Day 27 - June 14 - OKC to Stroud, OK

Day 27 - June 14 - OKC to Stroud, OK (64 miles)

There is a musical called "Oklahoma," -- "Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain..."  I wondered today if the author of that song had ever really been to OK, because there aint no plains -- OK (especially east of OKC) is all hills!  

Andy's bike has a fairly serious problem with the rear rim.  We are praying that it will hold out until we arrive in Tulsa and can get it replaced.

We were all pretty worn out today as we turned our bikes into the Best Western parking lot.  Luey's temperature gauge read 42 C / 107.6!  I went to the pool to soak some sore muscles -- tempted to grumble a little, that is, until I met two nice young men using the motel pool to do therapy.  One needed a wheelchair and the other crutches.  Somehow, my legs didn't ache so much anymore!

On Route 66 we stopped at a little Motorcycle Museum.  It actually had a '75 Honda Goldwing -- same color as the one I gave up several year ago!  It broke my heart to part with my classic motorcycle.  I wonder if sometimes we hold on too tightly to the stuff of this earth.  What would you give up to save souls?  A UPG?  What did Jesus give to save you?

Tonight we've been warned there could be storms.  There use to be a mall next door to this motel.  It was completely destroyed by a twister!  Tomorrow, Lord willing, we will pedal to Tulsa, and the Sandusky Ave. Christian Church.  Brenda is already there waiting for us!  :-)

Thank you for praying!
Dave, Luey and Andy

Day 26 - June 13 - Hinton to Oklahoma City, OK

Day 26 - June 13 - Hinton to Oklahoma City, OK (46 miles)

We stayed in a nice little motel in the little town of Hinton.  We ate supper and breakfast with a bunch of oil drillers.  All nice guys who were very curious about what we were doing.

Traveling along I-40 we saw all kinds of debris and destruction from the recent tornadoes.  It was very sad to see buildings destroyed and trees snapped or ripped from the ground -- what power those tornadoes have!

We finally said good-bye to I-40, just outside of OKC.  From now on we'll be traveling NE.  Met a nice motorcycle cop on a new BMW -- a sweet ride!  Arrived at Mark and Cathy Hinderliter's by 10 AM.  Cathy is a chef, and began feeding us almost right away.  Mark came home for lunch.  Cathy is Chuck Foreman's younger sister, and they have an adopted son from Taiwan.  It was great seeing old pictures from their trip to Kaohsiung in 2003.

We had an evening Gloritrek program at Cherokee Hills Christian Church.  It was a nice gathering for a Thursday evening.  They asked lots of great questions and even asked for the PP files, so the missions committee could review the material and make additions to what they are already doing!

We really enjoyed visiting with Mark and Cathy -- it was very difficult leaving their house this morning!  Did I mention that Cathy is an awesome cook -- homemade strawberry/rhubarb yogurt -- just one of the things we had for breakfast!

Back to the tornadoes -- some of you will not need to imagine that a tornado is bearing down on you, but how would you feel if you were in the path of a tornado; nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.  Wouldn't you be terrified?  Now, imagine what it would be like to stand before the Judgment Seat and not know the Savior, our Redeemer, our Mediator.  Nearly everytime someone saw an angel in the Bible, they were terrified.  Imagine standing before the God of all Creation and not being ready for that day.  We've passed hundreds of crosses along the highway, indicating that someone died in that spot on the highway.  I wonder how many were ready to see the Lord.  Yes, there is an urgency in the Gospel going to the nations!

Thank you, Mark and Cathy!  We were truly blessed yet again!
Thank you for praying!
Dave, Luey and Andy