The bikerchurch has been growing alot. We expected christian bikers but ended up getting regular bikers. We're meeting at the Pueblo Christian Activity Center.

Life seems to zoom by without the courtesy of letting me take a breath. Here are a few things that have been going on:

dry out the bouncehouses from severe rain at Sturgis, but now it has become an annual event created by Dad. I hope it goes well as it did last year.

On my way to our next event, just about a week after Sturgis. We call it Fowler Fun Day. Last year we did it just to (continued in next message)...

Sturgis, 2010

According to my dad, this year was one of the most productive we've had in Sturgis, South Dakota.  I know now how fun it was and wish I could replay it a few times.  But I wasn't looking forward to it at the beginning.

Coming up to it I learned the Florida team couldn't come up this year, meaning we would all have to work longer and harder.  But We got new help from more local sources.

The drive was long but the scenery and people I was with made it not so bad.  We had to stop breifly for rain, but besides that it was problem-free.

We stayed at the Rapid City church for a few days, about a half-hour out of Sturgis.  Then we moved the RV to the Sturgis City Park, where we stayed for the rest of the week.

Setup was harder than usual it seemed, but we persevered through it.

The week stayed fairly busy.  We had crafts, bouncehouses, Bible lessons, free stuff, a store, food, drinks, coloring contests, and more.  We introduced our 24-foot slide for the first time in Sturgis as well.

 

We got media coverage from the newspaper again this year.

During the shows we had our regular activities plus a few more:  puppets, memory verses, games, characters, lessons, songs, prizes, candy, the list goes on.  We had several days when the kids shows were packed and had a special guest, Pro Street Racer Rich Vreeland, come to the show, sign autographs and take pictures with the kids on his bike.  We had Josh fill in for Dad for a whole show and he did very well.  And almost every day after the show, we would have a wet down for the kids (or, in other words, we threw water baloons at the kids and dumped a bucket of water on top of them).  In addition, we had a contest.  Whoever had done the most Bible lessons or brought the most friends at the end of the week would get one of two ipods!  That really got kids to do the lessons.

I spent much of my time printing and editing the show schedule, filling water baloons, taking photos and being soundman for the shows.  Breakfast, lunch and dinner were all provided by Mrs. Tami and the other kitchen helpers.  In the evening we would go to the church to eat, take showers and rest before the next day.  There was one day I got to go to Mount Rushmore.  We walked around and watched the evening show.  It was fun, but took a toll on our legs.

I noticed throughout the week what a difference a large camera made.  Last year with my point-and-shoot, no one asked me for photos.  This year, I had at least seven photo/video requests, from helpers and random people.  I'm still trying to get them all sent out!

As always, about Thursday the week seemed like it was too short.  Things were wrapping up.  Saturday was coming, and with it the end of Sturgis Bikeweek.

Then it did come.  We had picked up some additional help by now, so teardown wasn't so hard.  Dad had to preach at the Sturgis church on Sunday, so we went there in the morning and then spent the night at the Rapid City church.  After that it was a long and depressing drive home, broken only by the gas stops and a stop at Cabella's.

Now, once again, Sturgis seems to be just a memory of good times and friends.  I remember all the kids we helped, all the new friends we made, all the work that was done.

And when I think of those things, I can't wait until next year.

By the way, we stopped at Cabella's for a little while. Had fun looking at things and taking pictures.

The rain has cleared up now as we drive Southward in the Eastern plains of Colorado which are very repetetive. It makes for slow and tedious driving.

In extremely heavy rain right now as we drive down the road. We might be in the eye of the storm now. Hope we don't have to stop.

On the road again. It's been a long trip so far. Had bad rain earlier, but it cleared up. Will try to get a Sturgis summary written soon. Really tired...

Phone Testing

Okay, I think I worked out the glitches for now.  These posts will have to be short and I don't think they will have titles, but it will still be nice to say a little bit throughout the day.

Phoneblog

Please bear with me while I try to set up blogging on my phone;  there are a few things to work out, but when I'm done I hope it will bring you more up-to-date information.  Thanks!

