I Timothy 4:12

I Timothy 4:12 Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity.

Proud of you all. AJ, Abby, Ben---because you came alongside and provided support and encouragement to Barrett the dream became reality. You are the 4 in cycling4hope.com!

Way to go all 4!

Mom and Dad Mills

From all of us!!

"I have finished the course: I have kept the faith." 2 timothy 4:7

We are still awaiting pledges and final donations. Your support has been amazing.

Sorry the blog "comment" section was weird but you had to select anonymous. You can email us at cycling4hope@gmail.com there you can comment. All 4 of us are enjoying the comments that came in. 4 WOW! cycling4hope!

We DID it! Thank you

More stories and photos to post from AJ, ABBY and Ben...ck back

BECAUSE YOU CAUGHT OUR PASSION...

...We Raised $16,000 for the children of the leper colony in Rajnandoan, India!! We did it!!

Can you say, miracle?! I can. On Saturday night, our last eve before the final ride into Mackinaw I needed to get away with my dad for a pep talk. I really believed that we could raise the monies needed for their vehicle but when would it happen--today or next year? These kids were depending on us. My dad shared wise words that have been passed down the line..."God is seldom early but He is never late, he told me." He encouraged me to ride the final miles with the HOPE that God had a special plan and said, "Barrett, God placed this passion in your heart, He will see you through no matter how long it takes."

Our contact from World Hope Intl. was scheduled to meet us at the bridge to welcome and congratulate us and that alone was something to look forward to on the ride in to Mackinaw City. But again, God had a different plan. Our contact, Ann O'Dell, fell ill in Haiti with food poisoning and was rushed to a hospital in Miami. We were informed she would not be greeting us. That was a huge disappointment.

On Sunday morning we woke to pouring rain and slick wet roads. Our spirits were damp. We had breakfast devotions and my dad read us a story from a WHI/HOPE for Children booklet, "The Road to Opportunity". It has stories about children for who World Hope Intl. has provided opportunities. The story told of the faith and strength one of the kids had to come from poverty to receive education and eventually achievement. When asked if we had any c0mments or words to share, Ben spoke up, "Read us another story." We would do anything to stall and stay off the wet roads. Meanwhile, my mom was in the camper blogging our stories and asking friends to pray for the rain to cease.

Mr. Bennett, our route guide, gave us our maps for the day and my dad shared his final words reminding us WHO we were riding for and how important it was to reach the goal. Then, I think it was my Uncle Jim (cook/s extraordainaire) who told us that there was a SURPRISE waiting for all of us in Mackinaw City. Even my dad was surprised.

As we mounted our bikes and headed out to the entrance of the camp, THE RAIN STOPPED AND STARTED TO MOVE OUT OF THE AREA! Again, God was not late.

We had a DRY and AWESOME ride through the tunnel of trees and stopped and played along the way because we had no clue what awaited us except Mackinaw City and maybe some family members who were going to surprise us. That would be fun.

We rode into the final stretch under I-75, made the left turn single file and then lined up behind the "chase vehicle" that was going to lead us to the base of the bridge and the fort park. We had already decided we were riding 4-WIDE and PROUD as can be that we made the goal. Now it felt like TOUR de FRANCE!

There was family waiting for us. The other vehicles and our moms were lined up cheering us into the final block!! We circled the block and pulled alongside the sag wagon to be congratulated. WE MADE IT.!!

As we got off our bikes, my Uncle Jim handed my dad a piece of paper with a phone number and said that we needed to call the number right away. We gathered in a circle to make the phone call. On the other end of the phone was Mr. Scott Drury from Alexandria VA, World Hope Intl. He congratulated us and shared with us how proud he was of our efforts and hard work. THEN HE HAD ONE MORE THING TO TELL US, the children were going to get their vehicle. Not only had we made the 400+ mile ride successfully, WE RAISED $16,000! We all let out a huge "whoop" and cheers then there were tears! We did it!

AGAIN, GOD was just in time!

I am just 15 years old but... my friends who came alongside to ride with me and you CAUGHT my passion! WE ALL DID IT!

What's next?! [AJ Bennett thinks we just won the Super Bowl!] We want to go to India to see the look on Dr. Devedas' and the children faces when they learn about their vehicle.

THANK YOU THANK YOU.....please keep checking our blog. We have great photos to share and more information! We are now waiting for the pledges to come in and the mail is still delivering donations! Your response was unbelievable. You can smile and know that four teenagers are very excited and pumped up that they could make a difference. Our faith is strengthened. Our lives are changed.

PASSION...do you have a passion?! I do. Wait and see what God can do with this 15 year old and friends coming next year....stay tuned.

