Sacrifices: Meet My Cause, Lighthouse, Inc.

Today is to consist of more packing, a few things to do with the bike, and preparing for life away from the lifestyle I've grown accustomed to. I pick up my rental car at 6pm tonight and must drop it off by 6pm tomorrow night. After that there is but one time that I must adhere to and that is checkout time at the Westin. From that point on I will enter in to a new lifestyle in which the clock means very little to me. This is going to be a culture shock for an Americanized guy like myself. No more rushing, no more places I have to be. Of course in our case there are some deadlines such as making it within a reasonable drive of Bedford by June 3rd so I can make it to my sister's graduation and then of course Carson and Travis have a deadline to adhere to with school for next year, but by and large we have all day to do whatever we want with it. Sure we know that 60 miles a day is pretty much what we'll have to hold strict to if we want to make the West Coast but even that is not enforced on us by any outside structure. We can wake up with the sun or sleep in. Ride until we're tired or stop at 2pm and enjoy our surroundings. I'm a little nervous about the strangeness of this whole thing.

As I prepare to ride I cannot help but think of all the things I'm giving up in order to do so. After being away from my family for the past 3 months and more often than not for the last 4 years, it would be tempting to stay home for some time and enjoy the ride.

I also won't see my girlfriend of over a year for the duration of the trip and will find my opportunities to communicate with her to be limited. With no access to a laptop this summer, we cannot make use of Skype as we did last summer to feel a bit closer to each other.

And finally for the first time in years I will not be able to work for Lighthouse, Inc., but then again, maybe I can. There are few cycling tourists out there who ride without a cause attached to their ride and for good reason. While you're riding a tank of a bike with huge bags attached to it, people are going to notice you and it can be a great way to pass attention on to another organization. After quite a great deal of thought I have decided to promote my cause as well. Now before you start thinking that this blog will be all about trying to get you to empty out your wallets to donate to a cause I think is worthwhile, understand that this is not going to be the case. This blog will from this point forward be entirely focused on the trip itself and the thoughts and findings of the riders. I will not attempt to bait and switch in any way.

From the beginning of my trip planning I decided that this trip is above all, a great experience for me. It would seem foolish for me to think that you would find reason to donate money to my cause just because I'm getting to do this great trip. Imagine a guy saying, "please donate to charity X because I'm taking a 2 week vacation in Hawaii." Not a good sell, and to be honest I view my ride as being far greater than a 2 week vacation to Hawaii, although I have no grounds for comparison (if you want to send me to Hawaii for 2 weeks after this trip, get in contact with me). This trip is going to be fun and enjoyable for me and that's the bottom line. All that being said, humor me for just this one post as I explain what Lighthouse, Inc. means to me and why they are worthy of your donation and more than worthy of my effort to generate awareness of the work they are doing in the Central community of Cleveland.

Lighthouse, Inc. was founded 30 years ago by a pastor who had a passion for the underprivileged youth of Cleveland. I will not go into great detail in this post for brevity's sake, but please check them out at www.urbanlighthouse.org for more information. Over the past 3 summers I have had the opportunity to work with this grassroots organization that has a genuine passion for the poor of the city of Cleveland. They have made it their mission to be Christ to this community and do so in many ways, whether it's a hot meal in a church, a short worship service and lunch for kids on Heaventrain (a mobile church sanctuary on a renovated bus that takes the church to the people and communicates the gospel message), tutoring in the Cleveland public schools, or through a basketball team that is coached to be godly young men in a dark world first and outstanding athletes second. Lighthouse, Inc. does all of this with a very lean operation as the paid staff is only a handful of individuals. In 30 years Lighthouse has always been responsible with the funds entrusted to them and for this reason you can be confident in your investment into the lives of young people who just need a jump start on life.

As I ride across this nation all summer long I will see some awe-inspiring things along the way, but if you volunteer for just one Saturday morning or afternoon on Heaventrain you will understand why this trip is a bit on the side of being bittersweet for me. My posts will have a donation box following them. Do not feel any pressure to donate, but I would urge you if you get the chance to contact Lighthouse and find a time you can come see what God is doing in the city of Cleveland through this organization.