In San Francisco with flowers in my hair....

Hey everyone! I am in San Fran...I cant believe how far we have come when I look at the map of california! We have about one more week in California and then we will be on to Oregon...Its crazy. This trip has really grown and stretched me in new ways. I have learned what it means to rely on God to meet ALL of our needs and also what David felt when he cried out in the Psalms. Some of these mountains that we have climbed have caused me to literally cry out to God in desperation because you know that if you stop peddling, you will roll backwards down the hill or onto your teammates...neither one would be good....so you have to keep going forward. I have learned and am learning the meaning of "boast all the more in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me...for when I am weak, then I am strong." There have been moments already that I know it was the strength of Christ in me that allowed me to keep going, and His strength alone. There have also been moments where we have been riding along and we turn a corner and I am overwhelmed by the beauty around me that I just start laughing/crying because I am experiencing Him and His beauty so strongly through all the nature around me....those are my favorite experiences.

I also see and experience Him through my teammates...through their selflessness, their support and their joy. We keep going, keep fighting through the wind and pain, keep sleeping on floors, and keep each other laughing. We have experienced such intense blessing through churches, brothers and sisters along the way. It is so amazing to me that I am meeting people in my Christian family that i would have never met any other way, getting to worship with them and eat in their homes...all because we serve the same Father. It is such a neat experience being in different communities, seeing how others worship and live, and hearing about the amazing things that they are doing in their own communities to further the kingdom....its so beautiful to me. I feel so blessed to be meeting these brothers and sisters who are truely doing a good work.

One couple, who has celiac, gave me an entire grocery bag full of gluten free goodies for the road. That was awesome. A man at the same church bought stephanie clips and shoes for her bike. Another church bought us enough groceries to feed a small army...which we eat like anyways....

The blessings are enormous. The trials are real. This experience is awesome.

I love seeing peoples faces when we tell them what we are doing, and even more when we tell them why. Its so amazing putting faith into action and being proactive for this cause. People ask why we arent satisfied with just sending money...we tell them that we could do that but this way, we are reaching more than just our friends and family...we are getting to impact everyone that sees us, sees our van, hears our story and we in turn get to hear their story. People are getting excited about this cause on the West coast and it is a beautiful thing.

I love our motto, benefit the world, discover your soul. This is happening for all of us. We have raised so much money and awareness for Africa and God is just continuing to open doors for this to happen. We have one more day to rest here in San Fran and then it is back to the intense mountains and winds that we have come to loathe here in California hahaha. Pray for us, for strength and safety and good morale. I love all of you so much and am so thankful for all the support and love. Ill try to check in again soon! live mighty and righteously.