More photos posting.....

Barrett here...with a passion

I am 15 years old and do I have passion...you won't want to miss our rider update tonite right here. Be the first to hear our fantastic news and update on the fundraising efforts for the kids of the leper colony. My mom kept reminding me that God is listening and watching. As my great grandfather, H.T. Mills, use to remind his children:

GOD IS SELDOM EARLY,
BUT HE IS NEVER
LATE.

I know God answers prayer. Barrett for all this Weds a.m. C U tonite right here for Part 2 of the final ride. See photos below with an Abby quote from her FB.

The Final Ride -- Part 1

Abigail Bennett

"..With God all things are possible" Matthew 19:26, and they truely are.Home again. Best week of my life. Awesome experience.

Although we are home we are looking forward to sharing our best news with you!

We didn't have internet so here is our story from the final ride to Mackinaw. Here is Part 1 of our final ride. The adrenaline was flowing as we pedaled those final hills and the tunnel of trees. We could hardly wait to arrive at the Mackinaw Bridge. We were looking forward to the finish line. Barrett was looking forward to getting some updates on the donations for the orphanage vehicle. Stay tuned to see the final photos on Weds and learn about what our efforts accomplished. We will share the details of the final stretch, our arrival to Mackinaw and the SURPRISE THAT WAS WAITING FOR US.

AMAZZZZING! And it is still not over...STAY TUNED

We just rolled in and unloaded all the bicycles for security. We will sleep and get on our blog in the morning after we get some much needed sleep. We didn't have internet until arriving back in Holland ....the BEST news will have to wait. THE PHOTOS and STORIES we have to share are AWESOME. But this blooging thing takes time and work

WISH YOU COULD HAVE ALL JOINED US AT THE BRIDGE ! Watch for the photos and video to post. If you have trouble posting comments it is a glitch with the blog....not sure why. But thank you for staying with us. MORE TOMORROW, TUESDAY.

WE DID IT WE MADE IT WE DID IT...MACKINAW BRIDGE IS OUR VIEW

WE MADE IT TO MACKINAW AND MET OUR RIDING GOAL! YEAH. We do want you to know that after church/devotions on Sunday morning the SUN came out and we biked in NO RAIN. Thank you God for a safe and dry finish through the tunnel of trees to Mackinaw City.

WE HAVE NO INTERNET BUT THIS COUPLE MINUTES SO PLEASE COME BACK AND VISIT THE BLOG ON TUESDAY EVENING AND WE WILL UPDATE YOU WITH ALL OF OUR GOOD NEWS AND THE FINISH OF THE TRIP WITH PHOTOS AND VIDEO AND FUN STORIES.!!

STAY TUNED THIS JOURNEY IS NOT OVER AND WE ARE SO APPRECIATIVE OF ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE FOLLOWED US....KEEP FOLLOWING FOR OUR REALLY BIG NEWS ABOUT THE REASON WE RODE ....YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS OUR FINAL NEWS ON TUESDAY WHEN WE RETURN.....

oK NO MORE INTERNET THE CLOK IS RUNNING.

BARRETT , AJ, BEN AND ABBY -----SEE YOU ALL HERE TOMORROW FOR MORE TRIP BLOGS.....

Sunday AM FINAL RIDE in POURING RAIN Please Pray

It is pouring rain but we are PUMPED AND FIRED UP. Please pray for us we wanted to tell you some more this morning but our blog keeps disappearing so this is it for the AM! Barrett.

Please PRAY

Day 5 Sat. Amazing Feats by Ben "Mini McGruppen" Z reporting in

I’m really not one to talk because well I like to do things in person but some things always pop up. Like day 3 our first chances to get great speed down some big big hills. Though the hills were hard to get up, they where worth going down. We have had many you could say highlights so far during our trip like one of my favorites last night. Kujo had taken us out for steak dinners. It turned out to be an “all you could” eat perch dinner! Yahoo! little did we know the sea gulls were also wanting a perch dinner. All of as us teens where talking when suddenly Pastor Kujo started to point and laugh as he pointed toward Barrett. We soon discovered that he was not laughing at Barrett’s face but at the fresh poop that just splattered right next to him. We had so much fun!! Thanks Kujo! Through out the trip we have gotten to know each other better and working with each other has been so much fun! And last but not least today has been a fun day and all with the effects of my blood sugar we figured out that I can become a duck, elephant and, a Mini McGruppen!

Day 5 Elk Rapids to Petosky

Another great day and Ben's post is coming soon...that is after we tie him up and sit him down at the laptop.

