“The National Ride was the single hardest thing I’ve done in my life. And as a first year missionary, I will say I had no clue what I was getting myself into. I just knew I had to do it.”
While the Celebration of Life is about welcoming and congratulating the missionaries, it is about so much more than that. It is about growing a community. You know how they say it takes a village to raise children? Well, it takes a village to truly “renew the culture of life!”
Learning to climb hills is important training for any biker. But how can you handle the peaks and valleys in your life? We need to learn how to handle each situation in our life no matter where we are at.
The most important thing our support crew members do is they are present. When our riders are suffering, they are right there physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Being a support crew member is exhausting on so many levels because they take on the suffering of our riders without being able to take their suffering away. That is their mission, to be present and to cultivate communion on the ride. Tell me a more dire mission than that right now in the pro-life movement. Imagine a world where during every hardship a woman ever had to go through, they had their own “angel” to cry with.
It’s been said wherever there is the greatest opportunity to do Good in the name of Jesus Christ, there is where the Enemy focuses his greatest opposition.These missionaries are the world changers, the ones who will energize the pro-life spirit in the world. How do we prepare them to withstand the challenges and trials that they will inevitably encounter? How do prepare our team for the ups and downs of the battle for souls?
So, in my last blog post before our applications close, I want to ask you one last time: will you join us in 2019? Discipline of using our God-given talents and graces is required; it is how we show God we love him and follow his commandments (Matthew 16:24). If your life lacks discipline for the glory of his Kingdom, I may know a few people willing to help.
“Will you join me in following Him who calls us to action, who calls us to pick up our cross (or bike!)? Will you be like Peter and be a witness? Because make no mistake, you have been called, and He is waiting for a response.” Kevin’s reflection on SEEK19 leads into a universal call: not from Biking for Babies, but from Jesus Christ.
“God is calling you to prepare your heart for the day when you meet Him face to face. What will He be able to say about your preparation? Will you be like the “good and faithful servant” who has used their talents wisely, or will you hide your talents away, allowing the world to continue on its current trajectory (Matthew 25-30)? The choice is yours…”
“It was the first time in my life where my body could not do what I was asking it to do…I pray that you find a way to break free from the comforts this world offers and walk the path Christ invites us to walk. I will say this: if your cross lies with Biking for Babies, I know some very joy-filled people that will help you carry it.” Kevin’s reflection on his first year with B4B and Luke 9:23.
In this first period of formation, the young adults:
With eyes now opened to the need and Christ-centered solutions of problems, these young adults are sent forth as “missionaries” into the rest of the formation program and into the rest of their lives, committing to live with the truth of the Gospel of life as the lens through which they see every relationship, every decision, and the world at large.
In this second period of formation, the missionaries
In this last period of formation, after the National Ride, missionaries
