A Grand Tour

Good day!
Today...ah, where do I start? Not knowing what time it is for the last 24 hours? The beautiful canyon next to me? The soreness in my shoulders after a 12 mile hike? The crazy songs and thoughts that ran through my head as I hiked? There is just too much to tell!

Well, I guess the time issue is ... strange. I got to the Grand Canyon yesterday and went to call home. My Cell Phone had switched to Pacific time, but I was pretty sure I was still in Mountain time. It didn't phase me, so I just went about my business. But, this morning, I was planning a long hike and wanted to be going down the canyon as the sun was rising. Well, a flyer said the sun would rise at 6 a.m., so I thought I would be smart and wake up at 5, Mountain Time. The alarm went off and I thought, "Boy, it's aweful dark for only being an hour from sunrise." The stars were bright and the night was cool, so I slept a little more. When my clock got to about 6 Mountain Time I headed out and was going down the trail at about 6:50, Mountain Time. Well, the sun came up at about 7, Mountain Time, but the flyer said it was going to rise at 6 and supposedly, all those times were in Mountain Time. To this point, I still don't know what time it is. This computer says 2:55, but I don't know which time zone...ah! So confusing!

Anyway, I ended up hiking about 6 miles down into the canyon, which dropped, vertically, about 3,000 feet. From that spot, I was not to the bottom, but I had some awesome views of the Colorado River. At that time, I think it was about 9 (?), it was about 92 degrees in the shade. So, I started hiking back up. On the way up, I had many random songs running through my head, and most of them were from Dordt Choir this past year... Pai Duli (ya, that's right, Pai Duli), Bright Morning Stars... it was so random! But, I also did a lot of thinking and reflection on the way up, but there is not enought space to get into that. If only I could record my thoughts and just post those. It would be way more interesting.

Basically, God is good and his creation is awesome! I'm tired and sore and covered in dust, but it was a great day of talking with random people, hearing exclamations in all kinds of languages and reflection on God and his creation. It was good.

God bless you all!

Tim

Day 55... to the big scratch!

Brothers and Sisters in Christ!
To fill you in a little bit about what happened in the last 24 hours, I ended up finding an outlet and got a hold of some awesome people who put me up for the night. It was great to talk with them and enjoy the evening. Thank you so much!

Right now, I am in a public library in Flagstaff, AZ and after this, I plan on making the trek up to the Grand Canyon. I plan on being there all day tomorrow and then leaving the next day, but I don't know when I will be able to update the blog again, so I thought I should fill you in. After that, I'm not quite sure... the Hoover Dam is on the agenda, but from there, I'm not sure. Ridgecrest, CA is the destination, but I'm not sure on the route yet.

After I blogged yesterday, it was an interesting ride. I drove to the Four Corners to touch 4 states at the same time and then I headed south through the red, very arid soil of Arizona. Mesas and blood red cliffs rose up all around as I cut my way through the dust. Thunderheads and rain showers also surrounded me. Truly, it was a great sight to see!

Also on this ride, I went through several phases. One, I got kind of down and out, for whatever reason, but I started listening to Chris Tomlin and just belted the songs out as I rode and that really cheered me up. But, after that, I started to get down on myself and also I realized various ways Satan was getting to me. Even now, I am having a hard time writing exactly what I felt, but I realized how Satan was using my bad decisions to frustrate me. I was becoming bitter towards myself and the world around me.

Also, yesterday, at a gas station, a guy came up to me and started talking and he wanted some money. I told him I didn't have anything to give him and I was in a hurry, so I was slightly annoyed and wanted to get going. Man am I ashamed of that. As I was riding down the road, it just hit me. That morning, I had done devotions reflecting on how love isn't rude and I had listened to Hebrews, James and 1 Peter where we are told to entertain strangers and called to an action of loving. I had just blown that guy off, when it was a perfect opportunity to minister to someone. But no. I was too caught up on my schedule...

So, it was a challenging afternoon of riding where I had to face many things in myself of how Satan was getting to me throughout the trip in ways I didn't see. Please pray that I can break through and keep fighting against Satan and his demons.

