Bikes 4 Indonesia

Moving on to Refuge Nola

2008-09-06T10:45:00.002-04:00

Hey there so from now on I will be blogging at http://refugenola.blogspot.com/ which will be linked to www.refugenola.orgIf you are interested in sending bikes somewhere overseas, check out www.worldbicyclerelief.org they have a lot more funding than I and are better organized

Community Development

2008-03-17T00:24:00.002-04:00

So I have been reading Compassion Justice and the Christian Life, by Robert Lupton, and it has been quite amazing to see someone discuss urban ministry on a larger scale than giving a hand out. He states "Doing for others what they can do for themselves is charity at its worst." He then discusses ideas of food pantries and clothing closets as examples of ways we attempt to help others but it is

Earthquakes and magnitudes of difference

2008-02-23T22:05:00.005-05:00

I have just received e-mails from friends of mine in Indonesia informing me of th 7.6 earthquake off the northern coast of Sumatra. This hit close to where I have spent most of my time in Indonesia. My friends informed me of the villagers and themselves fleeing to the mountains after the earthquake happening in fear of another Tsunami. Some of the villagers will stay up there for a week or so

Fathering the fatherless

2008-01-03T23:12:00.000-05:00

The Christmas break was filled with perplexities, heartache, learning, service, and love. I am back in New Orleans after spending Christmas break in Atlanta. It has been interesting being back and the 7 hour drive to think and ponder about life. I hate that I have been a very Transient person in the past couple of years. I moved out here to New Orleans wanting to force myself into staying here

Reflections

2007-12-13T00:07:00.000-05:00

The time I often write a lot, is when i am down and out. When I am low in spirit and backed up against the wall. I should feel wonderful, because I have the hope of Christ. The hope that my dreams will become reality. That I would be able to love people in a rediculous manner by using my brain to think innovatively to build and design products. This will eventually allow me to provide jobs to

What I may not be

2007-11-21T01:06:00.000-05:00

I am one filled with hopes and aspirations. To love and to live like the least of these. To seek and pursue experiencing life, to be able to understand it better so that I may be able to help my friends in need. I want to uphold justice and responsibility for my actions. I want to be treated fairly. I want to attempt to live like no other. It is by Christ's death that I am released to pass on the

Walking in the Dark

2007-11-12T00:32:00.000-05:00

I know that somewhere out there is my end destination. I know that somewhere out there is the Woman I am to marry, cherish, and to love forever. I wonder when this wife will come and rediculously love others with me. I wonder if I will be able to encourage women to not settle for anything less than a Man that will help them persue their Dreams in life. These dreams we often put aside, and begin

Satisfaction

2007-09-08T01:01:00.000-04:00

It's beautiful to be down here in the midst of some truly good people that have abandoned many comforts of life to do ministry down here. It's interesting to often come home to my middle school room and home, and think about wanting to go eat out. I often don't i cant get myself to pick pennies out of my shoes. I'm trying to save money like madness, to be able to purchase a home in order to

Dim light

2007-08-07T14:55:00.000-04:00

In the midst of darkness where do i turn.Do I believe my eyes are even open?There is a speck of light barely piercing my pupil.The loneliness of the shadow haunts me,wondering if there will ever be,another to comfort, and to comfort me.To walk toward the light in unity.Silently supporting each other,to make it to the end and be set free.

ripples in the water

2007-06-27T22:42:00.000-04:00

I have hope, a hope that my insignificant life will be like that initiating drop of something that causes a ripple in the water. That it spreads and effects more exponentially. I desire to live out what i believe in my mind. My beliefs about life, family, and values. We often say we want change to happen in our world, but are often reluctant to begin to live that change. When we desire to se

I'm official

2007-05-30T15:38:00.000-04:00

Well hello folks, i am semi settled in New Orleans now. I am living in a middle school with a buddy named Lucas Zwink. The middle school is pretty fun, our beds and main living quarters are in on big classroom, and we are setting a kitchen/community room up in another room. The Janitors closet will soon be our showers hopefully. We just cleaned out the Guys bathroom yesterday so that was fun.

