We did our team training ride today, riding up to Kerry Park overlooking the Space Needle. Everyone did really well, even on a really steep hill. We only had one fall and Whitney got right back up. Here’s our team pic!
Also, here’s some links to more pictures I’ve posted from the tour:
Link #1 Training Day: http://tiny.cc/fy42fw
Link #2 Training Ride & Space Needle: http://tiny.cc/b042fw
Posted in Just+Hope Northern Tour
Yesterday the Mother Falcon broke down 100 miles away from Seattle. Because the Mother Falcon does what the Mother Falcon wants, when the Mother Falcon wants. Luckily, we broke down right next to a gas station. Though the gas station was in site, a barbed wire fence and a ditch separated us from the gas station. We tried to fill the gas tank with repeated trips with a $15 one gallon gas can. But to do so, had to walk in 30 mph wind along the freeway to a break in the fence. 3 hours later, the gas didn’t help. We got the van towed to a local shop… which was closed.
We met a new friend who is a Marine, a Road Cyclist and a Roller Derby Ref. He went and got the fuel filter before the auto parts store closed and met us in the lot that we got towed to. The fuel filter didn’t help. 6 hours after the Mother Falcon broke down, we took our new friend to dinner and he let us stay at his house for the night.
This morning, we got to the car shop at 6:50 am and talked to the mechanic, he didn’t think he’d have time to fix it today. The auto parts store had a fuel pump and we contemplated trying to fix it ourselves. We stopped at a few other mechanics and found one that could fix it today. We pushed the Mother Falcon down the road to that shop with our new friend (and hero). In a pitiful effort to return the favor, we helped our new friend (KJ) take his garbage to the dump and move some couches for another new friend (Paul). Paul bought us breakfast. KJ had to go back to work so Paul let us hang out at his house, write this blog while waited for the van and yard sale hop across the street.
The van got finished about 3 pm and we are on our way to meet our team, who beat us to Seattle. (Thanks Matt Ward and Erin Perkins for helping welcome the team.) God definitely provides support in ways we least expect in the everyday. He is our very present help in time of need.
It also really goes to show you how important community is. Life is lived much better together, our stories are richer combined.
This has been the best leadership and team building exercise for leaders in Venture History.
Posted in Just+Hope Northern Tour
Yesterday we headed out from Burnsville, MN with the team van, the Mother Falcon. We made it to a friends cabin near rapid city at about midnight. It was pitch black in the middle of the woods. We felt like we were in the middle of a scary movie using my phone as a flashlight to walk up a hill to find the cabin. The stars were the brightest I’ve ever seen though! This morning we woke up to some beautiful scenery and a neighbor who helped us back the van and trailer out of the drive. It made our morning even better and reminded us of the significance of small gestures.
Next stop, Spokane, Wa where we’ll stay the night with the Northern Team and then make our way to Seattle.
Ps On the road yesterday I got to see a good friend and mentor from my high school years Leonard Cousins and his family at a Coffee Shop for 5 minutes (I haven’t seen him in 12 years).
PPS And right now we’re desperately looking for some good coffee and breakfast maybe in the town of Gillette, WY.
Posted in Just+Hope Northern Tour
In less than a week, I will be driving our teams support van out to Seattle, Wa to begin a ride for
Blood:Water Mission from Seattle to Portland. I’m grateful that East Valley Hospice has been gracious enough to team with me in making this tour possible.
(For a video and more info on how our hospice cares for people, visit: http://www.evhospice.com/ )
I had the opportunity to be on KPNX, Chanel 12 News recently to talk about the tour. Here a video of that!
As I watch the sun rise over my 30th birthday in Metuchen, New Jersey, I look forward to riding to theocean at Breezy Point in New York City. Over mountains and valleys, through rain and sun scorched days, fighting headwinds and exhaustion, heat and unbearable cold, we have ridden. All this, to seek JUSTICE, to bring HOPE, to TEAR DOWN walls.
