Before I bring you up to speed on the last 2 days, I really should say something about our Lord’s Day in Sebree, KY.
Aug 20
First of all, the bike hostel there should serve as the gold standard for all the rest. I wish the Adventure Cycling Association would do a write up on it and encourage all the other hostels to follow their example where they’re able. Second place would definitely be Al’s Place (the jail) in Farmington, MO.
As regards the Lord’s Day, I had a really great experience in the Men’s Sunday School class. The lesson was on 2Cor 5 and Bob Hardison led the study. But what impressed me most of all was the way in which the men interacted with one another and actively contributed to the discussion. Rather than having to be the speaker, Bob really just kept the conversation going between everyone else. In all my experiences with men’s studies, getting the men to really talk is like pulling teeth. So I was really blessed to see the men so comfortable with each other and such good friends/brothers in Christ that they were open and talkative. We need more of that back home at my church.
The sermon was on Mt 6.19-24 and Pastor Tony preached a great message calling us all not to pursue the things of this life, that never deliver waht they promise, but to lay up our treasures in heaven. We had lunch with the pastor, his wife Jill, and their children Melody, Selah, and Timothy. For the evening Bible study Pastor Tony taught a class on pneumatology, the study of the Holy Spirit. And after class we had dinner at Bob and Violet Hardison’s house joined by another cyclist who’d biked the TransAm 19 years ago and was in town visiting his nephew for the eclipse. It was a great day of fellowship with the saints and a wonderful reminder of the blessing of honoring the Lord’s Day as we make our way across the country.
Aug 22
After such a great time there, it was sad to leave Sebree Baptist Church. But for all the blessings of our time there, we do have to get home… We stopped at the Sebree Dairy Bar for breakfast and Pastor Tony stopped by there to visit us and pray for us before we headed out. I really enjoyed his fellowship and pray the Lord will continue to grow him in the grace and knowledge of Christ and pour out His blessings on his ministry at Sebree.
We were on the bikes by 8:00 heading for Falls of Rough. There was a Baptist church there and I’d left a message for the pastor hoping that we could stay there. I hadn’t heard back yet and asked Tony if he could put out a call to him as well and he said he’d be glad to. The ride was full of hills and our stomachs were giving us trouble–I don’t think the breakfast settled. At one point I pulled over for a break because I thought I might lost my breakfast. Thankfully I didn’t and we were able to get back on the road. I texted Tony asking for prayer and soon our stomachs cleared up. By Sugar Grove (18 miles shy of Fords of Rough) neither I nor Tony had heard anything back from the church in Falls of Rough so we needed another plan. We stopped in at the Sugar Grove Baptist Church to use the restroom and fill up our water bottles. The church was super nice and they had a bedroom and shower for use. The boys wanted badly to stop there for the night but we’d only gone 48 miles and it was just after 1:00. However, we enjoyed a nice conversation with Yvonne, the sister of the pastor and a good friend of the pastor a church on the Cape (small world, eh?). We thanked her for her hospitality and returned to our bikes in the parking lot. I was still uncomfortable with not having a place for the night. As we waited for Rocky to use the restroom again I remembered there was another lady in the church. I wondered if she might be able to help us. I went back inside. “Excuse me. I’m cycling across the country with my two sons and was wondering if you knew of a church in the Falls of Rough area that might be willing to put us up for the night.” “I don’t know of anything in that area but I know of Bethel Fellowhip in McDaniels, the next town over. They have a boys ranch there and I’m sure they’ll put you up. The pastor’s name is Ron Miller but I don’t have a number for him.” “Wow. That’s a great help. Thank you so much.”
I went outside to google the church. I got the number but when I dialed it it was disconnected. Guess we’ll just knock on the door of the parsonage. I texted Tony telling him about the church in McDaniels to see if he could help. He immediately got on the horn and tracked down the pastor’s cell number and left a message. Before long the pastor called him back and said we were more than welcome to stay at the church. Thank you Tony. Thank you Lord. Now we just needed to make it to McDaniels. The sky had been dark and threatening for some time and about 14 miles before we reached the church it finally began to come down. We were already soaking wet with sweat so we didn’t bother putting on our rain gear and just rode on. We reached the church by 6 PM. Pastor Ron Miller was in Paducah picking up a van for the church but his son Kevin greeted us, showed us around the church, and let us pick a place to sleep that would suit us. We picked the Youth Chapel. It was carpeted, dark, and quiet. We were asleep before 10:00.
Aug 23
We left the church by 7:30, just as parents, teachers, and students began arriving–they have a Christian school there as well. The goal today was Sonora, a 37 mile ride. We were planning to visit Ellen Marcel’s brother (John) and mother in Glasgow, KY, which is quite a bit south of Sonora. Since we really don’t have the time to cycle those extra miles John was trying to arrange for someone to come up to Sonora to get us and then to drop us back off on the trail Friday morning. It looked like it was all going to come together so we were heading for Sonora. But unfortunately I soon got a message from John that the ride fell through. We were really bummed but quickly brought our heart to our condition remembering that God is in control and always does right by His children. So now for Plan B. Where are we going today? Sonora is too close and Springfield is too far. I texted Tony again to see if he could help. He soon found a church in New Haven. “That’s great brother!” But just when I thought we were all set he texted back saying that it was a dead end. Unwilling to give up so easily, he called City Hall. Then the lady at City Hall made a call and soon we had the numbe of a brother who worked at the funeral home in New Haven and said we could stay in the room upstairs. We were to call when we got to town. Thank you Tony. Can you believe the wonderul providence? Here we are in New Haven, KY sleeping in an air conditioned room for the night. Thank you Lord. Never thought I’d spend the night in a funeral home, but here we are. Guess we can delete this from our bucket list 🙂
Not sure where we’ll end up tomorrow. We might have to stop in Harrodsburg. It’s kinda close; but Berea is too far and there’s not much else in between.
Thanks for praying and thanks for following. We love and miss you all very much.
Until next time… 🙂