Once again, I apologize for the length and for not writing so coherently. I only have a very limited time to get everything done, so it is type as fast as I can and move on. God's blessings to you all!

Tim

To the Desert!

Yo! (just thought I would try a different greeting)
I am now in Cortez, CO ready to start traveling across the hot, stinking desert of Arizona. (well, at least as ready as I'll ever be.) After blogging in Ridgeway yesterday, I made my way down through Telluride and to Mesa Verde National Park. There, I camped for the night. It was pretty crazy, and I guess this is what the weather is like in the desert, but when I showed up, it was about 90-95 degrees, yet as evening came, it kept getting colder and colder and when I woke up this morning, it was again 57 degrees. A little brisk.

Mesa Verde was awesome! I had been there before, about 10 years ago and this time was also special. This park is up on a huge Mesa that stands far above the desert floor and in the canyons, ancient Indians made homes out of the rock on top of the Mesa, but also in the walls. These cliff dwellings are what most people come to see and it is truly spectacular! So, I toured a few of those places and drove through the park enjoying the scenery. But, again, it is time to move on.

Honestly, I don't know where I will end up tonight. I haven't been able to get a hold of the friends I was going to visit and if I don't do that soon, I'm going to cut across country and be at the Grand Canyon, tonight. See, my cell phone died completely, so I can't call, unless I find an outlet somewhere. Unless I find an outlet to call and get a hold of them, I will probably be at the Grand Canyon tonight.

How do I begin to talk about the struggles in my head? When you are traveling alone, there is so much time to think and I come to so many realizations about myself and life in general. I fight with myself and with Satan. Honestly, at the end of yesterday, again, I was ready to turn around and go home. The thread of my adventure string is getting pretty thin and I keep questioning what I am doing. Yet, then I think about the people I have met and about the cool stuff to see and about how this is my last opportunity to do a trip like this. So, I continue to battle, even more than I can write, inside my own head and with Satan. Please pray for this battle. The plan is, since I'm this far, to continue for sure to California to visit friends there and then, we will see.

But, I have written to long... I'm going to try find an outlet.
God bless you all!

Tim

no words to describe

Hello All!
The last two days have been amazing driving! As of right now, I am in Ridgeway, Colorado, after a morning of driving one of the most beautiful roads in the country! The picture above is of Ouray, Colorado, probably one of my favorite towns!

This morning, I woke up after a cold, windy night. My tent was set up down in a valley between the mountains and the wind was howling through there at about 30 mph. It would pick up and then slow down and pick up again. Once I woke up this morning, the thermometer said it was 57 degrees, just a little chilly. So, after a hot shower, devotions, some breakfast and a conversation with an older gentleman while watching the Durango-Silverton Train rumble past, I took off up into the mountains. Now, there is just no was of describing the scenery along the Million Dollar Highway, as those of you who have been there know. Hopefully, in the future, I will be able to post some more pictures, even though they do not do justice.

Basically, this road is cut straight into the side of the mountains and in many places, it is staight up on one side and staight down on the other. Mountain peaks rise above 13,000 feet all around and I was just trying to look and stay on the road at the same time. It is the type of country where I am truly humbled before God. Who am I to brag about anything when I serve a God who set all these mountains in place and formed the beautiful river valleys? Who am I to be proud when the almighty has created such huge structures, where there are no words to describe and jaws just drop? God is so good and so huge and mighty, yet he loves each and every one of us even more than we could possibly imagine! That is something even more unfathomable to me than the size of those mountains!

Today has been a day of being lost in wonder of God the creator and lost in his artwork. There have been a few very good conversations with people along the road sharing the same awe and wonder. As of right now, I am just trying to soak in the wonder of God and hopefully continue to share it with the people that I meet.

From here, I head south through Telluride to Mesa Verde National Park and then, in a couple days, hopefully the Grand Canyon!

As I sat down for breakfast, devotions and prayer, I had "Praise To The Lord" running through my head. That, I have claimed, is the theme song for the past couple days.

Well, time to ride. God bless you all!

Tim

Day 52- Colorado!

