Across America Tour 2014: Minneapolis!

This past weekend was a big one for the team. We spent Thursday-Sunday in Minneapolis, which is the home of Venture Expeditions. Instead of giving a detailed account for everything we saw and did this week, I'll give you a brief rundown of each day in Minneapolis.

Thursday: The team is greeted in Hutchinson, MN by a few members of the Venture community who decided to make the ride into Minneapolis with us. Once we arrived in the cities, we headed to the North Central University campus where we would be staying for the weekend. It was great to finally be able to see the school and meet some of the people who are apart of that community since they are one of our biggest sponsors. After a few pictures and all, the team showered and headed to dinner, sponsored by Chipotle!

Friday: Fourth of July! We were able to watch the Run Free team finish their two week run across the state of Minnesota as they ran across the Wisconsin state line. Since it was the fourth, we headed to a Venture wide cookout at a local park. Friends and family of Venture participants as well as Venture alum were all invited to attend. Those on our team who are from Minnesota had their families meet them there, so we were finally able to put faces with the names we've heard for so long, which was a lot of fun. The evening concluded with everyone from the picnic heading over to a fireworks display at a local school. It was great to spend the fourth in such a great community, appreciating the freedom we have here in America and remember those in Burma who have never been able to even dream of such freedom. We bike so that maybe one day they will have the same opportunity.

Saturday: Lake day at the Skoogs' might be the single most relaxing day all of tour. For the entire morning, all the way through until after dinner, the Skoogs open up their home for us to eat, sleep, read, swim, paddle board, boat, etc. It came at such a wonderful time, too. At this point we're a little over halfway and everyones' bodies are feeling pretty stressed and worn out. This day provided an opportunity for everyone to find a little time alone, rest, pray, think, and just be for a while.

Sunday: We attended a local church here in Minneapolis that Paul (executive director of Venture) was speaking at this Sunday. He spoke on justice and what that looks like as a Christian. It was wonderful to connect with a church in the community where Venture is based because I would assume people would be even more interested in becoming involved. Afterwards everyone spandexed up again and began their short ride to Red Wing, MN.

And that brings me to right now. I'm currently in Red Wing, MN and I'm exhausted. Today's ride ended up taking the team longer than expected, so everyone is worn out and already asleep.

We have about four more weeks out here on the road, and some the days ahead will likely be the most challenging for the team. Continued prayer and encouragement would be appreciated. Pray specifically for endurance, optimism, and strength to finish out this difficult journey. God has been good and brought us this far, here's to another awesome four weeks on the roads!

Blessings,

Sara

In Webster, SD Brenda became good friends with this kiddo named Sam. Same is autistic and loves Spiderman just as much as Brenda. By the end of the evening, we all wanted to bring him along with us for the rest of the journey. Instead, Brenda gave him our daily toast object, a little Spiderman doll that rides with a new person each day. From now on he's living in Webster with Sam, who I know will take good care of Spidy. :)

Sometimes the team is more exhausted than we realize, and by the time they get to the lunch stop they're too tired to eat and just collapse on the ground instead.