Just one week left of the spring semester! After a busy school year and work schedule, it feels really nice to be winding down with the last few projects and papers for the year. Lately, it has been hard to focus on my schoolwork because the sun is coming out, the snow is melting and spring time just makes me want to do anything but school. Also, I'm getting anxious for the Justice Ride. For those of you who don't know, I'm planning to pedal my bike from Montreal QC Canada to Orlando, Florida this summer from June 27th to August 24th. The whole trip grew from an initial want to visit some friends in Montreal to a 58 day bike trip to raise $10,000 for the International Justice Mission. It's amazing how plans can change if we're open and available for them.
When I first thought about taking a bike trip down the east coast, I didn't feel comfortable about spending that much time alone and seemingly without purpose beyond fun and seeing new places. You see, in 2008 I spent 5 months hitchhiking all over New Zealand and while it was a blast, I remember after the first month feeling really discouraged about my purpose for being there. As beautiful as New Zealand was, without any specific direction or purpose, I felt like I was just wasting time and money wandering around. After a conversation with my mom about how I was feeling, I contacted a nearby youth camp; Lake Taupo Bible Camp, to see if they needed any help. The day I arrived, the camp director asked if I was comfortable being the male counselor for the upcoming camp for troubled teens. The timing was perfect! Needless to say, after spending almost 4 weeks volunteering at the camp I continued my traveling with a renewed sense of purpose. Traveling became more than just having fun. I realized that the people I met were what made traveling worthwhile. It amazes me that even the shortest conversation or interaction can be greatly impacting.
I say all this because when thinking about a big bike tour, I faced many of the same feelings I had in New Zealand about not having a worthwhile purpose in my mind. I met a guy many years ago through some really close family friends who's younger brother ran across the United States from Pacific to Atlantic ocean totally unsupported to raise money for Living Water International. I thought this was really cool! Here is a young man doing something he loves while also supporting a cause greater than himself. I decided to look into it.
Through encouragement from friends and family, I began to take steps towards making my ideas into realities. Although I've thought about it, I've never actually done a bike trip like this before so it's a little bit daunting trying to figure out how to plan for it. I also had to find an organization to support which turned out to be much easier than I thought thanks to my friend Dylan.
Blogging is also new for me. This blog is my attempt to share some of my thoughts and experiences with whoever is interested in reading. I will try to be consistent with posting and filling you all in as things progress. So far, there is not much happening since school hasn't yet ended. But stay tuned, I'll give some more updates as the ride gets closer. Many things about this whole event and everything that is involved will be a learning experience for me. Which is exciting! Feel free to comment, ask questions, give advice, whatever. I feel more comfortable actually conversing with people instead of just speaking so the more this blog feels like a conversation, the better I think it will be for everyone :)
If you are interested in donating to this cause or just reading about the campaign, I also have a campaign page called the Justice Ride. It's pretty short and brief, but it gives a little more detail about why I chose to support IJM.