Midway

I only have a little bit to type.  It is Thursday and I have not been able to post anything as I had predicted until now with my mom's computer.  It has been really busy all week, even though I have not had to watch the bounce houses as much this year as I have in previous years.  Usually, the daily routine is to wake up, take care of the dogs, eat a short breakfast, and start setting up.  First I help set up the sound equipment, then I upload the mp3 player with all the songs needed for the day if I missed any before, Then I print out the show schedule, then probably fill up water balloons and regular balloons, depending on what we need.  I have a little time then to check on the dogs or help with the bounce houses before lunch.  Then it's the kids show and I have to be sound man for that.  In all of this I find a little time to take photos, but not much.

We are all feeling tired but still go on and are finishing strong.  Dad bought a new mp3 player for the shows and it is under my care.  Had Rich Vreeland here, a pro street racer champion or something like that.  He came to the show and signed autographs and talked in the show.  It was really special and he had to skip an important event for it, but he said it was worth it.  I took photos of the kids with him yesterday.  It was fun.

Went to Mt. Rushmore, wish I could post photos.  Will try to post them on my photoshop account.

I'd love to keep going, but I have to work now.  Sorry for any misspellings, thanks for reading!

Almost Started

It is the last day before any of the real work begins.  I am kind of nervous since we set up tomorrow and then keep working for a week.  Today, Josh will be working on scripts and materials to get ready for eight days of kids shows.  Unlike the previous four years in the City Park, Josh will be hosting the kids shows instead of Dad.  I think he is nervous, too, but I know he can do it.

Mom and Mrs. Tami plan on doing some more shopping, as it will probably be the last time they can do so without already being worn out from work for a week.

I'm not sure what Dad will be doing; he has lots of friends here, so he might be getting some fun time in before Bikeweek.

Although the Florida team is not coming this year, we have gained much more help from nearby places in Colorado and other states.  It won't be as easy or as fun (since I had lots of friends around my age in that group), but we will get by.  The team as a whole has changed, getting new people in and others not being able to come this year.  It will be interesting to see how this year turns out because it is so different from previous years.  And yet it somehow all feels the same...

Well, as of tomorrow we will be staying at Sturgis City Park, so I will not have internet connection and will not be able to blog.  Just keep in mind that at 5 AM the working days start, so please keep us in prayer.  There is a lot to do, but I hope we keep the main goal in our minds the whole time--doing what God has called us to do, no matter what it is or how crazy it gets.

Getting Ready for Sturgis

I'd like to say that after two busy months, things are slowing down. But I only got a week to rest a bit, then we had to leave for Sturgis in South Dakota.

It took a while, but everyone got packed and we loaded the trailers. We Made arrangements for people to take care of our livestock.  We picked up Emily Duke, a volunteer from Florida, at the Denver airport.  Since my birthday was the day before we left, we had a small party, then went to bed to get ready for the next day.  Yesterday we got up at 5 AM.  Mr. Bulldog and Mrs. Tami were at our house almost before the sun was up, along with another friend, Mr. Richie.  We set off with our little RV carrying a small trailer, our large truck carrying a large trailer, and I rode with Mr. Richie in his car.
 
It was a very long trip.  There wasn't much to look at for a while, either because we were in Eastern Colorado, which is pretty much just flat plain after flat plane.  But I had fun talking and was able to relax for a while.
 
We had a bad storm just before crossing into South Dakota that forced us to stop at a Walmart until it passed.  Luckily, we were only delayed a half hour or so.
 
We finished the rest of the trip without trouble.  We got to the South Dakota church and got parked.  Most of us took our sleeping bags and mattresses into some of the church's rooms and slept there after a good dinner.
 
Today was pretty relaxed.  There is not much of a schedule and we have a day to get ready for the actual beginning of Sturgis.  I expect good things from this year and think we will have lots of kids.  It will be hard to keep going n our hardest event for a week, but I know it will be worth it.

