Pit Stop at Donnie Wayne's

John took a pit stop yesterday and today at the home of one of his cousins in Mississippi. Donnie Wayne thoroughly overhauled the motorcycle, changing the chains, tires, oil and everything else. Wow--it should run good for another 8,000 miles! Thank you, Donnie Wayne, for blessing John on his big ride.

Heading North

John, Reuben and John Mitchell left L.A. Saturday for Atascadero, CA. There they met with the congregation at the Father's House, where Tom Gaddis is the pastor. I heard they ate good pizza afterwards with some of the people from the church.

For a map of John's projected route, click here.

Today the Ride Begins

A group of us met on Saturday morning at the capitol building in Phoenix, as you see in this photo. Then today John began the Ride by heading west to L.A. He'll be there a couple of days, then it's on to Sacramento on Friday, with his friend John Mitchell and son-in-law Reuben as riding partners.

Thank you, everyone, for all your encouragement and prayers! Our own prayer is that this Ride will spark renewed passion for God's Great Global Mission all along John's route. Watch this spot for maps of where he goes, and don't worry, I'll keep you posted...

We're in the countdown

Here's John getting his bike ready for the Ride, which officially begins this Saturday. A group of friends and relatives will join us at our state capitol in Phoenix to pray for our state. On Sunday John will speak at our home church. Then he's off on Monday, beginning with a few days in L.A. and on to Sacramento. Feel free to share the address of this blog with anyone you know who would like to follow his travels. (An easy way to do this: click on the tiny envelope with an arrow at the end of this post.)

Look at this map

John's been working on a map for his route, and this is what he's got so far. Notice his purple trail around the U.S. crossing through every continental capital. (Click on map to enlarge it.) From Phoenix, he'll be heading west first, doing the trip in two big loops that have Amarillo, Texas, as their common base. Amarillo, besides being near the middle of the country, is his home region, where nearly all his extended family members live. We're in the countdown stage now--only 19 days to go. Are you remembering him in your prayers?

Great Things

William Carey, who is called the father of the modern missionary movement, has been an inspiration to us. His motto was "Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God." Be encouraged in your own walk of faith.

In the photo to the right, I'm standing by a placard in Calcutta bearing Carey's words.

Getting Ready To Ride

I am working hard getting ready for The Ride. I am really happy about getting my new GPS to use on the upcoming trip, but I still have much to do.

Hope you had a chance to look at the photos of my training trip across Colorado. We saw some of the most beautiful country. It was fun seeing how great the KLR 650 performed on pavement and dirt.

What are YOU doing this summer?

Hey, let me know what's going on with you now. You all know what we're doing--planning for the Big Ride beginning in August. You should see John poring over maps and charts. He's really earning his reputation as "Map Man."

Write me back in the "Comments" section below. I love to hear all your input (thanks, Mom).