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
After a very tough day and after a day of beautiful driving, I find myself in Durango, CO. The weekend with my parents was awesome, and like I figured, all I wanted to do on my drive Sunday was turn around and go home.

Yet, I kept going. Today, I drove up through Santa Fe, through the ruged beauty (there is no other way to describe it), to the mountains and into Colorado. The Northwest corner of New Mexico was very beautiful as rock spires rose out of the rocky soil, colored with layers and layers of red rocks, tan rock and white rock. It was truly spectacular! The plan now is to drive through the mountains a little bit and then head back south and make my way over to the Grand Canyon, eventually. So, some beautiful driving to happen in the future.

As I said, yesterday was very tough. I think I drove about 460 miles, which was my biggest day by far and during that drive, I just wanted to go home. Maybe part of it was because Oklahoma, Texas and the eastern part of New Mexico don't have much for scenery. No, I just missed watching the olympics with my parents and I thought about talking about it the next day with the guys at work. I miss the people of home: my friends and I miss the activities.

C.S. Lewis wrote about contentment and the need for adventure in one of his Screwtape Letters. Screwtape said that humans are designed to have both in them. We are creatures who like things the same every day and yet have a need for change. That is one reason God created seasons. In the chapter, Screwtape was discussing on how to take this and use it against humans. As I thought about it, I considered it in my own life and I seem to be stuck in the middle. Some people can live in one place their whole life and work well for the kingdom where as others need to move every couple months. They yearn for adventure. Myself, I am stuck in the middle. When I am at home for a while, in the routine of life, I get antsy and need to do something. Yet, when I do something adventurous, like this trip, I feel the need to be back home and have structure. That has been one of my main thought processes over the last few days. Kind of frustrating. Maybe, someday, I'll find my place, or when I get home, I will discover the right things to do in that place, at least for a while... until the next adventure comes along.

God bless you all!

Tim

Day 51, time to embark once again

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ!
This is an updated map of where I have been, up to where I am right now. It is late, so I will be brief, but wanted to keep you up to date.

It has been an awesome weekend with my parents in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Actually, I know it will be very hard to leave tomorrow, so prayers about the next few days and me pressing on will be good. In this time, we visited the Oklahoma Memorial site for the bombing of 1995 and we visited a firefighters museum/memorial, a train museum/park and we hung out and had a great time. It truly was blessed!

The plan is, from here, to head west down I-40 to Santa Fe, NM and then start angling my way up to Durango, CO to ride a few sweet roads there through the mountains and then come back down into Arizona and move towards the Grand Canyon. So, I'm planning on putting in a few big days to get through New Mexico.

The motorcycle is running great thus far. The Lord has definitely answered prayers on that account. Thank you so much for all your comments on my blog and in my emails! I greatly appreciate the comments, even if I forget to or don't comment back! It is so awesome to know how many people are supporting me on this trip! I just pray that the Lord will help me to continue to be "faithful", as some of you commented on my last post. :)

I love you all and look forward to more adventures as the west half of the country excursion begins tomorrow. God bless you all!

Tim

In Oklahoma City!!

Good Evening All!
The past couple days have been days of reflecting on Edgerton. I met up with a good friend from there, drove on I-35 for a while and even Highway 75: yep, the same one that goes 7 miles from Edgerton. To top it all off, I met up with my parents here, which has been great! We have enjoyed our time together so far. I'm looking forward to the next couple of days with them before moving on. It will be a nice break.

As for the activities of the last couple days, well, many of them involved rain and/sprinkling fluid from the sky. The night of hanging out with the Harley gang, it rained hard, but I stayed mostly dry in the the tent. As I emerged from my sopping home the next morning, a heavy mist covered the entire area. Some hiking did happen, but it was wet. Honestly, Hot Springs National Park wasn't what I was expecting. There were some nice hiking trails and I enjoyed it, but I was expecting something like Yellowstone. Well, not so much. This park is based around bath houses and how people used to travel from long distances to have water treatments with the unusually pure hot water. Overall, it was cool and a neat stop. The above picture is of one of the four springs still open for the public to see. All the others are covered up and sent to the bath houses.

