Scary Movie and Small Gestures!

Yesterday we headed out from Burnsville, MN with the team van, the Mother Falcon. We made it to a friends cabin near rapid city at about midnight. It was pitch black in the middle of the woods. We felt like we were in the middle of a scary movie using my phone as a flashlight to walk up a hill to find the cabin. The stars were the brightest I've ever seen though! This morning we woke up to some beautiful scenery and a neighbor who helped us back the van and trailer out of the drive. It made our morning even better and reminded us of the significance of small gestures. Next stop, Spokane, Wa where we'll stay the night with the Northern Team and then make our way to Seattle. Ps On the road yesterday I got to see a good friend and mentor from my high school years Leonard Cousins and his family at a Coffee Shop for 5 minutes (I haven't seen him in 12 years). PPS And right now we're desperately looking for some good coffee and breakfast maybe in the town of Gillette, WY.

First days of the tour -a quick update!

Hey everyone, so here's a try at a very short blog! Maybe I can keep ya up-to-date with short posts... Also, for up to the minute updates, I post pictures and what we're doing throughout the day on twitter. You can see those posts on the right hand side of my blog (-if you're viewing it at www.karljfeller.com)
Our team rode their first day on Sunday from Sammamish (Seattle) to Sultan, where we stayed in their middle school. Monday, we rode from Sultan, up and over Steven's Pass (over 4000 feet of climbing). Here's our picture at the top.

(I drove support that day)

Then at the end of the ride, we got to meet a bunch of the people from the church and tell them about the tour, and the Just+Hope Cause. Here's our team with a bunch of the kids that our riders got to show our bikes to:



I will be riding today with the team to Coulee City, while Dustin drives support.

Ps on the way up to Steven's Pass, we stopped at a place that Harry and the Henderson's was filmed at, a childhood favorite movie of mine, how crazy is that!?

Throw Out My Back, a Visit to Glacier National Park and Team Training -all in one week.

On the road to Team Training!
On Thursday, May 26th I flew out of Phoenix to Minneapolis to make some final preparations for the tour. Friday morning, my co-leader, Dustin Burkhart and I were at the venture offices printing off maps and packing the van and trailer for the tour. Gatorade donated 137 lbs worth of food/drink mix for one of Venture's tours! When Dustin and I went to set down the box after moving it, I felt something pull in my back. Later that day I found myself hunched over in the parking lot, laughing in pain because my back hurt so much that I couldn't even walk to the van. That day, Ryan Skoog, co-founder of Venture, Dustin and I prayed for God to heal my back. A number of family and friends have been praying for me and day by day I have felt better. I went to a Chiropractor on Saturday and Monday to get it adjusted. After a week of prayer and caring for my back, I got on my bike tonight to ride around the parking lot a week after the it started, without much pain at all! What a living and active God we serve! He is involved in every moment of our lives.

Monday,

On Monday, we left Minneapolis in the van to head to Seattle, WA with Erin, a leader from Venture, Dustin, and three of our teamates. We drove through the night and our GPS led us on a more 'northern' route than we planned... But it actually worked out for the best! On our drive, Brian Elliot, a good friend of mine from some other Venture Expeditions, saw our van in the middle of Montana, made a u-turn and caught up to us! What are the chances of that!? We continued on to visit Glacier National Park on our way to Spokane, WA where we would spend the night at a hotel. Click on this link to see some pictures from our trip and the amazing Glacier National Park:

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1936311680545.2111994.1024940869&l=83d8287de5

On Wednesday afternoon, we arrived in Sammamish, WA (near Seattle) to do our training with the team for the tour! We've spent time talking about team dynamics, safety and bike maintenance with the team. What's more important is we spent time talking more about the cause and how the Just+Hope campaign connects the local church in America with the local church in SE Asia to seek Justice in a number of areas. Here is a quick 2 minute video about the Just+Hope Campaign.



Last but not least, our team went on our first training ride today. We road from Samammish, WA (near Seattle) to Kerry Park, overlooking the space needle and Mount Rainier. That's where our team picture on this blog was shot. Everyone did great! We had 3 people fall over, but no injuries!

ps. I'll keep my blogs shorter and more frequent in the future! ;) And I'll have more pics up soon!

Today was full of more training and finding out more about Blood:Water Mission and their work in Marsabit, Kenya that we're raising money for.

The biggest thing for me today was talking about really being where you are. Not constantly thinking about where you're headed or where you've been, but embracing and enjoying the moments you are living in right now. In Ruthless Trust by Brennan Manning talks about listening for the Music of what's happening right now. It will never come again... If you get caught up in always asking God where you're headed, what his plans are... you can miss what he's speaking to you right now. So relax, enjoy the moment, don't miss the music.

Challenged in this season of my life to find God's next step in ministry and career, one of my goals on this trip is to listen for God's leading in this next season of my life. To be honest sometimes it's all I can think of -with worry, excitement and wonder. But today, God was challenging me not to get caught up in that as I seek his plan, but enjoy the present moment. The 'music' playing right now.