Abandoning Comforts

2007-05-18T00:59:00.001-04:00

To leave all, is lost.Clinging to the things we should let go.Walking into the darkness toward the son.Being willing and able to go.How so terrifying it is, to let go of all that is comfort.To leave your turf, and the ones who surround you.The uncertainty of where my head will rest,and what my mind and body will be doing.Is this life?the American dream, of comfort and relaxation.the World dream,

Faith in others 30,000 anyone?

2007-05-02T04:23:00.000-04:00

It's 4:24 am, an early Wednesday morning. For some reason i just can't sleep. It may be due to the anticipation/excitement/anxiety/craziness that is going to come along with the move to New Orleans. By now I, am pretty concerned about money issues. I know the lord is leading me to really, settle and live in New Orleans for an indefinate amount of time. I am thinking 2 years atleast. I feel as if

On the road again

2007-05-02T00:51:00.000-04:00

Just as thought i would settle in..... As i came back from Indonesia, i knew that the Lord was telling me the next thing i would be doing would be for atleast a year or two if not more. I have been in search of where God would plant me. As of today i am officially about to move to New Orleans by the end of the month. I will be helping with Crossroads Missions, and possibly teaching in the public

Aftermath and Destruction

2007-04-27T02:05:00.000-04:00

Well, there probably aren't many of you who regularly check to see whats on here to see whats new in my life. Someone might just check soon though. I've been back in the states for almost 3 months and its been crazy. There just hasn't been a good chill/reflect transition. As soon as i got back from Indonesia, its been moving and job hunting and working. Well it looks like it may be that all over

what do i do?

2007-02-22T23:00:00.000-05:00

So, as everyone knows i have not posted much and its because i have been busy. Work... It's interesting that it zaps the motivation and drive to do anything that your heart yearns for. I have been thinking about the question people ask me often. "What do you do?" I regret this question, or is it really that i regret my answer. In america what we do is is equal to what do we do to make money. So

Welp.

2007-02-10T00:27:00.000-05:00

welp this is my attempt to use my blog to help sell my car. i'm putting it up on craigslist in ATL. Well since ive been back, i've settled back in and talked a lot. Its challenging to be here surrounded by the abundance of wealth by all circumstances. I am challenged to make the most of my money, and to make the most money to give to others. Its tough to want to post a blog or update the website.

Washing Feet

2007-01-21T22:33:00.000-05:00

1/9/06 day 1 on the Island Today I woke up at 4:00am due to jet lag, and because I did not want to miss my flight. I was planning on getting up at 4:30 am to pack and eat breakfast at 5am, pay for my hotel room, and then get picked up at 6am for my plane that left at 6:50. Yesterday I finally

Oh, the little things

2007-01-10T05:46:00.000-05:00

Well, its been tough to get on some internet out here. We've come to a place 2 days in a row and finally got some service but its like running dialup. It's hot and im sweating bullets and sleeping on a self inflating pad with a fan. There supposedly was the internet line that connected asia to the rest of the world that was split in the earthquake 2 weeks ago. So i am not sure if i will be able

Crazy drivers

2007-01-07T22:05:00.000-05:00

I have arrived in indonesia, after a 1 hr flight and an hour time change. It was good getting here, a short plane ride, and craziness going through getting my visa on arrival. I am now going through some orientation and paying some of the bills. I will probably goto the hotel soon to check in and get my room. I forgot how crazy driving is here, you have to be really agressive and stick your nose

Singing in Singapore

2007-01-07T15:20:00.000-05:00

Hey there good reader. I'm in Singapore waiting for my next flight. Its wonderful that they have free internet kiosks here. The plane flights have been pretty brutal. An 11hr flight to Tokyo, then like a 5 hr flight to Singapore, and another one is coming up soon. im ready to be done flying. I had a window seat the whole time so far, its been rough because the air vents point toward the center of

Hasta Later

2007-01-05T01:09:00.000-05:00

Well i usually start these things apologizing for not posting, and that still exists. I've been working like crazy for the past weeks saving and getting ready to leave for Indonesia. I am currently in Los Angeles hanging out with a relative and passing time untill its time for my flight out of here to Indonesia. I should be there in a couple of days.There has been a lot of activity out there

Unsettling in...

