thank God for you, B point – faith and hope stored in heaven that has come to you. C point - All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God's grace in all its truth. B' point – v. 7 learned of the Epaphras, A' point – v. 9 not stopped praying for you.

The chiasm emphasizes the importance of the growing gospel as fruit. Paul never had the chance to visit the church in Colossia, instead he wrote letters encouraging the church to grow in faith. He is commending them for the faith that they have, faith that believes God has raised Christ from the grave offering all believers the promise of life. One commentator says “Faith is a vibrant force that expresses itself in how we life.” and goes on to say that “faith is proven by tangible demonstrations of love for the saints”, a mutual love that Christians have for one another. Our faith towards Christ is embodied by our love for one another.

Faith produces fruit. And our fruit should be a tangible demonstration of our love for Jesus and our love for each other.

May our lives produce richer fruit, so that we may grow in faith and in love.

Black and white; refined in the gray

Theology is easy until it comes face to face with reality. Reality tests and refines our beliefs as we reconcile our experiences, trying to make them fit with our understanding of just who God is.

Loss and grieving causes us to question assurance of salvation.

The answer I find is simple. We preach the thin and narrow path, the eye of the needle that leads to salvation through Jesus Christ, yet at the same time pray for a highway.

Here's to praying for that highway.

Where, O death is your sting?

I believe in the resurrection of the dead,
The forgiveness of sins,
And LIFE everlasting.

There is no easy way to be told of someone's death. The news of a loss results in a wild mix of emotions, from anger to disbelieve to complete and utter brokenness that we experience all within a matter of moments.

Blane was a great man. He had a lighthearted joy about him, that I have rarely experienced from anyone else. I was blessed to spend 2 weeks with him cycling to Cape Breton. The third member in our little peleton said this about Blane, "he was so young. He was so goofy and giddy and pretty comfortable in himself. He never tired or complained. He just rode and added comic relief and lightness to a trip that happened at a heavy time in my life. When I heard the news I sat in silence and darkness I thought, "did I thank him for his lightness?" I think Blane knew that he was a joy and lightness to those around him. The grin on his face was contagious, and his charisma for life was hard to not be a part of.

I consider myself incredibly blessed to have had the opportunity to be part of such a wonderful chapter in Blane's life. The memories from our bike trip will last a life time. The trip was his idea, when he first suggested the trip I thought he wasn't quite serious. The nonchalant way he mentioned the trip made me unsure of whether it would happen or not, but it did, and it happened on a grand scale.

I could share memories of the trip out east for hours, I could laugh about how we had to bring a bottle of Ketchup with us because we both loved it so much. About how all we wanted to eat most of the time was brownies, chocolate milk and for Blane Beef Jerky. About how on the longest and hardest day of the trip Blane offered to ride ahead and set up camp, which is an incredible blessing when you feel like you can barely climb the next hill. About how when we reached our destination he got stuck at my Aunt and Uncles house for 2 extra days because the plane he hoped to fly on was full, but again accepted the whole thing in stride. I will forever cherish these memories.

Blane often didn't say a lot, but he didn't need to. His joy was enough.

I will treasure the time I spent on a bike with him. It's amazing the bond that can develop by people who share a passion. C.S. Lewis says that friendship happens when two people realize they are headed in the same direction when they think that they are the only ones in the world who feel that passion. We both had a passion for two wheels, whether it was bicycles or motorcycles we spent hours together talking about them and riding them. Thank you for sharing my passion Blane, thank you for stepping into my life for such a brief time. I wish we could have had the chance to ride another 5000km together, but that wasn't in God's plan.

In the midst of all the suffering scripture came to my mind. 1 Corinthians 15:55 says "Where, O death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." We have a saviour who overcame death for our sake, so that we could be seen as blameless before the throne of God. When I see the truth in this, I find my ultimate comfort.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the Morden family. I pray that God's grace is enough, that his strength would be your rock and your salvation. I trust and believe that Blane is now eternally worshipping our Father in heaven.

Twenty-one years is a life that is far too short, but my friend Blane died doing what he loved. He died riding his bike. I don't know whether the car just failed to see him, or if the driver was distracted, but regardless, my prayers go out to the driver.

Blane was the safest and most cautious cyclist I knew. He said that he wanted to obey the traffic rules so that drivers would respect him and he did. As I was running lights and stop signs Blane was waiting for for traffic. Blane's mission was cut short but I intend to take it up. I have a new motivation for riding, and a renewed love for friends and family.

Thank you Blane for the lives that you touched that will be forever changed.

Blane you are, and always will be loved and missed.

Ride on my friend, ride on.