Day 4 - May 22 - Palm Desert to Blythe, CA

Day 4 - Palm Desert to Blythe, CA (107 miles - 14 hours)

The longest day ever recorded in the history of mankind -- 110F!  The quote Chuck Foreman, in Phoenix, "You are insane!"  I must agree!

We must thank George & Nancy Stocks -- they went way beyond the call of duty!  Amazing!  Truly, they were angels to us!

We're in a nice hotel tonight, and only 61 miles tomorrow!  PTL!

The Lord provided an awesome tailwind most of the day -- the only way we could finish.  Thank you for praying!  I thought often about why we are doing this, and was reminded of the 7,126 unreached people groups.  If by cycling 108 miles in the desert could save 7,126 people -- would you do it, no matter how painful.  Well, imagine it's not 7,126 people -- it's really 3 billion souls.  Without Christ, they are all lost;  and those who know the only Way, the Truth and the Life -- do they not owe it to those who don't to be a part of declare God's glory among the nations?  What am I willing to give for them -- right now every muscle in my body is telling us that today we gave all we had!

Noah is doing well -- he got a reprieve - thanks to George.  Noah was given an escort to our midway point, and got to sleep in until 10 AM.  Needless to say, he was the first to the hotel and ate a whole steak by himself!

Thank you for praying!  BTW, thanks to a couple guys who have worked diligently to hook us up with host -- Mike in Georgetown, OH; and David in Monticello -- I owe you guys a big hug and a dinner!

Day 3 - May 21 - Riverside to Palm Desert, CA

Day 3 - May 21 - Riverside to Palm Desert, CA
107 miles - 15 hours of frustration and pure joy

Wow!  Glad it's over!  At least three times we were re-routed, which added miles and difficulty (i.e. - mountains).  However, just when we thought we were completely wasted, God provided a wonderful tail breeze and a long downhill nearly all the way to Palm Desert.  Then, God provided a wonderful couple, George & Nancy Stock, to host us!  Absolutely wonderful -- they live on a golf course!  George is a Vietnam Vet -- having been the navigator in F-4's, and is an avid cyclist!  We are truly blessed and are now heading to bed!

P.S. - I really felt your prayers today!  And, we could use them tomorrow as we attempt to get back on I-10, and have 103 miles to Blythe!

Day 2 - May 20 - Huntington Beach to Riverside, CA

Day 2 - May 20 - Huntington Beach to Riverside, CA (83 Miles)

Average speed - 12 MPH
Time on the road:  10 hours

Day one started with Scripture and prayer, and no other fanfare.  We started from the boardwalk, and rode up the Santa Ana River Trail.  We got lost a couple times, and the last half of the day was spent climbing.  We had two offers for housing, but neither we conducive for day two, so we stayed in a motel, which wasn't conducive either.  More on that later.

It was great talking to Chase Andre, who was in Taiwan for a while teaching English.  He will marry soon!  We also spoke with Chuck Foreman, in Phoenix, our old co-worker!  Great touching base with him, and we look forward to being with them this weekend!

Day 1 - May 19 - Christ's Church, Griffith Park (Worship Day)

Day 1 - May 19 - Christ's Church, Griffith Park, CA

We're here in Huntington Beach, CA; at the Best Western Hotel overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  Tomorrow we begin riding!

Over the weekend we were hosted by Christ's Church of Griffith Park, near Burbank.  Bruce Flennor, serves as the minister.  Bruce and Tanya were a tremendous blessing to us, as Bruce picked us up from the airport, and Tanya took us around LA, and they also brought us down to Huntington Beach.  What a blessing!  Luey and Andy stayed with a retired evangelist, Jim; who has the most amazing garden!

This Lord's Day morning, it was evident that the Lord was working among the congregation!  And, we had an all-church BBQ after. Later, we were blessed to meet Bruce's brother and his family, who are headed to E. Asia as medical missionaries.  Please pray for Paul, and his family of six!  I think we were and encouragement to them, as Paul was to us -- even removing a splinter from my finger!

Tomorrow is a big day -- can't believe it is finally here!  Thank you for praying for us!

IMPORTANT:  This is the last weekly "Time for Taiwan" prayer update, until after Gloritrek.  Lord willing, we will resume these weekly prayer  updates beginning in mid-August.  Until then, please go to www.gloritrek.com to sign-up and receive our daily blog updates by e-mail.

Also, thanks to FCC in Monticello, IL; follow us with real-time GPS.  It can be accessed through our web-site, or this link:  http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=03rRhzMKemqU1OqATqJXscbN0u6vOLrMW

Greetings from Taiwan:

"Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (Rom 1:7b; I Cor 1:3; II Cor 1:2; Gal 1:3; Eph 1:2; Phil 1:2; Col 1:2; I Thes 1:1; II Thes 1:2; I Tim 1:2; II Tim 1:2; Tit 1:4; Phil 1:3)  See how many times the Apostle Paul begins his epistles with "Grace and peace to you…"  Grace and peace must be pretty important!  And, when you think about the kind of life Paul lived, both prior to seeing the light, and then, as a missionary, it's not hard to see why these attributes are especially coveted -- as they are gifts from above!  And, when I think of grace and peace, and gifts from above; can't help but think of our mothers!  They seem to embody these qualities more than any!