2006-11-08T13:24:00.000-05:00

Well, i arrived back home 2 saturdays ago, and life has been crazy since ive gotten home. I havent really gotten to do much, and/or i have not wanted to do much except sit at home and calm down. So since i have gotten back i have started to work at sears again to get some income to live and to pay for going to Indonesia, and to start paying bills for starting the process of pushing toward getting

put a Fork in it!

2006-11-03T13:50:00.000-05:00

Well, i picture my bicycle fork in some hot peach cobbler with ice cream. It's not that nice, but i am done. I rode into Yorktown, Virginia yesterday and im staying at a house that Grace Episcopal hosts cyclists at. So far i have just bugged out watching TV. Its been a while since ive blogged, much because i just wanted to finish, and i didnt have time to blog. Thats kind of a lie because i did

Meet Virginia....

2006-10-25T18:44:00.000-04:00

So far its been cold!! cold!! in virginia. last night it got down to 28 degrees or so. im staying at a hostel tonight and im ready to get through. the latest decision is that i am going to make it to Yorktown, Va and then pretty much abandon the thought of riding back home to atlanta because of coldness and craziness of fall weather. I may ride from York to Fuquay Varina NC though to spend time

The awesomeness of friends.

2006-10-22T08:25:00.000-04:00

So 2 days a ago, friday 20th i arrived in Berea,Ky after riding about 90 miles. It was a long day. i started a little late around 9:30am and arrived around 6:30pm to the Arts capital of kentucky, and the home of Berea College that operates somewhat like Berry College in Georgia, where most of the students work on campus and greatly reduce the amount it costs to goto school. I wish i could spend

Fun = Pushing a bike for 4 miles!

2006-10-19T21:47:00.000-04:00

So i guess i will begin with yesterday. I rode from Whitesville to Sonora, Kentucky about 70 something miles. The day started off good, a bit wet and foggy, but then it cleared up with a little wetness on the road. around midday i approached the crest of a steep grade, signalled with the sign of a truck going down a grade. I didnt think much of it because ive seen those signs all over the place

Welcome to Marion, Kentucky

2006-10-16T18:57:00.000-04:00

Well, today was a terribly short riding day for me. Yesterday i rode from Carbondale, Il almost to Elizabethtown, Il. I ended up starting around 9:30am and finishing at about 5:30pm, it was a fairly cloudy day and pretty cool. I stopped as i crossed in front of a church called Community Chapel, i saw they had a good awning and a 6:00pm service i was pretty drained from the day since i havent been

On the road again

2006-10-14T23:20:00.000-04:00

I am back in Carbondale at the moment, and staying in the offices of American Resources Group. My friend steve who runs ARG here in carbondale stored my bike while i went up to chicago, and has help me out a lot. Much thanks to him and his company. Their company is pretty awesome they are a cultural resource management company which is a little tough to define and you can find out more about them

Chicawwwgo. Go time

2006-10-14T00:56:00.000-04:00

so i thought this was funny to see a guy cutting the grass with a big parka, and gloves on while cutting the grassSo ive been in chicago since tuesday night. arriving and stuffing my belly with good chinese food prepared by a distant uncle somehow. They make homemade eggrolls at their restaurant China Chef, the address and info is at the bottom of this post, they are pretty dang awesome. Not many

article about Indonesia.