From Hot Springs, I made my way up to Little Rock, AR where I visited a good friend from Edgerton. We hung out, talked, caught up, went out to eat and just enjoyed the evening. Thanks a lot for a great afternoon/evening!

But, I am tired. Today, I put on about 355 miles to get from Little Rock to Oklahoma City and now a couple days off from riding before heading into Texas and New Mexico.

Enjoy your Friday and Weekend! God bless you all!

Tim

Day 47... so many stories...once again.

Friends, there is just too much to tell about what has happened from the visible poverty in Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas, to crossing the Mississippi River, to battles with Satan and myself to glorious times of worship in a campground all by myself and in a bathroom (I know, sounds really sketchy, but it isn't). But, for sake of space, I must refrain from those stories and tell you a few others.

First off, I finally got the picture links posted...If you scroll down, you will find them.

Second, two days ago was Day 45, which if I do get around in 90 days, this would be halfway. In accordance with that occasion, I have a few stats for you...

45 days
7,550.7 miles
167.129 gallons of gasoline
$32.80 dollars spent per day on average- total- how's that for a cheap trip!
I camped 13 of the 45 days,
I stayed with friends 28 of the 45 days,
I slept in hotels 4 of the 45 days.

Thank you so much for the people who have opened their homes to me! You really have been the reason I am still going and how I have done it so cheap so far!

Now, for one story... yesterday, I drove up to Hot Springs, Arkansas and toured around the town a little bit in the rain. It got to be about 3 or 3:30 and I decided to head over to the campground to get a place and set up before it started raining again. While riding through the campground, a group of motorcycle riders caught my attention. They all rode trikes, a three wheeled motorcycle. After setting up, I went over and introduced myself and asked them a few questions about their cycles. Soon, they had invited me to stay for supper and we were enjoying pork chops, beans and a few beers, just sitting and having a great time.

Now, you have to picture this group... the Harley t-shirts, long flowing hair, some in ponytails, tatoos on the arms, beer and cigarettes being consumed like no tomorrow. They were the stereotypical riders that you see, except maybe not as rough and tough. This group was an extremely friendly group that I had a great time chatting with and being encouraged by. No opportunities to talk about religion arose and it seemed like if I brought it up, they would have shut me up, so I just made little comments about God making certain things and how God has blessed my trip and when I left, I said "God bless you" to them and a few said it back. Actually, it would have been great to spend more time with the group because it is so hard to get to know people in such a short amount of time. Am I being effective in what I set out to do? What does being effective mean? I journaled about these questions for quite some time the other night and who knows? Maybe in God's eyes, effectiveness is just being Christ to some people. Yet, that is not a copout, or at least, it shouldn't be. We are all called to witness, both in the way we live and with out words and actions. So, what is effectiveness? That question is my big struggle on this trip.

Tim

Pictures...please...

Okay, I tried to do the links again... here goes...

Pictures 1

Pictures 2

Pictures 3

Pictures 4

Sorry Friends....

Sorry Everybody, I have been trying to put links to my pictures again and for some reason, I can't do it. Maybe I'm doing something different than before. Hopefully, sometime in the future, it will work out.

Well, right now I am in Rayville, Louisiana. It has actually been a pretty long day of driving to get here and I am shooting for a campground a little further north.

One thing exciting happened today... I crossed the Mississippi River again! I am now back on the home side of it which made me pretty excited! It is a little wider down here, but still the same ol' river.

Animals I haven't seen, but wanted to (at a safe distance of course)...

Bald Eagle
Bear
Moose
Shark
Alligator

For whatever reason, I haven't seen any of those animals on my trip so far. Even in Florida, I didn't see one alligator, but I did see Bison, which I think more of South Dakota when I think of those.

Anyway, that's about all the happenings today. I saw a sign for Wilmar and it made me think of Minnesota and remember how much I miss it and how much I miss fishing, family and familiar faces (how's that for aliteration!).

Anyway, I better get going. Have a great day everyone and I miss you all!

Tim

I tried....