I think of people that will see that same sun rise on the other side of the world and I believe that this day, they will see it as a symbol of a new hope that is about to rise over their lives. I think of the young orphans cared for in Burma, the 13 year old girls in Indonesia that James Tan will be able to keep out of Human Trafficking circles. The women in China that the Eden house will help find restoration after years of prostitution. I also think of the Refugees forced from their villages in Burma that we will be sending food over 250,000 meals to.
This is why we ride. 9 riders from all over the United States, with one cause. One hope. Just+Hope. But to understand the victory, we must remember the journey, we must rewind and start back at the beginning. Thirty-three hundred miles earlier in Seattle, Washington where 9 riders began a journey to Seek Justice, Love Mercy and Walk Humbly with our God.
****
Those were some thoughts from July 22, 2011. In the next couple weeks and even months, my goal is to tell that story, but also share stories of those we have been seeking Justice for in SE Asia.
Originally, I had great intentions of keeping everyone updated while I was out on the tour, but leading a tour proved too difficult to keep any regular blog updates coming. So this is my new attempt at telling the story of our journey.
We also spent time debriefing our team at the end of the tour. Challenging them and walking them through some ways to live -now changed lives, and how to continue this journey in their lives. One of these
challenges was to have them tell stories, journal about what they continue to learn from the tour. We talked about the importance of processing what God has been doing in our lives. The tour was so rich with experiences, lessons, stories, that this is just part of my processing of this trip and inviting each of you, into that experience. 
Posted in Just+Hope Northern Tour
Hey everyone, so here’s a try at a very short blog! Maybe I can keep ya up-to-date with short posts… Also, for up to the minute updates, I post pictures and what we’re doing throughout the day on twitter. You can see those posts on the right hand side of my blog (-if you’re viewing it at http://www.karljfeller.com)
Our team rode their first day on Sunday from Sammamish (Seattle) to Sultan, where we stayed in their middle school. Monday, we rode from Sultan, up and over Steven’s Pass (over 4000 feet of climbing). Here’s our picture at the top. 
(I drove support that day)
Then at the end of the ride, we got to meet a bunch of the people from the church and tell them about the tour, and the Just+Hope Cause. Here’s our team with a bunch of the kids that our riders got to show our bikes to:
I will be riding today with the team to Coulee City, while Dustin drives support.
Ps on the way up to Steven’s Pass, we stopped at a place that Harry and the Henderson’s was filmed at, a childhood favorite movie of mine, how crazy is that!?
Posted in Just+Hope Northern Tour
On the road to Team Training!
On Thursday, May 26th I flew out of Phoenix to Minneapolis to make some final preparations for the tour. Friday morning, my co-leader, Dustin Burkhart and I were at the venture offices printing off maps and packing the van and trailer for the tour. Gatorade donated 137 lbs worth of food/drink mix for one of Venture’s tours! When Dustin and I went to set down the box after moving it, I felt something pull in my back. Later that day I found myself hunched over in the parking lot, laughing in pain because my back hurt so much that I couldn’t even walk to the van. That day, Ryan Skoog, co-founder of Venture, Dustin and I prayed for God to heal my back. A number of family and friends have been praying for me and day by day I have felt better. I went to a Chiropractor on Saturday and Monday to get it adjusted. After a week of prayer and caring for my back, I got on my bike tonight to ride around the parking lot a week after the it started, without much pain at all! What a living and active God we serve! He is involved in every moment of our lives.
Monday,
On Monday, we left Minneapolis in the van to head to Seattle, WA with Erin, a leader from Venture, Dustin, and three of our teamates. We drove through the night and our GPS led us on a more ‘northern’ route than we planned… But it actually worked out for the best! On our drive, Brian Elliot, a good friend of mine from some other Venture Expeditions, saw our van in the middle of Montana, made a u-turn and caught up to us! What are the chances of that!? We continued on to visit Glacier National Park on our way to Spokane, WA where we would spend the night at a hotel. Click on this link to see some pictures from our trip and the amazing Glacier National Park:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1936311680545.2111994.1024940869&l=83d8287de5
On Wednesday afternoon, we arrived in Sammamish, WA (near Seattle) to do our training with the team for the tour! We’ve spent time talking about team dynamics, safety and bike maintenance with the team. What’s more important is we spent time talking more about the cause and how the Just+Hope campaign connects the local church in America with the local church in SE Asia to seek Justice in a number of areas. Here is a quick 2 minute video about the Just+Hope Campaign.