Day 4 Frankfort to Elk Rapids w/Riders on the Storm

Hey, this is AJ! I've really been enjoying the bike trip so far. Today we rode from Elberta to Elk Rapids (65 miles). We were excited for what was supposed to be a flat day- at least according to my dad and Mr. Mills. As we soon found out, we were in for a day full of hills. However, we made it through that section of the route. After our lunch break we enjoyed some fresh cherry and apple pie compliments of Mrs. Carol Kuesel and Ryan Kuesel from Holland who met us along the trail. We were caught riding in the rain for a while. It was all down hill from there and we had an easy last couple of miles. We arrived at our camp site at 4:30 and had a quick snack. Our motorcycle supporters, Teri, Kujo, and Mitch took us all out for "all you can eat perch" where we had some great times. But we will leave that funny story for Ben to write about! Thanks Guys for all the support and keep clicking and sharing with your friends about our cause.! We'll see how tomorrow goes. Thanks for checking in with us! AJ Our photos from the day are awesome but we can't get them to upload for some reason.

Don't let this happen...Help us Reach $16,000!!

We are over the $8,000 mark! Help us finish the project with the entire $16,000.

See the side bar for the real 1961 Willy's Jeep we are trying to replace for the children of the 'Raj' India leper colony orphanage. Share this with your friends and ask them to consider what they could donate to make this happen! We are and, we are only 15 years old and we have a passion!!

Day 3 Ludington to Frankfort

Hi it’s Barrett and Abby again we have decided that we are the only people who will be writing this week because Ben and AJ are off at the park in town tonight. The day was wild in the morning there was fog and we couldn’t see jack and our faces were getting wet and it was very cold. Then after lunch the sun popped out and cooked off the fog and clouds creating another sunny day. So we had three very large hills to climb and the excitement was just building (not really) haha. The first hill wasn’t that hard although when Abby and I took a break half way up... I took a rest on top of a fire ant hill. Abby noticed that ants really do make you dance when they are in your pants.

The second hill, Ben says he did 50mph going down due to wind speed and tire pressure (I have no clue if that makes a difference?). Abby and I think… its possible? Now, on the way down the third hill, Abby and I were going around 47 mph when I looked at the speedometer. Then I thought, I better not look down again. We had one more hill to climb. Hill number three was probably the easiest.

We made a camp change and are now staying just outside of Frankfort instead of our original plans to stay in Platte River due to the fact that we were unable to get an addtl. campsite/s. However, everything worked out and we are having a great time. That was our day here on the trail. It is nice to have the company of Mitch Overway Terry Koetji and my Youth Pastor, Dave “Kujo” Kujowa accompanying us for the next two nights on motor cycles. Thanks for everyone’s support and prayers. p.s. Ben and AJ you get more lines if you help write!!

News Articles

Grand Rapids Press clik 2 read

Holland Sentinel clik 2 read

A.M. FOG IS THICK but SHIRTS ARE BRIGHT

We are being followed closely by the chase vehicle because the fog is thick. They say our shirts are bright and better than lights in the fog. Ck in tonight. We paused to take some fun pictures here and we will upload tonight. Thanks for checking in to know how to pray for us.

Day Two--Duck Lake to Ludington - Abby and Barrett reporting in

Hey, everyone this is Abby and Barrett, we are sitting in Micky D's. Today was a great day with a little rough start, my tire was bulged and we had to switch tires. Then while going on one of the bumpy roads my new tube exploded. So by mid morning I was on my third tube for the trip, hopefully I don't blow any more tubes. After riding all morning, we rode into Silver Lake for the afternoon. While Abby fixed her bike at the shop us boys ran around Silver Lake riding go-carts. That was fun. It rained some.

Ben and I quickly learned that AJ is a reckless driver and should never be given the keys to his mother's jeep! Once Abby's bike got fixed we rode on to Ludington where Abby and I pulled off to the side of the road and chased a deer, which we learned was quite fast (duh). So, we failed at catching the deer, her and I continued on riding. We had no clue where AJ and Ben took off to, because they broke rank and rode ahead, they still think this ride is tour de France. :) That’s all I guess ha-ha. There will be pictures or a slide show up soon, check them out :] Tomorrow AJ and Ben will post their stories. Thanks for reading and sharing your comments -- Abby and Barrett for all!