Alright, I tried to post some links to pictures, but for whatever reason, this computer won't let me do it... so I'll try it later... if you have facebook, you can check them out there...

Water, Big Boats and... something.

Okay, this is now the third time I tried to write this blog. The first, it just closed out on me. The second time, I got most of the way through and the computer randomly started typing in Korean. Don't ask, I don't know...

So, I was trying to be descriptive and write well and all that jazz, but now, I'm sick of typing. Today entailed talking theology with a family friend from back in the day, and watching power boats take off on a poker run. The picture above is one of these types of boats. They have hundreds and even over 1,000 horsepower and boy do they go! Later in the day, we went on a wave runner ride and we were doing about 55 mph. Well, there was a rumbling coming up behind me and I glanced over my shoulder to see what it was. Here came one of those power boats and it blew past me like we were standing still. They had to be doing about 80-90 mph, throwing a stream of water 20-30 feet in the air. Crazy.

Tomorrow, I plan on hitting the road again before the tropical storm comes in on Monday or Tuesday. The hope is to get to Mississippi somewhere and then start angling my way up towards Oklahoma because next weekend, I am meeting my parents there, which I am excited about!

Short, sweet, non-descriptive...that's what you get when I'm tired and the computer didn't want to work with me. All is well...God is good...let the name of Christ be praised!

Tim

Four strikes? Well, I guess you're out...

Hello my friends!
Frustration has set in slightly. Not because of riding, because that went very well today, but because of rejection. Today was a day where I didn't have to cover very many miles, so I planned on finding a hospital or rest home and playing some games with people. Well, as it turns out, I found 4 different hospitals and all of them were a "no go." The first hospital, none of the people who could help me were there, but they gave me the name of another hospital. So, I went there and they said that they couldn't let someone just roam the halls. It wasn't allowed. Moving further down the road, I came across another hospital, and this one doesn't really count as a rejection, because when I told them what I was up to, they said things like "you just made my day!" and "That is so awesome!" Never the less, they pointed me to a different place because they thought I could do better there. Moving to the fourth place of the day, I decided that this would be my last attempt because it was starting to get late. I strolled through the doors and asked the same question I had been asking all day only to be answered with "No, I'm sorry, but we need a background check and several references before allowing anyone back there."

Now, I can understand their reasons for not allowing me back there because you don't want any wacko walking through the hospital, but even so, I was slightly frustrated. What if Jesus walked through the door and they were like, "sorry Jesus, we need some background forms and a few references before we can let you back there to care for your people." It is really sad that we live in a world where someone who feels pushed by God to share his love with people can't do it because of some rules. It is really sad that we can't trust each other even in hospitals. It's bad enough at historical sights and monuments, but come on... hospitals? Maybe I should have flashed my Bible and said, "Here's my reference," just to see the look on their faces. Who knows, maybe I'll just "Jason Bourne" it next time and walk in, get on an elevator and find a room, somewhere.

Other than that whole fiasco, the day went really well. I am back in the Central Time zone which I was really excited for. The road led me right next to the Gulf of Mexico most of the way. It wound around corners and through the trees on the beach, tickling white sand shores and giving sights to the many colored, highrise resorts. It really was a beautiful drive! And today was what I actually envisioned Florida to be... sunshine, 85 degrees, a slight breeze blowing of the water and through the palm trees as families enjoy the white sand beaches and warm water of the Gulf. It was gorgeous.

From this point, I am not sure where I will head. I might start making my way North and I might keep following the Gulf for a while. Who knows? But, I wll keep you informed.

Please pray that God continues to challenge me through this leg of the journey. I think I will have plenty of opportunities to visit hospitals (if I can get in) or rest homes or even find people elsewhere. Please pray that God opens my eyes to the ones around me who need his love and that I do this completely for his glory and not for my own selfish reasons.

Thanks and God bless you all!
By the way, I just went over the 7,000 mile mark. crazy!

