Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Steve on the radio in Pella, Iowa
Steve was on the radio again this past Monday, on KCWN. We don't have a copy of the audio yet, bet here are some pictures from the interview:
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Who's Who Spotlight Series: Pinch HItter
As you have followed along this blog, you probably already have gotten a sense of who Steve is and the drive behind why he rides. But he will be the first to tell you that a ride like this is not just about the rider- in fact, this ride wouldn't be possible without an entire team of ASJ supporters. The "Just Ride Who's Who" series will periodically highlight just these folks, the people behind the story that are really making it all happen.
Today's "Who's Who" Spotlight: "Pinch Hitter"
A.K.A (Also known as): Pete Schnebele
Random Facts about Pete:
- Born and raised in the Seattle area
- Has 4 kids, and 9 wonderful grandkids
- Will be celebrating his 67th birthday while doing this ride
How he got involved in Steve's Just Ride:
Pete is a fellow church members at Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in Kirkland, WA. This past spring, when he heard that Ste had plans to bike across county to benefit ASJ, he said “Gee, that sounds like something I’d be interested in doing.” And without even a twist of the arm, Steve had a pinch hitter to join the ride, at just about the point that it seemed that Montana would go on forever. Pete joined Steve in Billings, MT and has been a wonderful addition to the Just Ride team.
Why he got involved:
Pete’s passion for adventure, runs as deep as his faith. And he didn’t hesitate a bit when given an opportunity to do a ride that was for a worthy cause. And in his own words, ASJ certainly fit the bill for a solid organization.” Pete’s was even further inspired when ASJ co-founder Kurt Ver Beek came and spoke at his church about the amazing work they were doing in Honduras.
The ride has also given Pete a chance to see a part of the U.S. he had never seen before. And he hasn’t been disappointed by the scenery or the people, both of which are at the top of his list of highlights on this ride. “If you want to really experience a part of a country,” Pete said, “there is no better way by bike.”
Keep following the blog and watch for the third installment of the Just Ride Who's Who Series.
To read the Previous Spotlight: "The Folks", click here
Today's "Who's Who" Spotlight: "Pinch Hitter"
A.K.A (Also known as): Pete Schnebele
Random Facts about Pete:
- Born and raised in the Seattle area
- Has 4 kids, and 9 wonderful grandkids
- Will be celebrating his 67th birthday while doing this ride
How he got involved in Steve's Just Ride:
Pete is a fellow church members at Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in Kirkland, WA. This past spring, when he heard that Ste had plans to bike across county to benefit ASJ, he said “Gee, that sounds like something I’d be interested in doing.” And without even a twist of the arm, Steve had a pinch hitter to join the ride, at just about the point that it seemed that Montana would go on forever. Pete joined Steve in Billings, MT and has been a wonderful addition to the Just Ride team.
Why he got involved:
Pete’s passion for adventure, runs as deep as his faith. And he didn’t hesitate a bit when given an opportunity to do a ride that was for a worthy cause. And in his own words, ASJ certainly fit the bill for a solid organization.” Pete’s was even further inspired when ASJ co-founder Kurt Ver Beek came and spoke at his church about the amazing work they were doing in Honduras.
The ride has also given Pete a chance to see a part of the U.S. he had never seen before. And he hasn’t been disappointed by the scenery or the people, both of which are at the top of his list of highlights on this ride. “If you want to really experience a part of a country,” Pete said, “there is no better way by bike.”
Keep following the blog and watch for the third installment of the Just Ride Who's Who Series.
To read the Previous Spotlight: "The Folks", click here
Monday, July 19, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Day 26- Rest Day in Sheldon, Iowa
Today is a day of reminder: a day of rest. I am truly aware of something that I do too infrequently back home and that is to take the time from an increasingly busy life to rest and rejuvenate the soul. And, besides, my legs (and other parts of me) are not wanting to ride. I think I'll listen to them if I want to be able to continue this pace we've set for ourselves.
We have been told that the heat index is about 110 today. My understanding is that the heat index is a combination of the actual temperature (86 degrees F) with the humidity (which is some enormous percentage-- moreso than this Seattlite is used to) to give a more accurate idea of how hot and muggy it actually is.