Tomorrow we ride with the teams for the first time bright and early!

I'll keep tonights blog short, but just wanted to fill everyone in on what's going on before I hit the hay. Today pMark & Brenda dropped me off at Faith Chapel here in San Diego, where I got my bike put back together and got to meet the whole team that I'll be traveling with on the Ride:Well South Tour, the Team Leaders and directors of Ride:Well & Blood:Water mission. It was cool to finally meet people that I've been talking to over email, facebook and the phone in the last month. The Pacific Coast Tour Team is here too and I met two people from Phx heading out on that tour.

Tonight, we got to hear some of the history of Ride:Well -how it started with just a few guys that sold their car to buy their bikes on the way to Portland, and started riding across the country (without any training) and has grown to multiple trips each year. All for the vision of making a difference in the world. And over the years, Ride:Well has been able to do just that in greater and expanding ways. At the core of Ride:Well is the phrase: benefit the world. discover your soul. Something that's been a core teaching around H2O and in my own life is that when you give you grow. I can't wait to see God's plan for this trip unfolds in our team, my life & how it will impact lives in Africa. Later this week I'll fill you in on some of the specific areas and ways Ride:Well is working with Blood:Water in Africa! Then Sunday morning the Pacific Tour will leave during Faith Chapels early service and our Southern Tour will leave at the end of the second service and post some pictures)!!

Ok and random info for this blog... did you know that Starbucks is sponsoring this tour! They gave us Via and Via mugs!

Now where's my sleeping bag?

On the Road!

Here we are! About half way to San Diego, with my good friends pMark & Brenda driving me out! A big shout out goes to Texaco in the middle of the desert for Beef Jerky and Cheddar Cheese Pringles to help the drive go smooth. Today I get to meet up with all of the Ride:Well Team for the first time in San Diego and so the journey begins!
I’m so excited to be a part of Ride:Well and Blood:Water Mission and the impact they are making in the world. Not to mention the great memories that will be made, the relationships that will be formed, the changes and growth that God has in store for me and all of the team. Many of you are and have been a part of my trip through your encouragement, giving & prayers. If I could, I would build a cart on the back of my bike and take you all with me this summer. So this blog is your chance to climb in the cart and ride along with me this summer and continue to be a part of all that God has in store. I’ll post more soon!
ps This just in, we crossed the California Border, does anyone have a tooth brush I can use… this jerky did wonders on my breath.

Ride Well Tour

And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

I remember reading the words of Isaiah 58 while sitting at the back table in a coffee shop in Prescott a number of years ago on a cold November day. Snow on the ground and a warm cup of coffee in that busy shop near the town square, I had chosen to make my way out of town to spend a day just seeking God's will for the next step in my life. Away from the distractions and normalcy of that season of my life, I asked God to give me wisdom, to help me understand his heart and his direction.

As I read through some familiar verses that day, somehow I ended up on a chapter I don't think I had read before -Isaiah 58... It took me some time at first, but as I read it, I began to understand that God was telling me 'spend myself' on the things that have his heart. To help those in need -to do what I can to bring JUSTICE into the social injustices of our world. That chapter became a defining group of verses and challenge for me over the years to come. -How can I impact student and adults lives that are in need -spiritually or physically? How can I bring the light of HOPE where there seems to be no hope?

Now faced with the challenge of unfolding God's plan for my life in this next season, I'm learning more and more to Trust in God and make sure that He is my constant and have been asking Him what steps he would have me follow in life.

Last year, when the Ride Well Tour made a stop at Desert Springs, something hit a string in my heart. Their cooperation with Blood Water Mission to promote clean blood and clean water efforts in Africa, tangibly reducing the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic while addressing the underlying issues of poverty, injustice and oppression grabbed ahold of my heart. As my time on staff at DSC came to a close, I felt like the great opportunity for me to be a part of the Ride Well Tour was arising.

Through many gifts from dear friends, unbelievable support from Desert Springs Church and the board and an incredible discount from South Mountain Cycles, I'll be able to be a part of this great tour! It all goes back to the challenge that God has stirred in me since that day he led me to Isaiah 58. How can I make a difference in peoples lives -physically and spiritually?

I can't say thank you enough to every individual and dsc who has played a role in helping pay for this amazing cause. Also, the continued training and help that the crew at South Mountain Cycles has given me is helping me prepare more and more for this great adventure.

I've been training -running & taking classes at the gym since I knew that I would be a part of the tour and this Monday Morning my Bike was finished and I started training on it!

Then, this June, I will begin to ride across the country with about 17 other individuals to raise funds to help build wells in Africa -literally changing lives of the individuals that live in those villages! I will also be filming during the tour to help with a project that Ride Well is putting together to help raise awareness for this cause.

Will you pray with me that God would use this trip to raise awareness in the churches we visit, people we come in contact with and lives we reach into -so that we can bring hope to people in need?

I'll keep this blog updated as we get closer to the tour and then I'll be posting updates and pictures throughout the tour! So check back soon!