D&D Bike Across America: Day of Rest--Oct. 17 Brawley, CA

Sabbath, October 17: (Written by David Ryder)
We finally found the church! The lady behind the hotel desk gave us printed directions that were so weird that we joked that she played a trick on us. Anyway we found a very small church in Brawley, CA. The sanctuary had been removed due to termites. The pastor has two churches so services were reversed and the sermon was first. The study was from Steps to Jesus. The Sabbath school lesson was given by a Joseph, a retiree originallly from Malaysia. During the lesson, we looked up Zechariah 4:6 and read these words from the LORD, "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit says the LORD of hosts." Dave Fries poked me in the arm and suggested that this verse should be the one that we use as our theme verse for the rest of our bike ride. I agreed whole heartedly. This bike ride is not just a bike ride. It is about overcoming when you don't think you can. It is about trusting in God when you have made the necessary preparations. It is about believing and experiencing God's hand in your life when you most need Him. Let me give a few examples. On the first day out Dave F. and I were making our way through San Diego and got lost and "just happened" to run into two guys with detailed maps in their hands at the end of a main road that had been blocked off for some reason. Dave then received a flat tire in the area of a Midas shop where they had the right tools to get a piece of glass out of Dave's tire and a compressor to air his tire up. Afterwards we ran across a fruit stand (a nice one with friendly people) where we were able to eat fresh dates, stawberries and persimmon which helped to fuel me for one of the toughest bicycle rides I have ever done becuase I hadn't trained properly for this kind of ride. All of these mini-miracles were in the fiirst day of riding. It is like life. We plan to go in a certain direction with God's blessing but obstacles seem to block us from progress. These obstacles are really just challenges for our faith. Are we greally going to trust that God will provide the strength, the protection, the food, the necessities? I was really feeling bad at the end of the first day (the worse I have ever felt at the end of a bike ride). I was sick at my stomach, headache, etc., and didn't think that I could go on the next day. But praise the LORD, even though I still felt bad (not near as bad as the night before), the LORD gave me strength to complete the ride on the second day! The LORD provided what I needed to get me through this second day. That is why one of His names in the Hebrew is Jehovah Jireh, The LORD will provide. (Read Genesis 22:13,14) Well God Bless and keep us in your prayers. I love and miss you Stacey, Callie, Caitie and Cami (aka Little, Little).