Spring Sumarry

It's been a really busy year.  The Biker Church took up lots of time, whether it was working at the shop or passing out fliers or doing an event, We have kept busy!

Well, since I never got around to it earlier, I'll have to make a simple summary of the Spring and part of Summer.

It wasn't long after the Sunrise Service that we had an "open house" at the biker church.  We set up a table and made food for everyone who wanted to come.  We had one of the helpers play music on a guitar and sing live.  We set up two bounce houses for the kids to play in as well.  After everyone had eaten for a while, Dad started a program.  We had bunches of prizes to give away and had several challenges.  In one we put a motorcycle part in a bag and whoever guessed it first got a T-shirt.  Another one was something that seems easy but is surprisingly difficult.  The five cracker challenge.  Five crackers.  One minute.  No water.  Nobody finished, but we gave the closest winner another T-shirt.

After that we had an event at the Pueblo Steel Mill.  It was difficult as always to get things going, but we did and had many kids come to bounce in the bounce houses and take some of the free books.  It wasn't a huge event, so we weren't overflowing with kids.  It was a calm but productive event, and I was glad to help with it.  In addition, at the end we gave away some prizes including an ipod.

Throughout the months we had several events at the Harley Davidson Outpost dealership, one of which was ruined by bad winds.  A few minutes after we had set up, the wind started and we had to tear down.  The other times were usually more successful, although slow.

We had many meetings, discussing upcoming events and long term goals of the ministry.

  Then the Summer came, and with it a never-ending schedule.  June was busy, but July was totally booked!  County Fair, VBS and other activities filled the month.  In the last month, things slowed down just a bit, allowing us to prepare for Sturgis.

Sunrise Service

The day after the Easter bash, we had another event. Again, for this we were repuired to get up really early--but this time it was not because of extensive set-up and tear-down, but beacause the service Dad was going to preach would begin at six AM sharp!

The first Bikerchurch event was schedualed for today. Now you might think that onesuch event would make us all excited, but instead we were just fighting to stay awake! I don't really remember much until we got to the church.

When we did arrive, it was just us Hubbells. It was very cold outside, so we decided to wait awhile for everyone else to come. Then it was time to set up with only the light of the cars that we left on. It was miserable. We were tired and cold (and I was already feeling hungry), but we ignored those facts. We got out sound equipment and cords and some of the lightweight stuff, but sooner or later, we had to get out the chairs. Pueblo Cristian Center, the church we attend when not doing an event or service of our own, had lended us stacks and stacks of chairs. I had a lingering suspition we would not need them all as I helped set up row after row in front of the makeshift stage that was really a large trailer. We set up a few tables indoors for coffee and muffins as well.

When at last we got going, several cars and motorcycles had pulled up. We had a better turnout than we thought we would. In fact, we filled up most the chairs!

Finally, when it looked like no one else was coming, we started the memorial service. It was much like the one in Roscoe's: Dad read a submitted name and a helper rung the bell. It was very sober and quiet. This was preceded by the local VFW holding flags and saluting.

After a while this was wrapped up and we all went to the front of the bike shop for the bike blessing. There Dad Talked a while and then prayed. When that was over, he handed out stickers. It may not sound like much, but it meant a lot to the bikers.

Tear down went as usual—hard, but done, eventually. We were all glad to go home, especially knowing we got the job done surprisingly well.

Note:

Sorry it took so long to get this information out--it took quite a while to write!  Hope it was worth the wait!

--Spidey

The Easter Bash

Faintly I became aware that the alarm was ringing. I drowsily turned it off and looked at my watch. It was Three in the morning. Then I remembered that this was the big day!

The rest of the family was getting up as well. We had been waiting for the day of the Easter Bash for so long!

We had gotten almost everything ready the day before. Everyone got into the pickup with our trailer on the back and Dad drove us away from our house and toward Bessemer Park.

I wished the heat had worked in the truck. Since Easter was as early as it was, I was very cold. Spring was coming, but not soon enough to get that sunless morning warm.