Tim

A quick update...just because I can

Greetings Friends!
Well, I am going to keep this short, because the spacebar on this keyboard is tired. Today, I left the Atlantic Ocean in the rearview mirror and made my way North and West to begin the long journey back across the U.S. It was a good day of driving, except for the rain. Yep, once again, I pulled the rainsuit out of it's place, shook it out andwore it with pride.
Really, nothing too interesting happened today. I drove a lot of it. Had a few interactions with people, but nothing too significant. I plan on resting up, and tomorrow, heading West, back to Central time and maybe some visits to different places. We shall see.
That's it, for now. Miss you all!

Tim

Day 40, The beach, NASA and ... a window in my brain.

Greetings All!
Well, much has happened again, since I last updated. I made it to Florida. Actually, right now, I just got back from sitting on the beach and swimming all day in Stuart, FL. I am slightly burned but very relaxed and salty. :) It was a great time though!

Yesterday, I went to Kennedy Space Center and toured around there all day which was awesome! For those of you who don't know, I have an absolute love for the space program and would have loved to get there and fly. Being at the space center brought back all those loves and visions and made me want to go and watch "Apollo 13." Honestly, I am still trying to reflect on what I saw and took pictures of, so I really don't have a lot to say about it, except that it was completely awesome seeing where the original rockets launched from and the bunkers that they did it out of, and then we saw the launch pads of Apollo and the Space Shuttle. To top it all off, I saw a Saturn V rocket up close and personal... it was a great day!

Actually, I have been reflecting a lot on something that I witnessed the other day on the beach in South Carolina. I was building a sand castle with some wonderful young children and soon, the tide was beginning to come in, so we had to build the walls higher and thicker to hold back the tide. They were calling mom and dad and grandma and grandpa and we were piling sand on this thing. Yet, as with all adults, we all knew the tide would win the war, but those kids believed in their hearts that if they kept piling sand and kept working, they could hold back the tide. I took a moment and thought about it. Isn't this what Jesus talked about when he said to have faith like a child?

As a children, we believed anything was possible. Our dad was the strongest fastest person in the world and could beat up any one else's dad. People should be able to fly; the stuffed animals had voices and feelings; I could win the world series any time I wanted, or make that game winning free throw... then something happened and we grow up and the word, "impossible", is brought to our vocabulary. Didn't Jesus do the impossible? Didn't his followers heal diseases and cast out demons and the Holy Spirit convert 3,000 people in one day? How many of us would call those things impossible? It seems that as we get older, we lose the ability to dream big. We lose the ability to envision something glorious and we lose the ability to dream, or even ask for, the "impossible" from God. Our brains very quickly see limits and very quickly only strive for those limits. But, what about God's limits? What?

I guess my big struggle is, what does it look like for me, a 23 year old, sinful, male to have faith like a child? How do I live my Christian life not knowing the word "impossible?" What do I do while following a God that isn't bound by anything? Maybe, all I can do is keep piling sand on the walls, knowing full well that my Father is the biggest and strongest and can hold back the tide, no matter how high. Just maybe.

Just some thoughts,

Tim

Day 38- So many thoughts, so little time...

Greetings Brothers and Sisters in Christ!
The public library system has come through again! Yet, I cannot write for very long, because I have many miles which I wish to go yet today and it is already 4:16. Here's a brief synopsis of what has happened since I last blogged. I left Athens, GA and made my way over to Charleston, SC and camped there. The next day, Sunday, I went to church, which is the story I will write about. Then, I went down to Patriot's Point and upon arrival, I saw, on the deck of the U.S.S. Yorktown, they had and F-14 Tomcat. Now, for those of you who don't know, that is absolutely my favorite airplane! I had to go and see it. So, I got a pass and toured the Yorktown, and touched and took pictures of the Tomcat (amazing!) and toured a submarine, battleship and coast guard cutter.

After that, I took a ferry out to Ft. Sumter, the place where the first shots of the Civil War took place. Once again, an amazing historical place to visit.

