“What cancer cannot do… it cannot… invade the soul; suppress memories; kill friendship; destroy peace; conquer the spirit; shatter hope; cripple love; corrode faith; steal eternal life; silence courage.”

Today I ride for Brenda and Wendell, our gracious host family who housed six college guys and both of whom lost both of their parents to cancer.

This morning, our team split up for the sake of spreading our mission to more regions of the US. The rockies team headed northward as we the sierras headed west. Chanting our first ever Hakka as a team, we realized how close we have grown to each other, only to be separated until day 60. Nevertheless, we knew when we joined the organization that our mission wasn’t about making good friends but about spreading hope knowledge and charity to as many people as possible. That said, we split up after a moving ride dedication—I was particularly touched by our ride leader Jon Stringer’s dedication for Jen Jarmin (sp?). She had given him her necklace to wear on the ride this summer, and he shared with us that she may not make it through by the time Jon gets back from Alaska. Her necklace is shown below and quoted above. Inspired and humbled, I took off with the considerably smaller pack heading towards Winters, TX. It was a 70 mile ride, with hills, bumpy roads, and heat (I think the hottest it got was 118 degrees!). Nevertheless, we made it through and were warmly greeted by the president of Winters’s Chamber of Commerce who had set up a hamburger dinner and access to the community pool for us. It was absolutely awesome to hop into that water after a long day on our saddles, and we are all so thankful (Joyce, Kay, and more) for the delicious dinner they set up for us. The whole evening really boosted our morale and humbled me personally. Later in the evening, we split up into our respective host family groups when I, Julian, Jon, Joe, Steven, and Mike went to Brenda and Wendell’s home. They were such a generous host family—providing for us numerous places to eat, full access to showers, and even prepared some ice cream sundaes for us to enjoy. I realized today that I need the calories! So indulging in ice cream may actually help tomorrow… I’ll let you know. Talking to Brenda for a bit, and explaining the organization, we learned that she had lost her two parents to cancer (and so did her husband). They are a great Christ-loving couple (I can tell from their hospitality and decor), and I am encouraged by their strength through trials and also their willingness to open their household doors to us. I know this summer will be incredible, especially if we continue meeting folks like Wendell and Brenda. Wish you all were here! Well, you are in my heart. Thanks for pushing and supporting me thus far. Take care and may God bless you guys! Until next time…