When we got to the park, we had help waiting for us. We started to unload supplies immediately. As I worked, I noticed the sun slowly rising, giving us some gray light at first but then strengthening. The morning warmed up as well, which all of us were glad for.

Setup continued far after regular daylight came. And as it did, more help came as well. There was much to unload—tables, chairs, food, bounce houses, countless bins, games, toys, candy, and of course a boatload of Easter eggs.

Soon I noticed kids and their parents arriving. Though we had barely gotten most of the stuff out of the trailers (much less organized it), people were crowding around. A line formed behind the sign up table and we had to keep telling people that they wold have to wait another hour before nine AM came and we would open. Nonetheless, before we opened we had a line stretching from one end of the park to the neighboring baseball field!

Then things finally came together. The bounce houses were up, the booths were operable, the cooks had the pancake breakfast ready—so we opened.

The people at the sign-up booth were swamped as people scrambled to get signed in. They would get a card for the carnival games and a bag for the two o'clock Eater Egg Hunt. In addition, the first two hundred kids to get signed in received a free Easter Bash T-shirt! It was not long at all before every one of those shirts were given away.

They took advantage of the free pancake breakfast. The line for that became long as well. The cooks handed their customers pancakes and syrup and butter. They really went the whole nine yards. Then the people would sit down at benches under the large pavilion or set up mini picnics.

When they were done with breakfast, they would take their kids over to the carnival to play one of the many various games—we had bingo, horse shoe tossing, putt putt golf, and a whole lot of other games, most of which consisted of throwing something at a target. The kids would receive a toy or treat of some sort, then have their arcade game card punched to show that they had gotten a prize at that game.

Another thing they could do was go to the bounce houses. At first we had a few technical difficulties with the electrical supply (the park had some apparently weak circuit breakers) but with the help of a generator and some electricians, we had the bounce houses working fine.

Large lines formed as people gathered around the large inflatables. We had several people monitoring the kids as they jumped or slid or climbed around. Even with shifts where some kids would come out and others would come in for a few minutes, the whole place was swamped and buzzing with activity.

The kids could choose from a variety of inflatables. We had a “normal” bounce house, just an inflated floor with walls. Then we had a five-in-one, with an obstacle course and slide. In addition, we had a huge twenty-four foot slide, towering above the others.

A few hours passed. Just as breakfast was put away the cooks started on lunch. As I walked around, taking photos of kids playing or helpers helping, I noticed that the sign up line had finally completely disappeared!

Then came the lunch rush.

The line came back at the sign-in table and an even larger line formed in front of the lunch tables. The cooks were serving hamburgers and hot dogs with some sides. I thought I would have to wait in the extensive line, so I tried letting the lunch rush pass through for a little while.

When I came back a little bit later, the line was only bigger than before! I was telling a helper how surprised I was when he said I could just get my lunch from the back, skipping the line completely—since I was a helper. Relieved, I went over and got some lunch. I couldn't help being sorry for all those people in the long line.

I saw the fire truck had finally come! Kids came over to observe the over sized vehicle. Some firemen came out and brought a huge hose and hooked it up to a hydrant. Then the kids shot water up into the air with a fireman guiding his hands. Unsurprisingly, another line sprang up.

When kids were not doing one of our activities, they played around in the playground at one corner of the park. At one point it seemed like twenty kids had piled up on top of a merry-go-round and had one kid spinning them around and around! I was amazed at how many kids had arrived!

A make shift stage had been set up and there were live puppet shows and music going on all day. Kids crowded around to see what was going on and had a good time.

Just when things seemed to be calming down, Dad got up on the stage and said that a jalapeño eating contest was about to begin! I ran over immediately, but people were already taking all the good spots. In the middle were a couple of tables placed end to end with bowls of jalapeños stacked on top. A select few people pushed their ways through the thick crowd upon hearing their names called. They lined up on different sides of the tables and got ready.

In the meantime, I was getting desperate for a good angle to take pictures from. Dad had climbed down from the stage, so it was empty. I climbed on top of it and, looking down, I could see what was happening with only a few people obstructing some of my view.

