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Published: June 18th 2018
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Today I woke up with a sore back from not sleeping well on my thermarest but grateful that I did have to wake up and squeeze into my shams. Kristi and I are on lunch duty today so I get to hang with her and support the team on the road!
Team Ellies actually all slept together in the library/study and actually had it pretty easy this morning since the lovely ladies at Victory we’re cooking for us and went above & beyond for us. I helped slice up bread and Sharon offered to cook us french toast—to which of course we couldn’t say no to! They also had fruit, yogurt, egg & sausage casserole, veggie egg casserole, OJ, & coffee! It was all delicious and all of our bellies were happy when we left the tables this morning. Amanda talked about possibly doing reflections with the team in the evenings once or twice a week and Sharon shared with us & prayed over us. She was in tears and said something along the lines of:
“I hope this experience makes y’all hungry to see a change in the world. The more you give, the more you get
back. Thank you for being obedient and spending 2 months of your time to make such a difference!” In her prayer, these words stood out to me “I pray for health, MIGHTY strength, and a hedge of protection over all of them.” Powerful woman living out her calling to serve others through food and hospitality!
I then helped finish cleaning up breakfast as the rider got all their stuff ready for their 41 mile ride day. The ladies joined us for route meeting (&cheer!), took pictures with us, prayed over us, and gave many words of encouragement and blessing as we rolled out. I grabbed one of the pastor’s wife’s books, and extra cup of coffee, and bonus hugs before we hit the road.
Kristi & I enjoyed driving the back country roads while listening to country and sharing about our different lives for the word “shine” or “lighthouse” and the symbolism of lighthouses—beacons of light in the darkness for safety and guidance, help bring us home—and the necessity of light & darkness and how light shines brighter in the darkness. It was a great conversation and a spot on devotion from the pastor’s wife’s book.
We
drove on in search of the perfect lunch spot—and find it did we! Though the roads were quite desolate, we came upon the Waccamaw Wildlife Refuge at the perfect mileage for lunch. We spoke with Brenda and she graciously offered us the space in the back by the lake that offered shade & picnic tables. There was also a porch with rocking chairs & a nice yard for frisbee passing. Talk about the perfect lunch spot! They even had free post cards!
The riders started showing up as we were chalking and they helped us unload lunch, pick music, & munch away at left over chipotle burritos. I tossed a frisbee around for a while to the point that my gray tee shirt was now a new shade of gray. After 30 minutes or so of that, I walked down the trail and met some of the others on the dock where we had a little mini photo shoot. It was so fun & the pictures came out great! I love catching people in their candid happiness moments ?
We then had to pack up lunch and roll on towards the host. Since it was a short day,
the first group arrived shortly after we did and helped us unload bikes & bags. We were staying at the youth center and enjoyed some nice hose showers in the back instead of waiting for the shuttle to the loca rec center. I ate some lasagna outside while Kristi fixed her bike and despite my attempts, everyone took naps instead of painting the trailer. It’s really starting to get to me that we don’t have it painted yet—we need to show off our personality!
So instead I walked downtown with Amanda, Aiden, & Jana where we got some delicious iced lattes & went into an outdoor store. It was a win-win for al of us bc I was able to find a phone case wallet to attach to the back of my phone case & Chaco-Seeking Cropsey was able to (finally!) score a pair of the perfect chacos for $70! Score! Jana walked off to make a phone call to a friend and the rest of us walked along the river and spoke about our identity in things we care about (queer, religion, feminism) and how they affect our social circles and comfortability. It was a nice convo and
walk—I always enjoy these real moments on B&B.
Back the host, we welcome me Ryan back from Ohio and got ready for dinner at the at Bonfire—one of the church members owns it & offered to give us all dinner on house! ? We shared some pitchers & good convos before heading outside to sit on the dock and continue chatting. We worked our way back to the host, avoiding the leaders as they continued on a phone call with death stares every time we walked by ? A group of us played Code Names—thanks to Carly’s purchase last night at Walmart! The leaders came home for a hot second and ran away again to a bar as we continued to play our game.
As we got more tired, we and the game got more weird, only to be amplified by the return of the leaders. Ryan was picking me and Sarah and others up/holding us in choke holds/upside down and some weird giggling and such ensued. It got a bit too much to handle as I exclaimed “what did y’all drink gasoline?!” and later exclaim “I just want my bed & my Pooh bear & sleep!” Jana
was concerned thinking I was on the verge of a breakdown, but really I was just tired and over it and the thought of a real bed sounded mighty fine!
Settling for my thermarest in the corner of a room behind Mikey’s chair, I cuddled up grateful for some rest and ready for a good ride tomorrow!
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