But, I wanted to tell you about what happened Sunday and about the kindness of strangers. I showed up at a United Methodist Church at about 10 to 10 and saw the service didn't start until 11. Well, I really didn't want to stick around for an hour before church started. A lady soon hailed me and told me to come in, so I was caught. Upon going in, I was soon meeting many people and having a bible study before church, which was awesome! Then, I sat with her and her husband in church, where the Pastor proceeded to talk smack to me from the pulpit about not riding a Harly! It was crazy! But, I bet I met about 20-30 people who wished me God's blessings and I had 2 people give me their phone numbers if I had any trouble. That is amazing in it of itself! Well, then after the service, Faye and her husband (the couple who I sat with) asked if I had any plans for eating. "Not really." "Well, would you like to eat with us." "...well, sure why not." So, they took me out for shrimp and fries and we talked over dinner.

I had never been apart of a church that was so full of the love of Christ. They were honestly overflowing with love and joy for their Lord and I praise God for having met them. It was something completely unlooked for, but once again, God just amazed me with the power of his name, through is people.

There are so many thoughts that I want to write about, even from experiences playing on the beach this morning with relatives... but I better get going. There are many miles that I wish to cover yet.

Thank you so much for your prayers and for you support. Honestly, if it weren't for you praying and for the kindness of people along the way, both who I meet and who I stay with, I would have turned around long ago. So, Thank you all very much!!

Tim

Day 35

Sorry, no picture and no interesting title. Basically, I am posting because the weekend is coming and if I am back on the road, there really aren't a lot of places to update. Libraries aren't usually open.

Anyway, my time here in Georgia has been very good so far. I have hung out with some great company and have gotten tours of Athens, GA. Yesterday, I washed the motorcycle and it amazed me how much dirt and grime got stuck to it. I know, I have traveled about 5,400 miles, so obviously, there's gonna be a lot of junk on it, but I forgot how much chrome actually shines when it is clean.

Last night, I even went golfing and, thanks to some advice from my uncle, the ball actually went where it was supposed to a few times. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

So, sometime, early next week, I will be down in Florida touring around and seeing how I can be used and then I will begin heading west again, back into the Central Time Zone. Crazy!

One thing that has been on my mind lately, has been my conversations with Lenard and Nazarene in the hospital. The point I hate most about this trip is that I keep moving because it would have been good to back and visit with them several times and actually get to know them. We had good conversations, well at least one of them, and I want to build on that, but long relationships aren't really an aspect of this trip. I guess, I can pray that God will use our meeting to spur something on them and on me to pull all three of us closer to himself. Anyway, that is one of my frustrations.

God bless you all!

Tim

Updated Picture Albums

Greetings All from hot Georgia!
I updated my pictures again. The first link is to an album that has been posted already, but I put a few more pictures in it towards the end and the second link is a completely new album. Enjoy!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=48747&l=f306d&id=713683254

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=49863&l=7c25f&id=713683254

Hospitals...sigh.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As of right now, I am in Clayton, GA and have been here for a while. It was a day where I didn't have far to travel, so I wanted to take advantage and meet some people.

I'm struggling with how to start this post... For a long time, I have reflected on Christ's teachings and the call to action that is so prevelant in scripture by Jesus, himself, along with the writings of Paul. In Matthew 25, Jesus talks about the sheep and the goats and how one group fed, clothed, took care of and visited, "the least of these brothers of mine." Anyway, I see these teachings, but look at my own life and don't see a lot of action involved in my faith, so I am constantly challenged by the words of Jesus.

Anyway, I just returned from a hospital. With my free time, I decided to find a hospital and ask if there were any patients that didn't have a lot of visitors. So, I showed up at the door and one of the volunteers pointed me towards the nurses station. I told them what I was up to and they said, "visit all of them!" Well, I walked down the hall and stopped in at one man's room. His name was Lenard and he was a cancer patient which I soon found out. I could tell that he didn't want company too much and by looking in his eyes, I could see the despair and pain. He was an older man that was very closed off. While asking questions, I did find out that he used to work construction finishing off houses and building cabinets. I did not feel a push to talk to him about religion and when his food came, I asked if he wanted me to stay and talk or not, and he said "no." So, I said "I'll be praying for you and God bless you, Lenard." It was a strange, awkward encounter, but one that gave me still another picture into the eyes of those we are called to love.

