this summer i met an incredible group of people.

ride:well 09; i never thought there could be another group of people as crazy as the 08ers until you all came along.

lisa, lisa, lyzz, jen, drew, criselda, bethany, brady, cody, tyler, brian, deb, seth, josh, erin, erin, erik, anthony, and jacob, congratulations on accomplishing this amazing feat; riding your bicycles across america. im sure you heard you share of, "you cant do that", "youre not serious", "do you even ride bikes?", and also the occasional, "no y'all aint!", or "who does that?", but now, here you are in delaware with these 18 other people you may not have even known 2 months ago, and now they are some of your closest friends, and to my knowledge, it will always be this way. you will always be close with these people in a different way than you are close with anyone else, because this experience is special; it is real; it changes you; it impacts lives around you; it pushes you; it stretches you; it moves you. it's like nothing else.

as a former rider, as your friend, as someone who believes in what Blood:Water Mission is about, and what Venture Expeditions is about, I congratulate you at the end of this part of the journey, and I assure you that the journey is not over. this is the beginning of a whole new way of life, and i am amazed to see how each one of you were placed on this ride for reasons beyond all of us. i am thankful to have met each one of you; i am thankful for your willingness to open up; to be vulnerable; to embrace uncertainty, and i am thankful for your abitity to trust God even when you were hurting (physically, and emotionally), and i am inspired by your passion.

i will be praying for you as you transition. and i encourage you to stay in touch; to pray for each other, and to integrate this experience into who you are, remembering that the way you lived in community can translate into the life you go back to; all of it translates somewhere if you let it. well, except, most likely you wont be biking everyday for at least a while, but your bodies might be thanking you for that.

you all are an inspiration. please keep telling your stories. please keep doing hard things. thank you for your contribution to blood:water mission. i hope you know how incredibly thankful we are for you.

i cant believe you just rode your bikes across america. ocean to ocean. who does that?