Dad said a few more words, explaining the rules: they would have one minute to eat as many jalapeños as they could. It was easily said, but not so much done.

Finally, it began! They began wolfing the small green peppers down as fast as they could.

About six had signed up and showed up, give or take one or two. And I saw all of their faces turn red.

Time grew short. Soon they had twenty seconds left, then fifteen, then ten. Though everyone could feel the intense burn, they shoveled the jalapeños in their mouths harder than ever.

Then, in one last buzz of excitement, it suddenly ended. Dad and his judges counted out how many each person ate. However, there was a problem. One person still had several jalapeños stuck in her mouth! She stood there, looking like she was about to puke. Everyone backed away a bit as she spit them out on the grass in a disgusting mess!

The peppers were counted and it turned out we had a tie! It was time for sudden death. More bowls of peppers were brought out and the timer was reset. Then it started again!

The competition was more fierce than before, even after suffering through the last round. It was almost painful just watching them!

Somehow they made it to the end, and, after one more count, we had a winner! I imagine he was very proud of himself, yet sorry for what he did at the same time. After a challenge like that—without water or bread, or anything to help—his mouth was probably still stinging.

Gradually, as the excitement died down, the crowd did as well. But it was not long at all before another challenge arrived! One that was centered more around the smaller kids, and therefore also less painful—but way more gross...

Dad got up on the stage to announce that the Happy Meal Smoothie contest was about to begin. He explained the rules as he proceeded to get the game ready. There were a few happy meals behind him, and he pulled them out. In front of him he had a blender, into which he stuffed the happy meal's contents—burger, fries, and soda. Then he closed the lid over the appetite-curdling mixture and turned on the blender.

The ingredients took a while to come together. They formed a light brown mixture with little chunks in the middle. (Gag!) When the “smoothie” had been thoroughly pulverized, Dad slowly poured some into four cups, one for each of the contestants who by now wished they had not signed up.

Dad explained that they had one minute to drink as much of their smoothie as they could. Whoever had chocked down the most at the end of the minute or hopefully finished the whole drink first would win! We also had a bag in case anyone decided it was too much for them.

With a few more apprehensive moments, the contest began! I'd like to say that all the kids went bottoms up, but with their best efforts they had a very hard time drinking it. One kid dropped out only a few second in! The other three kept going. It sometimes seemed as though they spilled more than they drank, but they were trying hard. I doubt I could have done better!

There was no sudden death at the end of this one. By the time we had ended the minute and measured how much was left in each cup (no, I don't think anyone got through the whole thing), we had determined a winner! He triumphantly paraded around a while before the excitement once again faded away.

I was just beginning to review a few of the pictures I had captured with my camera when Dad announced that the easter egg hunt would begin shortly! I was on my feet again, camera ready. I saw people scattering eggs, so I went over there to get ahead of the action.

The first round was to be for the very little kids under six years. People formed a thick wall up at the line, all anticipating the eggs that were not really hidden but dispersed in the grass.

As I waited I listened to Dad giving the crowd some prep talk. Finally, he loudly shouted, “go!” What I saw next I was glad to have caught on video.

The “wall” of people dissolved slightly but remained mostly solid as everyone rushed forward all at once. I found myself involuntarily backing up as the crowd got closer. With the intense stampede of people running, jumping, pushing, crawling, doing whatever it took to move forward, I thought they were running for gold!

Now I say people because there were a lot of parents coming with their children. Actually, it seemed more like the parents were picking up all the eggs while carrying their kids! Just one of the flaws to be improved upon next year.

It took several minutes to spread the eggs. It took several seconds to pick them up.

In fact, I think that most the eggs were gone after half a minute and the rest disappeared in the next thirty seconds!

After this fierce competition ended, eggs were scattered in the baseball field. While that was happening, Dad took advantage of the large crowd to give away several more prizes and after that to send his message.

He told the large crowd about why we celebrate Easter and why it even exists. Then he led them in prayer. After all this work, we had results: Dad, on a stage in front of a huge mass of children, leading them to Christ through prayer. Makes all the effort worth it, every time.