Happy Mother's Day to our mothers!  I've include a flower for you -- a water lily!  I took this picture yesterday on my bike ride south of Taichung, in the rain, just for you!  Lilies are Brenda's favorite flower!  :-)

We have challenged the Come Christian Church not to be idle this summer while the missionary is away!  To GO, we've added GROW!  So, Come Christian Church wants to GO & GROW this summer -- I've challenged all to reach at least one, and double our attendance by 3rd Sunday of August.  Can it be done?  With God's help, all things are possible!  Amen?  Shea-shea!

Gloritrek takes-off this Friday afternoon, May 17th!  Lord willing, we'll arrive in LA on Friday afternoon, and spend the weekend with Christ Church of Griffith Park.  On Monday morning, we will set out for NYC from Huntington Beach, on the south side of LA.  I cannot describe what I am feeling right now, so I'll just ask you to pray for Noah, Luey, Andy and me.  Pray for our families that we will be saying good-bye to (Lord willing, we will see Brenda again in Tulsa; nearly a month from our departure.)  Pray for the churches we will visit -- that the message of unreached people groups (UPG's) will be embraced.  Yes, pray to the Lord of the Harvest!

Thank you for your partnership with us!  Here in Taiwan, when someone is going on a journey, we say, "One road to peace!" (Ye-lu ping-an!)  Many years ago, while biking and sharing in China, I never tired of hearing that phrase, but they say it differently.  They say, "One road, tail breeze!" (Ye-lu, swen-fong!)  However you say it, your prayers give us peace, and are like a tail breeze pushing us forward!  Grace and peace to you and yours!

   

All for God's Glory Among the Nations,
David, Brenda & Noah Atkin
datkin@teamexpansion.org  / gloritrek@gmail.com

We're less than 10 days from take-off on Gloritrek!  This morning, Luey, Andy, Noah and I biked Noah to school (about 8 miles).  After dropping Noah off at MCA, we rode about 20 more miles, nearly circling the city of Taichung.  It's a city of 2 million, with maybe 2-3% knowing Jesus.  I prayed as I rode this morning.

Good news!  Christ Church in Griffith Park, Burbank, CA; is hosting us while we're in L.A.  We are so grateful for this church, and Pastor Bruce & Tanya Fleenor!  What a blessing!  We look forward to meeting them!

I've been convicted in the last week, feeling a little like Jacob, wrestling with the Lord!  Why?  There are many days in our schedule where we've been unable to find a church to host us, especially out west.  What to do?  It would be easy to just go find a motel, one with a pool preferably!  Of course, that cuts into what we hope to give Team Expansion at the end of the summer, as we focus on unreached peoples.  So imagine you're a pastor or church secretary, and you hear a knock on your door....

"Hello, my name is David Atkin, missionary from Taiwan.  This is my son, Noah.  These are our Taiwanese friends, Luey and Andy.  We're on a Gloritrek for unreached peoples, and we're biking coast to coast, church to church.  We have nowhere to spend the night tonight.  Would you be willing to host us this evening?  In return, we'd be happy to tell you about what we believe God is leading us to share with churches across America."

Wow!  What would you do with this, probably inconvenient, opportunity standing at your door?  Some  may say, "Go in peace!"  The spiritual way of saying, "Get lost!"  However, for some whom the Lord has directed us -- we may be a real blessing to them, as they are to us!  So, in every town we enter, before going to check into a motel for the night; we will first visit the area churches, and give them opportunity to accept us into their home/church, or forfeit the chance to interact with us.  For, if we believe that God is leading us on this Gloritrek;  and, we do, otherwise, there aint no way it would be happening!  Then, we believe God will lead us to those whom God has been preparing!  If Jesus is preparing a place for us in heaven, it is a small thing for Him to prepare a place in each town/city we visit.  What do you think?  What would you say?

Thank you for praying for us!  We are feeling the weight of preparation details; as well as the challenge of increased training and staying healthy and safe.  Like, yesterday, as I recover from bronchitis; I went to the pool for the first time in more than a week and broke my pinky toe.  It is black today!  You may have heard the expression, "The devil is in the details!"  Let us pray that the Lord would smash Satan under our feet!"  Amen.

Mornings in Taiwan

Greetings from Taiwan:

I've also attached a picture of what many of my mornings look like -- eating breakfast, responding to e-mails and training for Gloritrek! This morning was especially nice -- two e-mails in particular!  What a blessing!

One couple who has never met us, in Joplin, MO, wrote:  

"My sweet friend, Angela contacted me through facebook this morning to tell me about Gloritrek and her friends from Taiwan needing a place to stay while bicycling through Joplin on June 18. My husband Chris and I would love to keep your fellas at our home on that date if that works for them.  How about meals? I would love to be able to provide meals for them as well.  Just need to know what they like or more importantly what they don't like or are allergic to...We attend ...a large church in Joplin which may provide a contact for you to see if David and Noah could give their testimonies." 

Another e-mail from a fella in Georgetown, OH, which is not on our route:

"I wanted to send this quick email to introduce myself and to let you know we are praying for you and Noah as you prepare for your trip, “Gloritrek”.  It is so exciting to read about your “Gloritrek” and I am looking forward to meeting you when you travel through the Cincinnati area.  Thanks for  connecting with me on Facebook and we will be praying for your need for host churches. Is there anything specific we can be praying for on your behalf?  May God truly bless you and give you many opportunities to share the gospel for Christ."

Thank you for your partnership with us in Gloritrek!  

All for God's Glory Among the Nations,

David, Brenda and Noah Atkin

datkin@teamexpansion.org  / gloritrek@gmail.com

www.gloritrek.com