Do you feel like really bad things mostly happen somewhere else? If you’re like me, you’re pretty sure human trafficking and sexual slavery are “over there” problems. That kind of stuff can’t possibly happen in a civilized society, right? 300,000 children can’t possibly be trafficked for commercial sex every year in the United States. Human […]
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What Do You Know About School?
I taught kids for thirty-five years. I thought I knew something about schools and children. Today I learned about a private academy in New Delhi, India. Twenty-two of this academy’s students are children of women enslaved in the sex trade. They live in rented houses with missionaries who work to rescue them, and their mothers, from […]
Continue readingMore TagWe Have A Team!
Our team is set. On June 22, ten cyclists will roll off on the inaugural stage of Front Range FREEDOM Tour 2013. During the next week we’ll crank along the gorgeous Colorado Rocky Mountain Front Range from Wyoming to New Mexico. On our backs we’ll proclaim our commitment to STOP HUMAN TRAFFICKING. As we continue […]
Continue readingMore TagBuild Your Own Bike Tour
As the May 15th signup deadline approaches, we’re excited to finalize the team roster for Front Range FREEDOM Tour 2013. We’re also excited to know how many of you are passionate about fighting human trafficking and would like to do the tour, but it’s just logistically not possible. You’re in a different part of the […]
Continue readingMore TagRich’s Ride As Artwork?
Earlier this week I got to do one of my favorite things. The staff at Lesher Middle School invited me to talk to their kids about hope and dreams. This event included a unique element. Graphic recorder Karina Mullen from ConverSketch was also invited to interpret my message. Karina had what seemed to me to […]
Continue readingMore TagIt’s Not Easy. It’s Not Supposed To Be
This morning I spent a few minutes on Skype with my friend Paul from Venture Expeditions. The Venture guys are excited about their upcoming Love Does Tour and their partnership with Bob Goff and Restore International to provide justice and education to children in Uganda. A few of our friends are reuniting on that ride, […]
Continue readingMore TagBefore An Open Door
Last time I told you about Alycia’s choice to do a difficult task. She knocked. God opened the door. She stepped boldly and courageously through the door and into the opportunity. If I’m honest with myself, I have this sense that lately I spend a lot of time in front of open doors. Jesus said, “Ask and […]
Continue readingMore TagWhy Do The Hard Work?
My friend Alycia is in Sierra Leone this week. She arranging micro-finance opportunities and working to connect on-the-ground organizations that help kids who live in absolutely deplorable conditions. She organized and financed the trip. It’s a difficult, dangerous place for a white woman to travel alone. She might have selected a group mission trip to […]
Continue readingMore TagHow To Get Energized
Becky and I spent a big chunk of the weekend talking to people about Front Range Freedom Tour 2013. Lots of people stopped to chat. Most had a similar reaction: I’d like to do something like that, but it looks too hard. It would take so much time. I couldn’t afford it. You get the […]
Continue readingMore TagThings I Didn’t Know
About a year ago I started seriously preparing for IJM Freedom Tour 2012. I’d never heard of International Justice Mission. I sort of knew, in the distant background, about issues of human trafficking. But there was much I didn’t know. I didn’t know… there are places where a man can order a child for sex […]
Continue readingMore TagYou Can’t Do That!
A couple of days ago (It’s Too Hard!) I challenged us to re-think the notion that serving others is supposed to be easy. One of my role models for this lesson is my friend Una. I first wrote about her several months ago when we rode together on IJM Freedom Tour 2012. Una grew up […]
Continue readingMore TagIt’s Too Hard!
Can I challenge us a bit as we begin a new week? I talked to several people over the weekend about U COUNT Front Range Tour 2013. Common comments went something like, “Riding 450 miles in a week seems like it would be really hard.” Well, yeah. There’s sweat and work and commitment involved in just about […]
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