Already many kids were looking at the eggs. Many of them were missing the message that Dad was preaching. Then something really bad happened: with a communication mistake, the egg hunt for the older kids opened while Dad was still talking! It was a jumble of kids leaving or staying for a little longer. They rushed for the eggs and by the time I got there, most of them were gone. One other thing to make sure that doesn't happen next year...

We had one or two smaller egg hunts, and Dad talked a little longer up on the stage. He gave away bunches of prizes.

Eventually, the excitement cooled down. Kids recycled their eggs in large boxes we set up. Most people were happy. But, of course, there are always people who didn't like it or had a bad experience. Some kids never got eggs. Somebody missed the lunch. Someone never got this or that, or had a bad time because something didn't work right. On and on the list goes—you can never have an event that goes absolutely perfect. We listened and discussed these and other problems at a meeting we had several days later. But for now, it was time to close.

Everyone was tired and many of the helpers had left. But with some hard work, we who were left finished up in an hour or two.

Finally, the last item was loaded up. Exhausted and hungry, we stopped at a pancake house to eat. I had heard many complaints and was wondering: did we do everything the best we could? Could we have done it better?

 

But then the waiter who was serving us came over.  She told us that she had been at the bash, and that she and her kids had a wonderful time.  She went on to tell us how much she appreciated the effort and how honored she was to speak with us!  By the time she stopped talking, we all felt encouraged.

 

That was all I needed to be absolutely sure--we had done a great job.  And we couldn't have done it without the help of God.

Easter Bash Prep

Several months ago Dad had a great idea, one that came to reality at the beginning of April. It was called the Easter Bash.

That was November. Time passed quickly as Dad, Mom and the Vicories called various businesses and people for sponsorship. Sometimes they would give money, sometimes prizes, sometimes coupons and the like.

Mom got busy trying to buy easter eggs, but she was having some trouble. She found a huge lot, but they weren't made very well. Yes, they were cheap, but the product itself was, too. In fact, only a few colors were available, like green, yellow and maybe a couple others. Understandably, Mom kept looking.

A few days later, she was excited and told everyone what she had found. Better quality eggs for less money and in more colors! That sounded a lot better, so we ordered seven thousand.

Now for stuffing the eggs. The job would not be easy—seven thousand eggs is a lot! But Mrs. Tami came to the rescue by asking her church youth group if they would help. So one evening, we got all the eggs, candy and other goodies together at the church. We set up different colors on different tables and put candy on each of the tables. Then, when the youth came, we had them form a circle around the table and walk around it, grabbing candy and stuffing it into the eggs as they went along, and tossing the eggs into a big box at one end of the table.

At first, everyone thought it would take quite a while. But with so many people helping at the same time, we got it all done in an hour! None of us thought it would go so fast!

However, one of the biggest obstacles we came in contact with was the Pueblo Parks Department. They had us do all sorts of things before they were satisfied with what we were doing or something. They had us hire an electrical contractor to inspect all of our cords and electrical equipment. Mom spent hundreds of dollars on new extension cords, just in case. We couldn't have this go wrong!

Eventually, we did get inspected and we passed. But the Parks Department had more hoops ready for us to jump through. Dad was going to be on the radio, but Parks said we couldn't do that. So Dad had hundreds and hundreds of fliers printed out with the basic information and some of our biggest sponsors' names on it (however, Parks had us put there entire logo on it).

Once in a while Dad would have our family, the Vicories and a few other helpers patrol the Bessemer neighborhood and pass out fliers. We knocked on doors and rang bells and told people about the event until our voices started hurting. Streets seemed to be covered in our bright green fliers, and whenever I saw that I always felt good. Dad was really pushing to get this event well known. And it was happening.