2006-10-14T00:47:00.000-04:00

IndonesiaAnyone trekking through the hills of Indonesia's Cubadak Island or snorkeling past sea turtles off the Gili Islands would find it difficult to imagine that a terrorist attack could occur "at any time." But that's the word from the U.S. State Department, which for the past four years has warned Americans to defer nonessential travel to Indonesia. It's true that the country has suffered

2006-10-10T16:47:00.000-04:00

2006-10-08T22:50:00.000-04:00

2006-10-08T22:48:00.000-04:00

2006-10-06T22:22:00.000-04:00

2006-10-05T11:21:00.000-04:00

for you bruley, you have to mail by wednesday or thurs

2006-10-02T21:19:00.000-04:00

Michael Wongcare of : Days Inn801 E Main StCarbondale, IL 62901(618) 457-3347these are the socks just in caseThanks Nikkie youre awesomeJean,Chris, and Robert, just in case heres yalls address to mail toBest Western Reid's Inn2150 State StChester, IL 62233-1100(618) 826-3034you guys rock, i miss yall much

Firemen and their firehouse.

2006-10-02T20:42:00.000-04:00

Well, i cant remember if i posted this image before so i thought i would post it. My buddy Corey Hau took it of me before i left seattle. On, with the news, well i believe the website should be updated, i made some poster flyers if any o yall want to download those and take them to your local bike shop. I am in Newton,Kansas. I also updated the itenerary, to show a schedule of when i should be in

2006-10-01T00:47:00.000-04:00

2006-09-29T19:03:00.000-04:00

2006-09-29T18:55:00.000-04:00

I am the asker of the Stupid Question

2006-09-27T23:49:00.000-04:00

The is a blog in response to passing through the town of Kremmling,CO. So i stayed in Kremmling a few nights ago, it was a tough night for me to deal with. Much of the factor of that was pretty much the people that i encountered. As many of you know part of this journey is the stepping out and asking folks if i could camp in their front yard or something. Well when i was passing through Kremmling

2006-09-26T23:38:00.000-04:00

2006-09-25T11:23:00.000-04:00

Flip-flops in the Snow

2006-09-25T00:41:00.000-04:00

So i am in Breckenridge, Colorado, i took the day off and i am staying at the Fireside inn, in a hostel bed. It was a beautiful day, there was snow melting and the sun was glistening. You can feel the warmth of the sun when you were exposed and shivered when in the shade. I went to a church this morning, Agape Outpost, they had a bbq (grilling) lunch. For those true bbq'ers out there a lot of

2006-09-22T15:13:00.000-04:00

2006-09-21T10:04:00.000-04:00

2006-09-19T18:04:00.000-04:00

Cattle herding is a loud event

2006-09-19T01:17:00.000-04:00

Travel Agent

2006-09-19T00:13:00.000-04:00

hello everyone who reads this! does anyone have any connections to a good travel agent, or is one. i need to find a way to get to indonesia in january. if you know anyone good, hook us up! send an e-mail to michael@bikes4indo.com that would rock and help me try to find a flight out there. thanks much. Tomorrow i will be headed toward Rawlins, and in colorado by mid week hopefully. i'll post soon.

So this is one of my favorite musicians

2006-09-18T15:57:00.000-04:00

Derek Webb, he is giving away his latest cd at www.FreeDerekWebb.com. ok just thought i would make sure yall know about that.peace

Lone Rider

2006-09-18T09:44:00.000-04:00

YAAAAAAY for wireless internet, a warm house, carpet, and people. Im doing pretty good, i feel a little down and out, i think the past week was a bit rough and ive been riding 7 days straight. it almost seems like i just have to ride everyday at this point. my mind definately is telling me you have to get out and ride today because you have got to make it out of colorado before the weather gets

2006-09-15T09:37:00.000-04:00

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2006-09-13T16:34:00.000-04:00

Missoula Montana

2006-09-09T16:24:00.000-04:00

So ive changed time zones 3 times so far. It's quite odd. So i am here in Missoula and im camping out in the back yard of a families house, its pretty awesome. Missoula seems like an awesome town. I've decided to get a new saddle for my bike, bottom i have decided doesn't like my saddle as much as it should. I hope yall liked the audio posts, its a last resort thing but pretty darn cool. I know