After leaving Lenard, I walked down the hall a few rooms and found this lady, Nazarene, who was much more willing to talk with me. I found out she was originally from Wisconsin, but moved to Georgia because they had good work for homeless people. Apparently, she was poor and was cleaning hotels and doing farm work, until she had health issues. While talking with her, she made some comment about witnessing to people, so I pushed her a little bit and soon, we were talking about religion. I found out that she believed in "the Almighty." It is tough for me to sum up what we talked about, because we talked about a lot, but she had some strange beliefs that I pushed her on a little bit. She did believe in Jesus and she did believe in creation and how we are supposed to take care of our own section of it, but she wasn't so up on the whole loving your neighbor thing. I asked her if she had a Bible and if she read it, and she did have one, and she had read it before, but she doesn't a whole lot. To me, Nararene seemed a little crazy (literally) and she didn't know a lot about the Bible or what it said, but she had a lot of the basics. Before I left, I asked if I could pray for her, and she said that was alright so, I prayed for her and then said "God Bless you and I hope to see you again when the Almighty comes to refine his creation and make it new." (We talked about refining and the end times quite a bit.)

Before I left, there was a volunteer who had helped me find the nurses station and he asked how things went. I said they went pretty good and then he asked me why I was doing this. This is the question I live for! Well, I told him straight up, "I'm a Christian and I believe that Jesus Christ came to love the hurting and the afflicted, and there are no more hurting people than in a hospital, rest home or prison, so that is why I am here." He loved that and thought it was so awesome that someone to do that and before I left, we exchanged, "God bless yous." and then I headed out the door.

That was my experience for the day and I just pray that somehow, the Holy Spirit worked in the volunteer, the nurses and/or the patients today. Give praise to God and go out into the fields, for the harvest is great, but the workers are few!

God bless you all!

Tim

Day 32, long since overdue

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
It has been a long time since I last posted, so hopefully, not too many of you gave up on me. :) I haven't really been in a place where I could blog in quite a while, so I am sorry.

I am now over one third of the way through: Day 32, 5200 miles done. Crazy. The motorcycle is running great except for a leaky fork seal. Yar.

Currently, I am in a little town just west of the Great Smoky Mountains, somewhere in Tennessee. Here is a basic catch-up of where I have been the last few days. From Washington, I went down to Norfolk, VA and saw "The Dark Knight" with some friends. Then, to Kitty Hawk, NC because you just have to if you love or know anything about flying. Then, West all the way across NC to Black Mountain for a nights stay in the mountains. Yesterday, a trip down the Blue Ridge Parkway to a campground on the mountain and today has been driving through the Great Smoky Mountains.

There is just too much to write about, so I will throw in a few random things about yesterday and today because I don't have enough time or space to write everything. Yesterday, I drove about 80 or so miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway and I have never said "wow" so many times in an 80 mile stretch of road. There were some awesome views, which obviously, camera's don't do justice. For those of you who ride motorcycle or bike, these roads were a lot of fun to ride. It was up and down, over mountains, through tunnels, cutting left and right, accelerating and coasting... just a lot of fun.

My devotions times have been pretty good lately, probably mainly because I have actually been disciplining myself to do it. Since I am one third of the way through the trip, I recounted what happened and I realized how I haven't done a whole lot on a spiritual basis. Through prayer, I realize that I need to throw myself out there more and talk with people. So, last night, I was in a campground and I noticed the family next to me had prayed at supper. I went over there about 9 or so and thanked them for helping me earlier (they gave me some bread) and then I started talking with them and soon, our conversation led into spiritual matters. They were a great Christian family who was willing to help me and I had a great time talking with them about creation and how paths cross. We quoted some scripture and just sat around the fire and looked at the starts. Truly, it was amazing.

We shall see what the next few days bring. I am going to try and be more direct in ministering to people, so please pray about that. From here, I head south again towards Athens, GA and then back to the east coast and down to Florida. That's the plan.

Hopefully, I won't wait so long to blog next time! Thank you so much for all your prayers and support and I miss seeing you and hearing your voices!
God bless,

Tim