We had a meeting for all the volunteers. They got together (over dinner, of course) and Dad got everybody informed about what we were doing and gave them times and dates. Then a group leader would tell their group what they would be doing. The turnout was great and we had very many people helping. We had people cooking, continuously picking up trash off the ground, watching bounce houses, helping kids cross streets safely, security and even people just walking around and finding places they could help for a while or talking to people. We even had an egg-hiding team! Oh yeah, and a photographer, which happened to be me. I was really excited to have photography as my only job. In previous events I had to do the jobs of head bounce house referee, sound man, and photographer. This was a great load off my back.

It started getting crazy. Dad was in Pueblo every day, going to a meeting, working on a project, doing some of the countless things it would take to get the event going.

Finally, Friday, April 2nd hit. The day before the big Easter Bash. The usual insider volunteers—Hubbells, Vicories, and the other few—went to the park and scoured every inch of the grass for trash and bottles and pretty much anything that shouldn't have been there. We did this for two or three hours and by the time we got done my eyes felt sore.

We went home. We would rest for a while. Then we would have to get up a three AM and get to the park to set up for the big day. Everyone was nervous. I didn't know if I could get all the pictures I needed or help all that I could. I asked Dad about it, and he asked me:

“Will you do your best?”

“Yes,” I replied.

“Then that's good enough,” he told me.

And suddenly, I wasn't so nervous anymore. I knew then that with God's help, I could do this. And that was good enough for me.

The Biker Curch

After several years of dreaming and several months of working, a certain dream of Dad's is finally coming to be realized: a church for bikers in Pueblo, where anyone could come in and be accepted, no matter what background.

He had been talking about it for quite a while and had been attempting to get step one completed, which was finding a location. He had looked at several locations, but the prices of renting out a building as just too high. Dad didn't know what to do.

One day, he was out looking for a good place, when he came upon a small bike shop called Steel City Bikeworks. The owner, an energetic man named Carl, met him. Dad told him what he was trying to do, and immediately Carl's eyes lit up. Carl had become Christian a few years ago and was praying that someone like Dad would come around—someone who wanted to start a biker church. Then, “coincidentally,” Dad came along.

I remember Dad telling me how Carl had eagerly showed him around the place. There was a large area behind the building with a few sheds, perfect for what Dad was doing, and much more land to the side, which Carl was trying grow grass on—another thing that would work for Dad because th grass would be good for kids in case he wanted to do any kids events as well.

The shop itself was great. In the front was a nice room filled with motorcycles on display and several smaller rooms branching out of it. Behind that room was a lobby with a kitchen and TV and several chairs, a generally good place to hang out. After that room came a huge garage where Carl and his employees work on motorcycles, quite essential for a bike shop.

Dad was very pleased and Carl was, too. The location was set, so it was time for the next step.

Over the next few months, we did small, various things. We had a small meeting to announce that we were starting a church there. We helped clean up the place by removing junk from the yard. One day we designated to painting parts of the building, on both the interior and the exterior. All this and more we did, trying to help out however we could. I think this will all help to build a strong biker church, just as Dad feels God wants him to do.

Day 3

We woke up to another hard day of work. We got prepared for the day the same way we had the day earlier (except that we paced our bags and checked out of the hotel) and left.

At the Expo Center, we did not start the setup immediatly. Instead, we took our supplies to the other end of the bulding and go ready there. It was Sunday, so we were going to do a biker church service.

When things got going, Dad played on the guitar while everybody else sang hymns. There were not many people in attendance, but that did not stop us. After singing, another pastor got up to the stage and preached for a while. There wasn't a huge alter call, there wasn't a huge response, but I think we still made a difference.

But then, of course, we resumed with our kidz zone activities. We turned on the bounce house, gave out books and coffee and did all the other stuff we're good at. It was a long day (especially since we skipped lunch!), but not a bad one. Again we were swamped with kids a few minutes after opening and we were busy the whole day. Hard as it was, I think everybody there was glad to help.

The kids show started agan at two PM. I was almost always doing some job in between taking videos and taking soundman responsabilities. It was pretty hard, but I did both jobs okay. We mimicked the last show, but focused on a different lesson and had a few different puppets.