Last but not least, our team went on our first training ride today. We road from Samammish, WA (near Seattle) to Kerry Park, overlooking the space needle and Mount Rainier. That’s where our team picture on this blog was shot. Everyone did great! We had 3 people fall over, but no injuries!
ps. I’ll keep my blogs shorter and more frequent in the future! 😉 And I’ll have more pics up soon!
That’s right. This summer I am packing up my bike, some peanut butter and maybe even twizzlers & I’m leaving again from June to July to ride across the country on another bike tour. This time I will be leading the Just:Hope Tour with my good friends Dustin Burkhart and Deb Go. With our team of riders, we will start in Seattle, Washington and ride to New York City! Venture Expeditions <www.ventureexpeditions.org> who organizes the Ride:Well Tours every year, also organizes the Just+Hope Tours.
Why would I do this again you might ask? Well that’s a great question.
Micah 6:8 says: But he’s already made it plain how to live, what to do, what God is looking for in men and women. It’s quite simple: Do what is fair and just to your neighbor, be compassionate and loyal in your love, And don’t take yourself too seriously— take God seriously. (The Message)
After last years tour, I began praying about leading a tour this coming summer. After seeing how last summers tour influenced myself and the rest of our riders and the people we came in contact with, I feel like this is another great opportunity to make a difference in the world!
Venture Expeditions who organizes these tours empowers people to benefit the world and discover their souls.
So there are really two reasons I felt that this was a right choice.
BENEFIT THE WORLD
The Just+Hope Campaign currently partners with projects and ministries that are on the front lines of the fight against injustice, working with people suffering from poverty, slavery and other forms of oppression in South East Asia. Among those who benefit is an orphanage in Thailand, a network of house churches scattered throughout the Islands of Indonesia, and a ministry that rescues young girls enslaved to forced prostitution and provides a safe house where they can be restored to the women God created them to be in Burma. I am so excited to be a part of bringing JUSTICE to places where inJustice has had it’s way for too long. These ministries do not only react to injustice, but also proactively work to teach and train the local people they reach out to how to avoid falling into the grip of injustice in their society. Not only that, these are great avenues for the Church to be actively reaching out in love to these cultures.
DISCOVER YOUR SOUL
I will be the ‘Discovery’ leader for our team. This means I’m responsible for guiding our team through that discovery process as they discover what God is speaking to their hearts this summer. Through our small groups, short Bible studies throughout the weeks and other exercises we’ll be doing, I’m excited to see what God has in store for each of our team members. This was a huge motivation in my choice to sign-up to lead a tour! I’ve already begun praying for our team for this incredible summer!
How can you join me on this tour you might ask?
I won’t be able to drag all of you along in a side car on my bike, but here are a few ways to get involved!
#1 PRAY
Pray for Safety: That the trip would be safe as we ride across the country. Pray for good health, strength & energy.
Pray for Pray for Success: That our trip would be successful in making a difference in the world.
Pray for Divine Appointments: Pray that we would come in contact with people and have the opportunity to not only share about our heart for the Just+Hope Cause, but that we would be able to share about the love that drives us to do this. God’s Love.
Pray for Provision: Each of us are responsible to raise $1000 for the cause before we leave for the tour and many of us (myself included) are leaving behind our jobs for this summer. So pray that we would be able to raise money for the cause and also pray that God would provide over our personal bills over the summer.
#2 SUPPORT
*Support our team through keeping up with us on our blogs on http://ventureexpeditionsblog.org/ or on my page www.karljfeller.com I can’t tell you how encouraging it was to hear from people last summer when we got in after a long day of riding!
