We made it to AL!
Lanett, Alabama is a special stop on our journey in that it is Millard Fuller’s birth place and hometown, and we are glad to be here.
Our ride to Lanett was just a short 25 miles from La Grange, GA where we stayed at First Presbyterian. We had a restful stay and are very grateful to the folks at First Presbyterian for their hospitality. We were also so glad to have had much needed tune-ups and repairs done on our bikes by Bill Golden and Stan Williamson at Golden's Bicycles. Thanks guys!
We were joined today by two new riders. Chris Crosby from La Grange will be with us for the next few days. Stan is no rookie to this ride. He pedaled all 3300 miles of last years adventure. Mark Benjamin also joined today and will be with us through to Americus, GA. He and his family are interns at Koinonia Farm outside Americus, this is the place where Millard first captured his vision for to provide simple decent places to live for those in sub-standard housing.
Our ride to Lanett was just a short 25 miles from La Grange, GA where we stayed at First Presbyterian. We had a restful stay and are very grateful to the folks at First Presbyterian for their hospitality. We were also so glad to have had much needed tune-ups and repairs done on our bikes by Bill Golden and Stan Williamson at Golden's Bicycles. Thanks guys!
On our way to the new Kia Factory
We were joined today by two new riders. Chris Crosby from La Grange will be with us for the next few days. Stan is no rookie to this ride. He pedaled all 3300 miles of last years adventure. Mark Benjamin also joined today and will be with us through to Americus, GA. He and his family are interns at Koinonia Farm outside Americus, this is the place where Millard first captured his vision for to provide simple decent places to live for those in sub-standard housing.
Riding over a beautiful dam.
Our ride went fairly smoothly. We only lost Kristina and Melissa for 30 minutes or so after they missed a turn and pedaled 5 miles in the wrong direction. They blame this misdirection on newcomer (yet veteran rider) Chris Crosby who neglected to chalk a turn. For those of you who don’t know the lead rider will write arrows on the road with sidewalk chalk so riders behind will know which direction to go. Christina and Melissa have decided that they enjoy being the “the sweep”. This is the term we use for the person designated to hang at the back and make sure no rider is alone at the back. However, Christian and Melissa have voluntarily decided that they will both “sweep” together. This all sounds fine in theory, but only time will tell if their “sweeping” isn’t a lame excuse to go shopping.
After waiting on our lost shoppers we took some photos in front of the new KIA Motors Manufacturing plant in West Point, GA. KIA has been a strong supporter of the Fuller Center in this region of the country. Somehow we acquired a horrific stench on our van during our stop at KIA. It remains a mystery, but we have narrowed our theories down to road kill or Krystal’s B.O.
We stopped for Lunch in West Point at the Irish Bred Pub. We had a warm welcome from some folks from KIA Motors, the town of West Point, and the local Chattahoochee Fuller Center Project. Many thanks to the Irish Bred Pub for the delicious food, and KIA who graciously picked up the tab for our the entire lunch.
After lunch Erika discovered she had a flat. She had wondered why the last few miles seemed to be getting more difficult. It’s surprising Erika wouldn’t have more of a feel for getting flats, after all she is working on a baker’s dozen :-).
Kia's Training Center in Georgia
Riders satisfied after a delicious meal! Thanks Kia!
After lunch Erika discovered she had a flat. She had wondered why the last few miles seemed to be getting more difficult. It’s surprising Erika wouldn’t have more of a feel for getting flats, after all she is working on a baker’s dozen :-).
We felt so welcomed :)
We crossed over into Alabama just a few hundred yards from the restaurant and took more pictures – wow do we pose for allot of pictures!! A mile or two latter we arrived at Plant City UMC in Lanett. The folks at Plant City UMC have amazed us with their kindness and hospitality. Pastor Milton Newton shared with us that several months ago the Lord moved on their hearts to renovate a rather large basement space in their church, believing that the Lord was leading them into new ministries. He said they believe the opportunity to host us, and future volunteers during the Legacy Build later this month, are a large part of why God moved them in this direction. It was a true blessing to hear their story, and the way God is moving on this little fellowship to reach out in greater ways. We are so thankful. We have cots to sleep on, loads of space, and enough food and snacks to keep us satisfied for many days. We will spend two nights here and rest.
We had a pretty long table...
As if this day were not full enough, we also had a feast of Mexican food at El Rio Grande with Bill Scott president of the Chattahoochee Fuller Center Project. Bill and his team have built 17 new homes and 4 major renovations in this area in just over 2 years!. They will build 6 more during the Legacy Build at the end of the month where they will have over 200 volunteers from all over the country join them on the build. An inspiring work they are doing here.
We found these awesome cards on our bed when we got back from dinner! Thanks Plant City United Methodist Church!
written by: Mark Benjamin
photos by: Esther Hyejin Chung
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1 comment:
Okay, so, technically speaking, I did chalk the turn that Kristina and Melissa missed, but since it was a left followed by an immediate right, it was a little tricky, so I claim full responsibility. Sorry 'bout that, kids. Shoulda known better.
Seriously, it was great to ride and hang with you guys for three days. It brought back memories of last year's trip, just seeing how ya'll rib each other and generally poke fun all the time.
This year's group is twice the size of last year's, and that means that you will touch that many more lives as you each cross paths with new faces on your travels. I think that's the real power in this trip, and ya'll are experiencing that aspect to the fullest.
Right about now you are all listening to Jimmy Carter as he teaches Sunday School, one of the highlights from last year's trip. I hope you all had a strong 100 mile ride into Americus, where I'm sure you were welcomed enthusiastically by the Fuller Center staff and friends.
Thanks again for letting me hang with ya'll.
Chris
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