Packing Up

I woke this morning with a really stiff upper back which I think resulted from getting cold after Sunday's ride. Well, I won't have THAT problem next Sunday.

The BikeBox arrived OK and my bike is now safely ensconced within it, together with a myriad of other items: spares, tools, carb/protein drinks, clothing, etc.  I'm desperately trying to keep it all under the airline's 32 kg single item limit.

"You're mad" is something I've heard fairly frequently over recent weeks (people are so kind!) so why am I doing this?

I first visited Burundi in March 2008 with a friend, Peter Kay, who has had links and travelled there for many years.  I'm conscious of the potential cliche in this, but it turned out to be a very significant moment in my life and much that has happened since results from that trip.

As some of you will know, I've been an active Christian most of my life and have been in church leadership at various times. However, at the time of that first visit to Burundi I had completely lost my faith and doubted the very existence of God.  Life was good, life was busy and it just squeezed faith out of the picture; what need of it did I have?

I met and talked with many Burundians who had been through the most awful experiences of war, genocide and poverty and yet they still believed in God and put their faith in Jesus for the future, praising him for the gift of each day of life.  It stopped me in my tracks, made me think and rekindled that faith I had once had.  As a result, Burundi is a special place for me and I have visited a number of times since.  It has been a privilege to work alongside my new found friends there to help them in their desire to build a better future for their beautiful country.  This bike ride is a part of that and also part of my own journey to what God has in store for me.

I'm not in any sense attempting to preach at you; I'm just telling it how it is for me.  I just thought I couldn't get on the plane tomorrow without having explained it a little.

Bye for now; I must finish packing ....

Paul