Biking on Higher Ground

Today was a special day for me. After a wonderful morning sharing about The Fuller Center and our adventure with Pastor Bill and all of the other fine folks at First Christian Church, we headed to Shreveport, Louisiana. Almost a year ago I had the privilege of being in Shreveport for the 2nd annual Millard and Linda Fuller Blitz Build, where we built 9 homes in a week and rehabbed 5 more, using about 500 volunteers from all over the U.S. and around the world. At the end, we laughed and cried and dedicated each of the houses, leaving behind a lasting legacy from our week of work. It was simply incredible. (This year's Millard and Linda Fuller Blitz Build is scheduled for El Salvador in November. It's not too late to sign up!)

Today, our group returned to the site. Glen and Brenda Barton, who for two years did an amazing job leading the building and rehabbing of 40 homes in Shreveport's Allendale neighborhood, happened to be in town to welcome us and snap a few pictures of us riding in front of the very first Fuller Center homes. Many of the families had relocated from New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and it was here that our Fuller Center slogan of "Building on Higher Ground" was born. It's fitting that we would now bike on the same street, enthusiastically welcomed by many of the Fuller Center's partner families who came out to greet us, to make us truly "Biking on Higher Ground."

For years, if not decades, Allendale had been filled with horribly dilapidated shotgun houses. This is an awesome video about the neighborhood and our work there. Here, take a look by clicking on the video below.

One last note: We're currently at a little over $65,000 raised towards our $100,o00 goal. We feel confident that we can bike the last 1,000 miles, but we're going to need some help to raise the last dollars. Would you consider helping us in this way? We would be so grateful. Just click on the thermometer in the top right, and/or consider asking a friend to help us. Thanks for everything!

Ryan