Sunday in Payson

Sunday in Payson

Sunday morning as usual I woke up at 430 and looked forward to going to Starbucks at 5 to get a skinny wet latte to charge me up read my devotions and to use the Internet to finish my blog for yesterday.  It was a relaxing time.  I was able to upload a number of pictures very quickly which was great.  By the time I got back to camp after 6 am lots of people were up waiting for breakfast.

Barb had wanted to ride up to Strawberry to look at the road that we might ride on for Monday to determine the difficulty and safety. We grabbed a few items from the breakfast table and headed up the mountain. We went up with Jane, Carol Rienstra and Christeena Nienhuis.  It was a beautiful ride up the mountain with grades mostly 4-5 with a few 6-7 %, there was hardly any shoulder, it was pretty curvy with a number of cars. The local bike shop had spoken out against us doing this and our ride up verified his recommendation. While we were up In Strawberry we did visit the oldest school house In Arizona.  It was a lovely log building with an old potbelly stove inside with all the old desks.  It also had an old outhouse but it was out of order.

 

 

For church the group split up into three groups.  We went to the local Presbyterian, the Shepherd of the Pines Lutheran church and a local Baptist church. I went to the Lutheran church were we were well received and were provided a lunch.  Many people spoke to the cyclists and they put out a donation basket where people could put in money.  They will send a check to the Sea to Sea office.  The group that went to the Presbyterian Church was also very well received and were provided a lunch.  Again we were blessed as well as being a blessing to people. 

 

Once we were back at camp as we were relaxing we noticed dark storm clouds in the distance, they appeared to be moving north of us and the storm would miss us.  We were very surprised when suddenly the wind was very strong and tents started blowing over.  Several of us try to keep tents from blowing over.  Unfortunately poles in Barb’s tent were damaged.     

 

I did try riding my bike to see if I could shift with my right hand and I was pleased I could with minimal pain.  The Ava the cyclist doctor suggested I try a 10 mile ride on Monday to see how it goes before I decide to do the ride on Tuesday.  My hand is feeling much better and I am getting use to having a cast on.  Wearing the sling has helped me keep it up.

Henry Devries and Phil Quist also reported that they had a great service in Phoenix and were well received.  Henry had the opportunity to preach the message and Phil had an opportunity to share what Sea to Sea was all about. People were very receptive and encouraging.  Phil and Henry both received a number of envelops with donations to Sea to Sea.             

One funny story from Saturday, Barb Mellema went into Walmart with several people and one cyclist challenged her to act like she was a Walmart greeter which Barb proceeded to do along with sharing the message of Sea to Sea and giving out our business cards. What a hoot.  Barb is a spontaneous fun loving person who laughs a lot and can come up with the craziest things. Sure makes the tour enjoyable.

 

I am posting this right now and hope to add photos later. I am having difficulty uploading any pics right now and hope to finish this later.