*Financial Support: You can make a donation towards the cause at:
<http://www.ventureexpeditions.org/page/donate-now>
-Under participant name, just select my name. My tour costs are already covered, so EVERYTHING given on this site under my name will go straight to the Just+Hope Campaign!
#3 JOIN US!
There are still a few open spots on our tour, there are a few shorter tours available too. Here’s a link to all of the Just+Hope Tours! There’s even a Running Tour with a team that is running across the state of Minnesota!
<http://www.ventureexpeditions.org/page/justhope-tour>
Before yesterdays post, the last time I updated my blog was the night I turned 29, over 2 months ago. We were one day from finishing the tour and so excited to reach such a huge goal as a team. That night a friend of mine and I were interviewed on how we felt, what we were thinking, and even expecting after the tour… Here’s a link to that video:
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=447060078366
(If this is your first time reading my blog, and you want to read more about the tour, scroll down to some of my older posts, the first blog I started talking about the tour was posted on March 28th.)
The next day was amazing as we rode to the ocean in Myrtle Beach. The feeling of conquering the ride and making a difference in the world at the same time is unexplainable.
Here’s a link to a bunch of the pictures from our tour this summer on my facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2058147&id=1024940869&l=9f26cefa55
The combined amount both our tour (Ride:Well Southern Tour) and the Pacific Coast Tour raised was just recently totaled at over $100,000 for Blood:Water Mission (www.bloodwatermission.com). What an amazing amount! (for more info on Ride:Well Tours, click here: www.ridewelltour.org)
A lot of my friends have been asking what I’ve been up to since I finished.
My challenge now, has been to continue to make a difference in peoples lives with my life. Whether in my own community or far away.
Since I’ve been back, I’ve been riding my bike as often as I can, I started working full time at East Valley Hospice (www.EVHospice.com), I have been volunteering at the youth group at Desert Springs Church and doing what I can to make a difference in peoples lives that I come in contact with here in my community. (Like riding up to Verde Valley!)
Working at East Vally Hospice as their chaplain has put a very personal connection in serving people in my life. Hearing their stories, spending time talking, praying with them and counseling has enriched my life, even as I hope to enrich theirs. As I sit down with many of our patients, they are often at a point of need and are faced with what can be such a challenging time. The message I get to share with them is a message of Hope for their eternity… With our team at the Hospice, it’s been an honor to serve our patients and their families in the final months of their lives.
Posted in Ride:Well Southern Tour
On Wednesday, I rode my bike from Anthem, Az 72 miles to Verde Valley, where I got to speak to a group of students at Verde Valley Christian Church. In the first 10 miles, I got two flat tires. With strong head winds already slowing me down, I started to wonder if this ride was really the best idea. Couldn’t I have just driven up there? And yeah, I could’ve but I was challenged with what I’d be speaking on that night.
I knew I’d be challenging the students to use what they have to give into the lives of others. To make a difference with what they have. So many times at the first sign of a problem though we give up or back out of doing something to give into someone else’s life. I got back on my bike and kept riding. It was a challenging climb, but I was at Sunset Point before I knew it, where I saw a school bus on the side of the road overheated… should’ve taken a bike haha.
That night I had a good time hanging out with the students and then speaking to them at VVCC where my friend Matt Shires is the youth pastor. We wrote a song on the spot about a student in the group named Micah and his first crush… Then I got to tell them about the tour this summer and my ride that day. But the greatest part of the night was watching so many of them respond to what my challenge to them that night by committing to make a difference by ‘Giving’ to change someone else’s life. I asked them do what they could to give into someone else’s life. To step past just living life for themselves and do something for someone else. Whether it was raising money like we did with the tour this summer, speaking words of life and hope to someone, or doing something to help someone out, we talked about practical ways that they could ‘give’ to impact their schools, their communities, their families. I’m glad I got back on my bike and kept riding… when you give, and don’t give up, you give others a chance to be inspired to make a difference too.
Posted in Ride:Well Southern Tour
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