Last year....

Some people make the world extra special just by being in it.

Why are we on this planet? What are we here for? We live in the good old US of A, and are fortunate to be able to make our own significant choices in our lives. We can even make choices that affect other people, good or bad! 

The kids (actually, young adults, and a few older folks) I traveled with on The Fuller Bike Adventure last summer made the choice in their lives to help people less fortunate than they. They figured out one of the main reasons we are here! They chose to do this by riding bicycles across the entire country, 3,600 miles. Do you know how hard it is to ride an average of 75 miles per day 5 or 6 days a week for 9 weeks? Let me tell you these kids are tough. They did that with joy in their hearts and only an occasional tear in their eyes. They did it by making it a fun adventure, except maybe for the couple of mountain passes that crept in. Most did it with very little training, and one delightful young lady signed up not even owning a bike; a small reason for a couple of tears. They did it loving each other and with the love for all people in their hearts.

At one time I wanted to join the Peace Corps. One of the main reasons I never signed on was because I don’t make friends with bugs easily, and all I could picture in the places needing help was bugs. So my desire to serve in such a setting got put on the back burner while I struggled with college and jobs and raising a family--until last year, when I accidentally found The Fuller Center. While stationed with the Air Force in Alaska, I almost rode my bike down the ALCAN Highway to the lower 48, but didn't think I could make it fast enough, or carry enough spare tubes to get to my next assignment on time, but I did spend lots of time on my bike. Lately my son Matthew blogged about our planning to ride our bikes from Austin to Florida to visit my parents when he was much younger. I had completely forgotten about that, but trust his memory. It’s obvious his memory is better than mine. I'm not even sure what I had for breakfast this morning; oh yeah, nothing yet.

Just some thoughts as we start our second day of travel to this year’s adventure with The Fuller Center.

Peace....