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TESTIMONIES |
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By JEREMEY Livingston |
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12
December HeartBeat
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TRIP TO RHODY DAYS RALLY where to start.
WOW, This weekend, Grant and I had the opportunity to ride up to Oregon. As we prepared for our adventure, we had little understanding of what was in store for us. Traveling north, we rode through beautiful mountains, hills, and miles of ocean coastline. Along the way, we had the opportunity to meet and pray with individuals in the community. For example, while we were in Arcata, at breakfast, we met a wonderful lady named Karen. She shared the trials and pains of her life and how she looked to herβ higher powerβ for support. This gave Grant a fantastic opportunity to share the Gospel message with her, and we prayed for her.
This year for Rhody Days, my wife, Terri, was down in Southern Oregon leading a regional CMA Womenβ s Conference. I decided it was the perfect time to invite any men who wanted to come to our house for a menβ s ministry weekend for the Rhody Days Rally. God blessed me, and I had over 20 men on bikes camped and sleeping on every inch of space I had in the house, yard, and in our RV. The fellowship, learning from each other, fun, and ministry opportunities abounded throughout
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the weekend. Below is a quick perspective of a couple of men who donβ t have rally experience but decided to ride up for the weekend. When you step out and go to wherever God asks you to go, I believe He rewards us with blessings that wonβ t be forgotten.
Doug South
Doug and Terri South oversee the West Region as
National Evangelist.
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We arrived on Thursday at the home of the National Evangelist, Doug South, and were greeted by members from Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Northern California, and Idaho. It was a whirlwind of greetings and hugs( I promise, they were manly hugs). Doug set the tone for the weekend by introducing us to axe-throwing. After a few lessons and practice throws, we got the hang of it. Friday, our president Phil arrived; he had worked the day before and drove through the night. Everyone could see he was tired, but his determination was apparent. Nothing was going to stop him from attending, not even 481.9 miles.
Before the rally started, Doug treated us to an action-packed day. We rode to several waterfalls. To see these incredible creations of God, we had to hike a fair distance. After the falls, Doug took us on a fast and spirited ride through the countryside and town of Florence. The road offered fast straightaways and breakneck twisties; we definitely felt our pulses race. In the evening, we had the opportunity to learn from Doug about effectively evangelizing our fellow bikers, the value of doing Bike Blessings, and how it can lead people to Christ.
Saturday morning, I woke with excitement. I was in the house at 4:45 am, sipping coffee and eagerly waiting for everyone to wake up. After breakfast, we mounted our bikes and rode into town. At the first stop, we met with the local CMA chapter, Heaven Bound Riders. They set up their trailer at the local car show. It was fun to meet and see members of another chapterβ s work in the community. I found myself learning new things that I plan on sharing with my chapter.
Afterwards, we headed to the rally, and we took a pass through the main drag. Curious onlookers watched us as our 20 bikes roared down the street. As I glanced around, I saw many different back patches and clubs walking around. At first, it was somewhat intimidating. But my intimida-