2006-09-07T11:37:00.000-04:00

2006-09-05T16:14:00.000-04:00

onward toward missoula montana

2006-09-04T13:17:00.000-04:00

ok im about to leave baker city, its a bit late to leave. its going to be a real hot day i feel. someone says its around 100 where im going to be going today. i have about 80 miles ahead of me to get to oxbow. Yesterday and today has been awesome. Yesterday i went to calvary baptist and a bible fellowship in the evening. I ended up meeting a couple from redmond who went to Highland FBC where i

Scenic Byways

2006-09-03T00:25:00.001-04:00

So i think Scenic byways should be deemed the definition of roads most traveled with by motorhomes, rv's, campers, trucks pulling trailers of camping stuff. Today i rode about 70 miles summiting 3 peaks each above 5000 ft. i've never realized the effects of high altitude and physical excercise. I felt at times i was about to hurl because my lungs got so dry from breathing too much because of dry

freezing

2006-08-31T12:20:00.000-04:00

last night it got down to around 31 degrees.Yesterday i started at about 700ft elevation andsummited above 5300ft. Im in redmond at the goldenarches about to in for the day. I slept behindhighland fbc last night

Interview with Corey Hau

2006-08-29T03:52:00.000-04:00

This is my friend Corey Hau.He is in Seattle, and posted some stuff about the project, and is pretty awesome. you can also listen to an interview on there as well.

Slowly Progressing

2006-08-29T03:27:00.000-04:00

We'll im a day behind schedule and i haven't kept up well to things i plan on doing. There's just so much to do and catch up on, on off days. I've updated the website and put up some photos. Ohhhh, the awesome news from the last post is the more than likely possibility that REI is going to sponsor our project and help us in our gearing to go. I'm pretty excited about this.The past 2 days i've

Eugenius

2006-08-27T00:42:00.000-04:00

im in eugene with some internet finally i will post some stuff tomorrow and modify the website some so be sure to check out the hotness, and theres awesome news for the many of you will be excited about because im excited about it. peace...

Seaside oregon

2006-08-23T20:46:00.000-04:00

At The coast. 60 miles so far today another 20 to go.

on the road

2006-08-22T00:50:00.000-04:00

ok, so i hit the road today after letting my kneerest. I also got re-fitted to my bike, my saddle wastoo far forward and high. Ive adjusted some since thenand rode 70 miles today. Im at lewis and clark state park.

resting

2006-08-19T14:16:00.000-04:00

so ive decided to take today off, and rest my knee.Hopefully it will all be better by tomorrow. The guywho runs this hostel is great and caring. Im probablygoing to ride the bus into olympia to mill around forthe day.

So sorry

2006-08-18T16:28:00.001-04:00

well for those of you who are checking my blog regularly, ive been trying to find ways to post without being at a computer or hooked up to wi-fi. so if any of yall read yesterdays post before the exact moment i am writing this you just got the beginning of yesterdays story and were pretty much left hanging and you werent even able to read the funny part. so today i just re-edited it and now its a

reasons to carry an umbrella

2006-08-17T13:53:00.000-04:00

so we got up this morning and ate breakfast, gotcoffee, ran so i could catch the bus to get on a ferryto bremerton. So, i got to the ferry parking lot impretty much the only one outside of a car. I startedto fiddle with my bike. In the midst of doing so there was an air raid by some white flying vessels. After 10 seconds there were splatters and 2 direct hits. there was a trail of white dots up

So im in Seattle

2006-08-17T02:46:00.000-04:00

Today I flew into Seattle from Atlanta. The plane ride was a bit rough but interesting. It turns out that I just happened to be in luck that this summer Air Tran is flying to Seattle because normally they don’t and are just testing out the market and will stop flying out here in September. The flight its self was tough for me, for some reason the air was really dry. I felt my lips drying out, it

Here we go.

