Lakeshore Pregnancy Center's Ride4Life

Report from The Riders
Today we left Carbondale around 7:30 am and arrived safely in Malden around 6:30 pm. "The devotional meditation today was from II Cor. 3 and 4.
“ For God, who said, ‘…Let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”
Today was filled with opportunities to shine in the darkness, and show the all-surpassing power of God in our lives. The first 15 miles of our trip was filled with long gradual hills that sapped energy quickly. The downhill glide on the backside of these hills was refreshing and very welcome! Only to be greeted with the next long grade!

Memorable Moments:
1. Double dog chase. Two dogs came running after us, it was a bit disconcerting but the dogs seem to enjoy herding us down the road!
2. After asking permission to use their parking lot for a break, a woman in an optometrist office in Jonesboro, IL (I think that was the town…maybe it was Anna, IL – they all run together after awhile)anyway, she called her local newspaper about our ride. She came out of the office to inform us that a reporter was on his way. We waited awhile but no reporter. We wanted to press on so we told her we would be heading down highway 146 S and that we break every ten miles. Approximately 12 miles down the road we found ourselves being filmed by the channel 12 news out of Cape Girardeau Mark stopped to tell him about our mission on camera. – “He made His light shine in our hearts”.
3. Just an hour later we found ourselves at the great Mississippi River. (We hope to post some video of that tomorrow). A few of us had to stop at the top and experience a Kodak moment! (one of them included Barb!) Your prayers definitely worked.
4. Just when we were ready to call it a day we came to realize that God was not ready to shut out “the light”. A trip to a local pizza parlor with one of us sporting a Lifewalk t-shirt brought on an amazing story that only God could write. The owner’s daughter (approximately 8 years old) came to our table and introduced herself. The next words out of her mouth in a sweet southern drawl were, “I love your t-shirt.”It was the blue Lifewalk t-shirt that reads, “Serving with the love of Christ”. She asked if we were from a church. After a bit of conversation and explanation of who we were and what we did we promised little “M” that we would send her a shirt. She asked if we could send some for her two sisters as well. Soon her parents were at our table asking questions about the ministry of LPC and The Ride. What a wonderful family. They then told their story. Little “M” has been adopted. The woman’s niece has had multiple abortions but little “M” was not. Her mother however, was not able to raise “M” so her aunt and uncle (the owners of the pizza parlor) choose to adopt her. As we shared together with this amazing family their pastor walked in to pick up pizza for his family. They introduced us and told him about The Ride we were doing. He promised to pray for us and the ministry and on his way out placed a $20 dollar bill on our table saying, “It isn’t much but I want to invest into what you are doing. God bless ya’ll”. We went back to finishing our pizza while little “M” entertained us with an assortment of stories about her life. As we went to pay our bill the owners said, “The pizza is on us. We want to contribute somehow too.” Everyone tonight experienced “His light in our hearts.” To end the evening we had our picture taken with little “M” in front of (get this) a bicycle they had as a decoration near one of the booths! The story does not end here, this amazing couple hopes to adopt “M’s” little sister as well.

Truly Thankful
1. Again Barb made the bridge without incident.
2. We all made it safely through a storm. Rain, hail, and wind – they all came on quickly but we were close to shelter.
3.For all of the wonderful people we have met again today
4.4 days down!


1. Another 8 gallons of water and 6 bags of ice.
2. Top speed today was 21 mph that was Sherry riding away from one of two dogs that ran after us!
3. Karen’s bike is officially nicknamed, “the lead sled”.
4. Hair salon and fitness center – yesterday a petting zoo today a fitness center? Interesting combinations!
5. Semi’s STILL create a lot of wind.
6. Storms can come out of nowhere and hail does bounce off helmets.
7. Barb is NOT wind resistant. The 30 mile hour gusts during the rain storm literally were blowing her backward!
8. Jason can catch up to the group quickly after doing his live phone interview back to the station.
9. People can be really grumpy when they have to go around a group of bicyclist on the road. One thought he needed to let us know this with a few choice words.
10. Armadillos have become the most popular road kill since entering the “Show Me” state of Missouri
11. Average speed of dogs chasing bikers: 16mph average speed of bikers being chased by dogs: Not fast enough!

Things to Pray about:
1. Wind still an issue. Better at times and worse at others.
2. Some clouds today – keep praying!
3. Flat land, cool temperatures, minimal wind, and ongoing safety.
4. That our witness and “His light” will continue to shine!
Overall our day today was very good. The rain storm delayed us a bit spirits are high and we are looking ahead to day 6!
His glory has been evident and we are humbled to be the earthen vessels chosen for this mission.
Keep praying "Ya'll!'