Day One to Duck Lake/Whitehall MI

We started off with a great crowd of followers. Our trip was near flawless until after our bridge cross in Grand Haven, MI. On the other side we must have been gaining great confidence with our progress when it happened. Things that go bump in daylight---aren't good. A few scratches, a slight bruise and a slightly messed up spoke and we were back on our way in good spirits to finish the day in record time. 1:30 pm we arrived at our destination to be greeted by our hosts: Mr. and Mrs. "S" in Whitehall on Duck Lake. Our sag wagon crew, "Uncle Jim and Aunt Diane", was ready for us along the route. Thanks for the good food! We had great fun swimming in Lake MI and Duck Lake with a peaceful close to the first day. Thankful and blessed for a safe and timely first day. NOTES FROM BACK HOME: our cash contributions to date have reached nearly $8,000. We are at the 1/2 way mark but still need $8,000 to make the $16k goal.

And they're off...

It was a perfect send off at about 7:15 am from Veldheer's Tulip Gardens. To encourage the cyclists this morning were friends and prayer supporters who traveled from as far as Fort Wayne, Kalamazoo, Holland and beyond. The kids were delighted and stunned with the turn-out of friends and co-workers who came to bid them safe travels on the near 400 mile trek to Mackinac City.

After they lined up their bicycles and made final pit stops, Pastors Lance and Dave "Kujo" Central Wesleyan Church, shared scripture and prayed for the teenagers. Several men of CWC gathered in to encourage and pray for the group. They were pumped and ready to go. I believe the last words of instruction given to the cyclists from one of the moms was, "Please walk your bikes across the busy highway." As the crowd of onlookers slowed traffic, they did just that "walk their bikes" and then with a show of arms stretched into the air that they were across safely across, they headed on their way.

They are posting their blog and anticipating your comments. If you have trouble logging in or posting comments below this post, fire them an email: cycle4hope@gmail.com or post on their Facebooks. See Monday's Grand Rapids Press, Region section and Tuesday's Holland Sentinel for story coverage. From all the teenagers, "stay tuned to our journey! And, thanks for the encouragement."

Post your comments for us to read right here on the blog...

Today we begin our 400 mile journey to raise the funds for the India orphanage vehicle. Please follow our daily blog as we post stories and photos from our journey. Click below our posts to leave us comments. We would love to hear from our followers---blog readers.

Thanks your contributions! Thanks for believing that not only can we bicycle the 400 miles but we can raise the $16,000. 100% of all donations go to the purchase of the school vehicle. Each of the team riders is responsible for their nominal rider's fee that covers the cost of the bike trip. All riders were expected to raise donations and sponsorships toward the purchase the orphanage vehicle. See the right side bar as to how you can donate via World Hope International. On Tuesday, we will give you an update on just how much has been contributed to date.

Rider Send Off -- Tuesday July 21, 6:30 - 7:00 am

Bring your friends, have a cup of coffee, meet the team of four riders, --Barrett, Abby, AJ and Ben-- riding to Mackinac City and, send the off on the 400 mile bicycle trip next Tuesday morning, July 21 between 6:30 – 7:00 am.

Veldheer's Tulip Gardens & Farm, Hwy 31 and Quincy St. Holland

For the children of the leper colony orphanage in Rajnandgoan, India we have raised over $6,000 so far. We would like to raise the remaining $11,000 for these kids and reach our goal of $16,000 for the school transportation vehicle before the end of our bike trip July 26--2009! It seems impossible yet remember…

“ I’m only 15 years old but I have a huge passion to make a difference in other people’s lives.”

"I believe God can do anything! Do you?"

I’m only 15 years old but...

... I have a huge passion to make a difference in other people’s lives. After hearing from my Dad about a children’s home in Rajnandgoan, India that was in need of a new vehicle for transportation, I began to wonder how I could help to meet their need. They currently have an old 1961 Willy’s jeep that is breaking down almost every day. Repairs are costly and time consuming. The children need the van to safely travel to school every day.

While praying for an answer, God immediately gave me an idea. God told me, “get on your bike and ride somewhere far and raise the money for these kids in India”. The school vehicle/van will cost $16,000 US dollars.

Together with my Dad, I am organizing a bike ride to make a difference—Ride Across Michigan--RAM. On JULY 21, I will be leaving Holland along with three other riders peddling 400 miles to Mackinaw City. This journey will test us physically and spiritually as we ride to raise the money. This will be a great time for devotions and sharing about my personal Jesus and His love for others. World Hope International—Hope for Children--- World Hope International will be partnering with me to manage the money and purchase the van for the orphanage.

Would you join me in PRAYER because without it our goal is impossible? You can commit to praying for our whole riding team as we raise the funds and ride. This crazy idea I have was born of God and only He can imagine what can really happen with your PRAYER support. Please mark your calendars for JULY 21 – 26 and PRAY for our safety.