For those of you in the Chicagoland area, we're going to being hanging out at Libertyville Covenant Church on Monday night at 7 PM. We'd love to see some of you there! Directions

A quick update

Hey everyone -

Thanks for continuing to watch our progress this summer! We're currently in Portage, WI, two days out from Milwaukee. From there, Matt's parents will pick us up and bring us to Grayslake, IL, a northern suburb of Chicago. We're looking forward to resting there on Sunday and Monday, as well as meeting with some members of the Libertyville Covenant Church.

Then, on Tuesday morning, we'll be taking the Lake Express ferry from Milwaukee to Muskegon, MI, and resuming our church visits and voyages with the covenant church there.

Also, thanks to our friends at the North Mankato Covenant church, we recently got some press coverage. You can check out the footage here.

Blessings to all of you!

peace,
eric

ps. for those of you who are Batman fans, know that Marcus, Andrea and I will be attending the midnight showing of The Dark Knight! We are very excited. You can anticipate a movie review blog in the next couple of days...

Some old pictures and some newer ones...

It occurred to me that I hadn't posted any pictures of Colorado beauty. So, the first few are from our time there.













And the next shots are an assortment of pictures from all over.

Marcus praying the rain holds off in Nebraska.


It didn't hold off.


But it eventually got sunny again.



Minnesota


"Don't take pictures of me in the morning!"


Peace,
Matt

Wisconsin!

Tonight we're staying in the Free Church in Tomah, Wisconsin. A regular pit stop on the drive from my home in Minneapolis to Chicago, it is strange to ride through on a bicycle. After a wonderful and relaxing weekend at home, visiting with many people whom I love and miss, Wisconsin has been a bittersweet part of the journey for me. I got to ride along Highway 35, which I did on my first bike trip, and revisit many adorably quaint towns. Now I've gotten bored with familiar landscapes, and frustrated by the temperamental weather we've encountered: thunder in the distance, rain falling from sunny skies, and headwinds. This weekend, I'll get to see some family in Milwaukee, and we'll visit Chicagoland, a welcome resting place for many of us!
Thanks for all your support, everyone! It was so good to see so many friends in Minneapolis this past weekend!
-Emily

Minnesota! From North Mankato

I realized it's been a long time since I've blogged, so I figured I'd fill everyone in on what's going on.

This week has been very busy for us. We've visited churches in South Dakota and Minnesota every night this week since Monday. I'm glad to be in so-called "covenant country" because we get to meet so many new people and have conversations in far more churches that we could earlier in the trip. While it's been very rewarding, it's also been tiring. We've been biking around 60 miles a day consistently and still visiting churches in the evenings.

Biking into a new town and a new church every day is sometimes a bit overwhelming! There are new people, new situations, new injustices that are brought to our attention. There is so much to process about each visit and neighborhood - but very little time to do it. That being said, I've been learning so much from the people we meet and am so thankful for this opportunity.

The hospitality that we have received has been incredible - thank you to all of the people who have made time in their schedules and lives to help us along the way. I pray that you will all continue to provide to those in need, as you've challenged me to do.

More soon...

peace,
eric

Thank You

I'd like to thank everyone for your prayers and well-wishes while I recovered. I am back on the trip!
Thanks,
Emily

Luke Peterson, I Never Wanted a Blog

We're in Wausa Nebraska, staying at Matt's grandparent's house with half of his extended family. When we first crossed into Nebraska the state sign simply announced: "Nebraska. The Good Life," Nebraska's bold, confident proclamation has proven true, from the first mile and the Cactus Palace in Venango, to our current home in Wausa. Throughout the trip, and especially in Nebraska, I've been constantly surprised by the kindness of strangers. A few days ago we got caught in a storm, there was a bit of lightning and the high winds made the rain sting as it hit our skin, forcing us to seek shelter. Luckily a woman named Tracy invited us into her home where we watched Oprah, and talked about pianos, creative writing, metabolic rates, education, and comfrontations with chickens. She also gave us candy bars. We were living the good life, even if it was pouring.

Riding a bike for sixty miles a day leaves me with a lot of time to think, and it's been surprising what sort of thoughts can float through my head. Sometimes I plan things to think about in advance, and sometimes it's a surprise. Tomorrow I will be attempting to define "The Good Life." Talking to people from big cities, the subject of small towns with "nothing there" often comes up, and I have to admit that I too was dreading the desert and the plains. What I've found, however, is not a greater appreciation for Chicago and its vastness. As we travel through the plains, I've noticed that people have an interest in what we're doing, and why we're riding. Many of these people talk with us at length, in some cases buying us dinner, trading shirts, opening bike shops to give us supplies and repairs at no cost. And yet, in Chicago, a I don't seem to meet as many people, there isn't such a sense of community. I don't know the names of the people who live in the apartment across the hall.

I don't yet have an exact definition of "The Good Life," but I know that community and kindness to strangers are a part of that. What else makes life good? We have almost 2,000 more miles to find out.

Happy Fourth of July

-Dylan