We had a bigger response at the end of this show than at the last one, I think. However, it didn't really matter how big of a respnse it was--in fact, Dad says he doesn't even need a response. We once were in Sturgis doing the typical outreach years ago, and we only had two kids ever attend the shows that year, and only one decided to live for Jesus. Dad was frustrated for a while, but then he realised that all the time and effort was worth that one child. Further than that, he realised that it didn't even matter if he got anyone to listen to him--what matters is that he is doing what he feels God wants him to do.

Thankfully, though, we did have several kids come to Jesus that day. And after giving out some more prizes, we ended the show. We turned on the bounce house and kepit it on until thechildren slowly left, one by one. When they were all gone, we began the rather lengthy process of loading everything into the trailer. It was a big evening, but we finally got everything together after much work. Finall, long after it had become dark, we drove the truck away and headed home.

Though we were all tired, we all felt very good about the work done and the seeds planted. And though it is always a very hard and stressful event, I must say that I cannot wait until next year.

Day 2

We got up early the next morning, grabbed a quick breackfast and headed out again to the Expo Center. We set everything back up like we had the day before and opened. Almost instantly we were swamped with kids. Twenty minutes after opening the bouncehouse I had to start a line because so many kids were there that if I let them all in, they could overweigh the boncehouse!

It Remained that way almost all day. Luckily, I had two other helpers and we took on shifts, so I got a break every two hours or so. When I did have a break, I usually spent it taking pictures or videos. Everyone was very busy. Children were taking bibles, getting temporary tattoos and eating popcorn--just what we let them do at most of the other events we go to. Lines were stacking up, and thought that meant we had to work harder, we were glad, knowing that our work in the Lord was not in vain.

Eventually, it became time for the kids show, so we closed down the bounchouse and the kids gathered around the stage area we had set up. We did the usual show, in which we had a giant full body puppet sing and dance with a song, we had Dad do a few other, smaller puppets, a memory verse, and a few other things, then closed with a salvation prayer. The kids responded well.

After that we gave out some prizes and ended the show. For a few more hours we left the bounce houses up, then closed them down and got everything ready for the night. We then left and went back to the motel to get some rest before the next big day.

Colorado Springs Super Show & Swap--Setup

After a large break from the biker events, we have started on another one. This one is fairly close to home, being that it takes place in the Phil Long Expo Center, located in Colorado Springs.

We prepared for a few days, stocking up on books and candy, moving around bins and getting the trailer hooked onto our truck. Then, very early in the morning when it was still dark, we got up, threw our bags in the trailer and drove away. Since the heat in the truck wasn't doing too well on that cold winter morning, I wasn't able to feel my toes for quite a while.

We rendezvoused with the Vicories, our faithful helpers, at a gas station before heading out into the thick Colorado Springs traffic.

The drive was long but beautiful. When we got to the Phil Long Center we had to wait for a while before the gates were opened. When they did, we got in and quickly unloaded our supplies--tables, coffee supplies, stage equipment, puppets, chairs, candy, a popcorn maker, candy, and much, much more. We were all glad when more helpers came.

After unloading everything we put up the tables, the stage and the bouncehouse. We set everything up as if we were going to let kids in, but today was only a setup day. Our work done, we left for lunch and to rest and enjoy the remainder of the day.

The Trip Home

We stayed at our friends' house a while. It would be a long drive, so Dad wanted a bit of rest before heading out on the 2,000 mile trip in our tiny RV.
After a few days, we knew we had to go. We said our goodbye's, then left. Dad drove long and hard. When we stopped for gas, we made it a very brief pause. Long after dark Dad drove, putting in some amazing hours every day. In two days we stopped in Texas, most of the way through the trip. That was record time! We spent the night at another friend's house (Dad knows a lot of people), before leaving for the last day of driving. It almost seemed like we might never be home again. But finally, after another several hundred miles, I saw a familiar road. We drove down a certain familiar curve and I saw, just over a hill, a certain familiar house.
We had made it back home.
Our trip is over, but we'll be on another soon. And though we had a hard time getting here and there, Setting up tents, and trying to get the Gospel out, I know without a doubt that it was worth it all.