06

May HeartBeat

By CARY Klatt

wanted to share a little of how great our God is. I am Cary Klatt from Iowa. My wife, Pam, and I joined CMA in 1989. Some of my history is that my folks took me to church, but it didn’ t mean anything to me. With that mindset, it was very easy to sin. That led to many issues in my life.

In 1968, my folks bought me a Sears and Roebuck mini-bike, then sold that and moved up to a Montgomery Ward Riverside 50 cc two-stroke motorcycle. In 1971, my dad and Grandfather bought me a new 1971 CL Honda 100. Many of the neighbor kids had some type of two-wheeler, and so we had a lot of fun as kids.

We moved from Minnesota to Iowa, and I finished high school there. There were a lot of kids riding bikes in Iowa, so I rode a lot in my younger years, which instilled a love of bikes in me. After getting married, Pam and I rode a little, but I kind of lost interest in riding. I’ m telling you this because I can see that God had a plan for us long before I had a clue. He wanted to use us.

We were not going to church, but a local pastor and his wife had motorcycles, so we got acquainted with them and began riding again. It was fun to be out on the road with them. This sparked us to go to church with them, and we enjoyed it. Many times, when riding with the pastor, we would talk about joining a motorcycle gang, like a Christian group or something like that.

In 1988, we took our daughter to a church camp, and after we dropped her off, we went to our

favorite restaurant. At the restaurant, some people had patches on their backs that said something about the Christian Motorcyclists Association. It was like,“ Wow!” We visited with these folks and found out they were from a local chapter called the Marantha Riders # 712. They invited us to come and ride with them. We were going to ride with the chapter, but Pam’ s dad was struggling with lung cancer, and we could not until 1989.

In 1989, we started riding with the local CMA chapter, and they accepted us as we were, and we had great fun riding with them. The chapter rode every Saturday evening, and we spent a lot of time with these CMA’ ers. The chapter invited us to go to a CMA State Rally in Wisconsin. At that time, our region held tri-state rallies instead of each state holding its own CMA rally. The rally was at Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. The National Evangelist at the time was Dan Fitzpatrick. At one of the services, Dan said you must be born again to see the Kingdom of God( John 3:3). I thought,“ What in the world is Dan talking about!”

Dan went on to explain that we are born with a spirit that is not of God. And that spirit will not get us into a right relationship with God. So, we need a new spirit to live in us. That new Spirit can only come through Jesus, the Christ! In John 14:6( NKJV),“ Jesus said to him,‘ I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” God spoke to my heart, and I was born again at the Tri-State CMA Rally!!

That started a work in me that continues to this day. I am so thankful that God is a God of details. He gave me a love for motorcycles, which led me to a love for Jesus, and that in turn led us to share the love of God with others in the motorcycling world and with all people who do not know Jesus. God has given us the privilege of experiencing so many“ God things” in people’ s lives and in ours as well!

Pam and I were Area Reps for a couple of years, Iowa State Coordinators for many years, and now chapter officers. Pam and I are very involved in the CMA ministry, including the Sturgis Hospital Ministry, the Abate of Iowa Freedom Rally, and other Abate events. We go to local m / c events, rides, and gatherings. Also, we go to local, state, and national CMA events. I cannot believe what God has done and is doing in our lives. We are so thankful for the CMA ministry and how God has used the people of CMA to minister to us. When I think about where we would be without the Lord Jesus, I scarcely can take it in! I thank God that He saved us for His Glory! What a Great Ride! CMA

Cary and Pam Klatt are members of Marantha Riders chapter # 712 of Iowa.