2006-08-09T12:04:00.000-04:00

soooo. this is just funny. So i just got a new mac, its pretty beautiful. There are probably many out there who have seen some pictures like this. so why a new mac. well ive pretty much sold my old one, and this one will allow me to do some cooler things, like video conference with some folks while im out on the road.Heres what been on my mind lately, i've been running around with my head cut off

Gearing down

2006-08-07T23:54:00.000-04:00

Well, i have about a week left until i leave. I suppose theres a party happening for me on friday at a friends house in east atl. that should be interesting contact me if you want to come, i will give ou a brief application, review it and then determine if my friends would put up with you. just kidding, youre most likely invited, just hit me up. So ive been blessed, and encouraged numerously

Life is right

2006-08-04T07:22:00.000-04:00

Today i have my last final of my college career. last school breakfast. last last minute studying at the moment. I feel like im addicted to getting my website perfect. so far i feel pretty good about it and that there are a few quirks to work out. im possibly going to move the blog over to the www.bikes4indo.com but we shall see. im a bit tired, today is a big day i have a lot i need to

HEy hey

2006-08-02T16:36:00.000-04:00

Alrighty, i have finally gotten most of the new website up. its about 2 weeks untill i leave for my bike ride. im getting pretty scared/intimidated by it. ive been pretty stressed & depressed lately trying to get this all up and running and finishing school. i hope the many of you remember to come to my art show this friday night at mocha match in decatur. The first persons door that i knock on,

Total mileage, & my Grease Burner

2006-07-21T21:05:00.000-04:00

So this is to quench the thirst of many of you who are wondering how many miles i will be riding. From Astoria, OR to Yorktown, VA is 4247.5 miles, and then i am adding Seattle to Astoria and that distance is about 179 miles. So that is around 4426.5 miles plus my side riding and excursions to sleep and eat and break.I thank the many of you who encourage, and support me in this effort to ride my

Path im Riding

2006-07-20T19:04:00.000-04:00

So for those of you who have been wondering my route i am taking on my voyage, I will be following the TransAmerica trail with a mapset put out by Adventure Cycling. Also if you didnt notice in my previous post, that i have put up the map that shows my last logged location. So you can also already begin to track me a little bit.

2006-07-17T09:35:00.000-04:00

Seein if this works. This is me this morning as i think about this project, and possible cool ways of how to make this more interactive and fun for you and me. this pic was taken with my phone and sent to my blog, i look awkward. maybe i should do my hair or something before school. time for class

Art?

2006-07-16T21:38:00.000-04:00

If you want to see what kind of art i produce, my portfolio is at www.TornDesigns.com

Donations?

2006-07-16T21:15:00.000-04:00

so theres all the ways to donate to the right of here. And Yes, it is tax deductible, and if you write a check make it out to V2H and put bikes4indo in the memo.

Art Show Flyer

2006-07-16T20:17:00.000-04:00

so ive been changing and editing a lot of this, i will probably build a real website soon. First i really need to write my paper but i figured i need to re-post my flyer to my art show so that it doesnt throw off all the frames and junk on this blog. so here it is. You can click on the flyer to see a bigger version of it too!

update

2006-07-15T23:11:00.000-04:00

i am almost done with one of my classes. i have an 8pg paper to write, and then i will have 1 class left. i am currently working on a way to be able to publish my location on a map each day, so that yall can have some fun tracking me every day or week or something. so i sunk $100 into that to get a boost mobile phone and signed up with www.mologogo.com to try and track myself we shall see how

Beginning of the journey

2006-07-01T21:36:00.000-04:00

so this is the beginning, on august 15th i will be departing to seattle, washington to ride my bicycle back to virginia. I really cant wait to just hit the road. Currently im taking 2 classes at Georgia State working part time as a youth ministry intern, and doing pt work at sears parts and service. theres quite a bit of stuff going on. I am also preparing for showing my artwork at Mocha Match