Day 16: Savannah to Kingsland, GA -- Mr. East and the Lemondade Stand

When Matt East completed his portion of the bike ride in Williamsport, PA, he asked whether he might send me a few thoughts for the blog. "Of course", I said, "but only if you ride the rest of the way!" Seriously, I welcomed Matt's thoughts and they are included below. His comments are a good reminder of the joy of working with children and the fact that they, often times, have a thing or two to show us for our own journeys.

Matt East Comments: Thank you to everyone who sent me notes along the way, your notes truly helped! A special thank you goes to all those who fed me along the way! I would like to share a quick story that I shared with Charlie during the bike ride.

Two summers ago, Erin (my daughter), decided that she wanted to open a lemonade stand on Ford Road in Zionsville. I asked Erin why and she replied that "it is hot outside and I am sure people would be thirsty." Erin made a lemonade stand, cookies and of course LEMONADE! Erin and I were out the door to set up the stand. She was so excited. I asked Erin, what do you want to charge for the lemonade and cookies. Erin replied, "How about 25 cents for unlimited refills of lemonade and free cookies?" I said OK, but I thought she was selling the farm too cheap! Well it did not take long for our first customer to come by to purchase lemonade. Before we knew it, we were out of cookies and lemonade due to the incredible amount of customers in a short period of time. Based on what Erin was charging, she should of come home with only a few dollars, however, she came back with 4 times what she had asked for! How did this happen? Erin's heart was in the right place that she saw a need and simply wanted to help. Erin's customers saw her generosity and returned the favor by giving her more than 25 cents for lemonade. What a great day! I asked Erin what she wanted to buy with the money she earned. I was thinking to myself that she would want to purchase a Barbie or some sort of toy. Erin told me that she wanted to share the money with the poor....Yikes, I missed it. It was great to see God bless Erin while teaching me a lesson.

Charlie, Oma, Julie and Traders Point Christian Academy share the same heart as Erin for raising the awareness / importance of Christian education. Have a great week and continue to exercise your mind and body.

Matt

Notables About the Ride to Kingsland: In terms of our ride today, we had a good day riding from Savannah to Kingsland, GA near the eastern coastline of Georgia. It was flat, hot and pretty rural. We saw many areas of poverty and limited businesse. We did see many rivers, bridges and islands. I've included a couple additional notes of interest below.

1. What Was Different About Today? Today we saw more police cars than on any other day. I kept hoping someone would stop me for speeding, but I guess I didn't quite hit the speed threshold.

2. How Hot Was It? It was so hot that even the dogs along the route didn't have enough energy to run after me. I thought about engaging in a little smack with them, but decided it would be better to conserve my energy.

3. Best Quote of the Day: After we'd been traveling a good distance, I asked Julie how far it was to Kingsland, GA. Julie's response (with a great amount of seriousness): "about the width of my two fingers".

4. And the Debate Rages On: for the last four or five days, I've continued to look skyward on a regular basis and see birds throughout our days that appear to me to be eagles. During some difficult moments on rides, I would look up at them and be inspired, remembering the well-known verses from Isaiah to be raised up on the wings of eagles. Once I mentioned the birds to Oma, however, she thought they were vultures and might be looking for food! I think it's simply a scare tactic to keep me moving on the bike; I'm sticking to my version of the facts.

5. Don't try this at home: of all the odd sensations, I felt myself fighting to stay awake at various points on the road today. TPCA students: should you feel like you're nodding off while biking or walking on Friday, please go to the nearest water station for a little refreshment.

6. A special thanks: thanks this evening to Jonathon Cox at Northside Church of God in Jacksonville, Florida for allowing us to stay with them. We appreciate your opening up God's house to perfect (or not so perfect) strangers and wish you all the best in your ministries.

7. So close, let's just keep going: Because Kingsland is so close to the Florida border, we decided to just keep going. Nothing like a little of the "Sunshine State" to get us ready for tomorrow.

Blessings,

Charlie