A letter from Winchester, KY

Entry from: Friday July 24th 2009 Winchester, KY

July 24, 2009

Dear Mom,

We made the front page in Winchester, KY!

We are having quite the adventure!  I never imagined that being constantly surrounded by 16 other individuals from all over the country (and Canada) would prove so successful.  We each have our own stories and reasons for being here, but are united in interests in helping people and pedaling.  We ride together, eat together, build and repair houses together, and do laundry together (ha)! 

 Mary Jo cooked us a yummy nutritious lunch  

  Each city that we ride into has welcomed us with amazing graciousness.  We stayed at Central Baptist Church in Winchester, Kentucky.  The parish provided us with some amazing feasts during our stay.  Shannon Cox made us waffles for breakfast, which were a very welcomed surprise…and delicious!  Speaking of food, a great joy for today was the grand opening of our “crunchy peanut butter” jar.  It was kind of a big deal, and the honor was bestowed upon Lisa, who managed to finger out the last scoops of the creamy jar…with her bare hands. 

   Sandy from the The Bluegrass Heritage Museum 

The Fuller Center Cyclists split into groups for the day to work on three local projects.  One group laid brick for a pathway leading to the Bluegrass Museum.  From what I hear, it was a lot of shoveling sand and leveling ground.  Another group worked on tearing down a porch roof on a rather disheveled house.   Thad, Eric, Susan, and myself built a wooden porch for a newly renovated house.  Richard Butler was the foreman on our job; he is a retired industrial arts teacher who provided us much insight into the world of carpentry.  Most importantly, Richard expressed sincere passion in helping others if he was able.  It is quite refreshing to see that philosophy echoed throughout the country!  We are all neighbors!  Richard was even courteous enough to let Eric and myself take a break from cutting boards to provide some quotes for the Winchester Sun.  We found it quite rewarding to step back and see a completed job, another piece of a home done!

Laying bricks at the Bluegrass Heritage Museum

Soon after sweating over our various jobs, we were welcomed to the city’s Park and Recreation public pool.  I was so excited about the opportunity to jump into some water, I dove in fully clothed!  Speaking of antics, Kristina and myself invented a game during the stay at Central Baptist Church.  Let’s just say that it involves roller skates, a kickball, and the game has been documented on video.  I hope that Kyle finds some useable footage in that madness on wheels!  Dancer’s Pointe opened up their beginner’s ballroom dance class for us later that night.  We salsa’ed, did some swing, and learned the fox trot.  We all had a blast, and laughed until our bellies hurt.  Kyle and Lisa danced so well; they shook the wood floor in fear.  Michael asked for help on getting his hips swinging and Eric vowed to be a dynamite dance partner in 2 days…maybe 3.

  Melissa enjoying the pool

  I expect that this exceptional community is well on their way to growing the seed that has been planted.  We encountered so many wonderful souls passionate about providing decent housing for the community.  Some of the very special people that helped us with our goals include: Randy Whisman, Richard Butler, Pastor Art Beasley, Mary Jo and Al Bonds, Judy and Larry Crowe, JC and Audra Young, Shannon Cox, Ken Davis, John Rompf, Sandy Stutts, Gardner Wagers. 

Michael receiving a scalp massage from Kyle

  Thanks for the support along the way, and I’ll keep eating peanut butter! Thanks for watering my plants, tell the dogs I miss them, and I’m having a great time!

          After the swim

Sincerely,

Krystal Goodwin

photos by: Esther Hyejin Chung