Yesterday afternoon we were invited to speak in MCA's high school chapel service about Gloritrek.  It was a privilege to share with about 300 students and faculty about the pilgrimage Noah and I have been on for several years now as we prepare for Gloritrek.  We even had one of the bikes up on stage with us!  Many students were familiar with some of our story, especially the connection with Dr. Zhang and Discovery Channel.  I shared about Philip (Acts 8); who, in the midst of a great work in Samaria, was called by the Lord to go into the desert.  He did not know why he was called, but his act of obedience led to the Ethiopian official's acceptance of Christ, and the Gospel being carried to the continent of Africa!

We may not know exactly why God has called us to Gloritrek, and even to desert highways, but Noah and I are confident that, like Philip, God has a purpose and a plan.  What will God do with Gloritrek?  Who will we meet?  What decisions will be made?  Will people groups be adopted?  Will Christians step forward to boldly take the Gospel to those who have not yet heard?  Only God knows, and like Philip, we're okay with that!

We're excited to share about our NYC Gloritrek event, made possible through a connection by Mr. Schmidt, Noah's 7th grade teacher.  Lord willing, on August 4th, we'll be in the heart of China Town, speaking to a Chinese Church!  How cool is that!  Only about 40 more Gloritrek events to arrange!  :-)

Noah's Hot Wheels

Matthew Wang, our Gloritrek bike artist, has done an amazing job on the wheels, in both English and Chinese! These wheels will tell people why we ride!

Gloritrek Prep Pictures!

Training for Gloritrek really began during the summer of 2012.  Noah and Dave ran a couple 5K's.

Noah, with classmate Jonathan, & David participate in a 25.75 KM triathlon!

 You wanted to see it!  Here is what my friend, Dr. Chen's chin work accomplished!  Why?  So my helmet will actually stay on my head!

A 113 KM (half Ironman) in Taitung, Taiwan

No, nothing to do with Gloritrek, but it was Noah's first par.  Norton Knoll's, #4 a par 5, Oakland, IL.

Matthew Wang is our paint guy for the Gloritrek bikes, which will soon be ready to photograph!  (No, the bike frame he is holding is not ours.)

Frames, Chin & Web-site

This has been a big week for Gloritrek.  The bike frames are nearly finished at the paint shop.  Soon I will be delivering them to the SRAM factory for final assembly.  My friend, Dr. Chen, took the stitches out of my chin.  Though my chin is still sore, I was able to shave, which makes my wife very happy!  And, Allen Messimer, one of our Team Expansion co-workers here in Taichung, is helping me update the Gloritrek web-site.  Soon, you'll notice new additions to the web-site:  the calendar, maps, 10 ten-minute topics, etc.  I'm always amazed by how the Lord provides......

Emily is our Gloritrek Coordinator

We're excited to add Emily Harrison, our daughter, to the Gloritrek team. She will be handling event scheduling, among other things. Please keep Emily (and our son-in-law, David) in your prayers!

Christian Standard Announcement

In the Aug. 1 on-line issue of the Christian Standard, the magazine published that Noah and I were completing Gloritrek "this week."

Though the pronouncement is a year in advance, we pray that it is a prediction of the good things to come! We did receive the bike frames from the factory this week! Yeah!

Prep for Gloritrek

The last couple weeks have been busy. We were blessed to spend a week in Livonia, MI, with the Memorial Church oh Christ and their VBS. Altogether, the kids raised more than $1750 for Gloritrek.

Also, we've begun to order supplies: bike racks from Bontrager and waterproof saddlebags from Ortlieb.

We spent a couple days in L'ville at the Team Expansion headquarters, ironing out details for Gloritrek and debriefing.

Returning to Illinois, we saw temp readings as high as 107 degrees! Yikes! I foresee some early morning bike riding in our future!

These pictures are from our 2011 Tour-de-Taiwan.  We biked more than 700 miles over a 10-day period, and gave away more than 2000 "Jesus Loves You" ball bands.

All About Gloritrek

a.     Who we are?

After a dozen years of located ministry in Illinois, the Atkin family answered the call to share the Gospel among an unreached people group – in Taiwan.  In 1998, David & Brenda, with grade-school age daughters, Emily and Tabitha, joined with Team Expansion to plant churches in East Asia, among the least reached peoples.  Noah, who was “Made in Taiwan,” came just before the new millennium.

Dave and Brenda are celebrating a few milestones:  25 years of both full-time ministry and marriage, including 15 years of church planting in Taiwan.

b.     What is Gloritrek?

Team Expansion’s Gloritrek links two passions:  making the God of the Nations famous among the unreached peoples of the earth and cross-country cycling.  Gloritrek will be a US coast-to-coast and church-to-church cycling event by Dave & Noah Atkin, from May 19 to August 4, 2013.  Every evening along the way, in every town or city they visit, David & Noah, to adults as well as children, hope to share about God’s passion for the nations. 

 

c.      Why Gloritrek?

Well… Jesus said, “Go!”  How we get there he left up to us!  Or, the biblical answer might be Psalm 96:3 and many other passages that share with us God’s passion and the church’s mission to all nations. 

Or, would you believe the vision for Gloritrek was a morphine-induced hallucination while David lie paralyzed in a hospital bed in Asia?  (To hear the rest of that story, which was made into a Discovery channel documentary, you’ll need to attend a Gloritrek event near you!)

            d.   What route will we take?  (click on this link to see the map)

It will begin in Los Angeles and end in New York City, a trek of more than 3,300 miles.  Most cross-country cyclists prefer to avoid the cities, but not us!  We plan to visit as many cities as possible!  And, we plan to ride through Louisville, KY; the host city for the North American Christian Convention, July 9 -12, 2013.  Louisville is also the international headquarters for Team Expansion.

d.     What can YOU do?

PRAY.  As you can clearly see, Gloritrek is completely in God’s hands!  Who Dave & Noah meet, the impact of the message, the hospitality of the churches, the weather, the expense, their health and safety – all are in God’s hands.  Praying daily for them will be made possible through their daily blog.  To join the Gloritrek prayer team, and receive daily updates from Dave & Noah along the route, sign-up by clicking on this link.  (Link)

HOST a Gloritrek event.  If you are along the route, please plan to host a one-night event.  Invite not only your own church, but also all the other churches in the area!  Host churches would also be responsible to feed and shelter Dave & Noah for the night.  If we are with you on a Lord’s Day morning, we’d ask that you allow David to preach & Noah to share his message with the children.

ATTEND a Gloritrek event.  Even if you aren’t on the route, maybe you can get a group together and drive to the nearest Gloritrek event.  Or, see David & Noah at the North American Christian Convention.  Or, follow along on-line through the Gloritrek web-site!

GIVE.  The Atkin family already has the best support team of any missionaries on the planet.  These faithful financial partners have stood with them for 15 years, generously providing all they need for church planting in Asia.  

Before the launch of Gloritrek:

Confident that the Lord will provide all that they need, Dave & Noah launched the plan for Gloritrek and trust that all the expenses will be paid BEFORE the trip even begins!  This could amount to $10,000.  If you believe in Gloritrek, and the Lord has prompted you to give, you may send a check to:

                  Kathy Murrell

c/o           Team Expansion

                  PO Box 51

                  Bement, IL  61813

The check should be made payable to Team Expansion, with Gloritrek written on the memo line.  All gifts are tax deductible.  Thank you!

                 

During Gloritrek:

It is the hope that any offerings received along the way will go straight to Team Expansion:  to be used around the world in reaching the unreached.   However, offerings are NOT necessary to host a Gloritrek event.

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