The night before last and last night I got to see something I haven't seen since I was a kid: lightning bugs. They turn on and off and float and hover in front of me at dusk in some peaceful rhythm that only they understand but with which I am elated. And, in the heat of the afternoon, I get to hear another childhood memory revisited, the buzzing sound of cicadas (locusts) high in the trees above me. As a child, this sound had always been the true indicator to me of a hot and sticky day, above and beyond anything a "heat index" could tell.
We woke to a great breakfast of fresh fruit, cereal and juice, served up by our host Bonnie Van de Brake, and then headed into town to tend to some errands prior to my radio interview with KIWA radio and newspaper interview with Iowa Information. It is so fun to be able to share the good news about AJS and its work in Honduras and how we have been touched and humbled by this journey we've been on.
After an incredible lunch (notice me still talking about food), again, served by our gracious host, Bonnie, we actually snacked at a local bakery we'd been told about in downtown Sheldon, the Prairie Queen Bakery. This bakery is not only overflowing with great baked goods but our guide, Cleo (who happens to know the Van de Brakes quite well), and, the bakery's owner offered us free baked energy bars and a heaping portion of kindness and hospitality. We posed for photos with them and had a real blast.
They were eager to know of AJS and our mission and wholeheartedly supported us in this cause. I am truly humbled, honored and emotional over such moments as I am rarely far from the thoughts and feelings of the cancer I endured a few years back and the blessing that it is to be of service now in even the smallest of ways, on a bicycle.
And, my overflowing gratitude to our incredible hosts, Bonnie and Grant Van de Brake can never be fully expressed. You are dear, dear friends to take in these two vagabonds on a bicycle journey for Christ. Please know that you will always have a special place in my heart. Blessings, much love and peace to you always.
We have been told that the heat index is about 110 today. My understanding is that the heat index is a combination of the actual temperature (86 degrees F) with the humidity (which is some enormous percentage-- moreso than this Seattlite is used to) to give a more accurate idea of how hot and muggy it actually is.
The night before last and last night I got to see something I haven't seen since I was a kid: lightning bugs. They turn on and off and float and hover in front of me at dusk in some peaceful rhythm that only they understand but with which I am elated. And, in the heat of the afternoon, I get to hear another childhood memory revisited, the buzzing sound of cicadas (locusts) high in the trees above me. As a child, this sound had always been the true indicator to me of a hot and sticky day, above and beyond anything a "heat index" could tell.
We woke to a great breakfast of fresh fruit, cereal and juice, served up by our host Bonnie Van de Brake, and then headed into town to tend to some errands prior to my radio interview with KIWA radio and newspaper interview with Iowa Information. It is so fun to be able to share the good news about AJS and its work in Honduras and how we have been touched and humbled by this journey we've been on.
After an incredible lunch (notice me still talking about food), again, served by our gracious host, Bonnie, we actually snacked at a local bakery we'd been told about in downtown Sheldon, the Prairie Queen Bakery. This bakery is not only overflowing with great baked goods but our guide, Cleo (who happens to know the Van de Brakes quite well), and, the bakery's owner offered us free baked energy bars and a heaping portion of kindness and hospitality. We posed for photos with them and had a real blast.
They were eager to know of AJS and our mission and wholeheartedly supported us in this cause. I am truly humbled, honored and emotional over such moments as I am rarely far from the thoughts and feelings of the cancer I endured a few years back and the blessing that it is to be of service now in even the smallest of ways, on a bicycle.
And, my overflowing gratitude to our incredible hosts, Bonnie and Grant Van de Brake can never be fully expressed. You are dear, dear friends to take in these two vagabonds on a bicycle journey for Christ. Please know that you will always have a special place in my heart. Blessings, much love and peace to you always.
Steve's Interview on KIWA Radio
On Wednesday, Steve was interviewed on KIWA radio in Sheldon, Iowa. He talked about the many challenges he and Pete have faced on the ride so far, the passion for justice that motivates them, and shared a message of inspiration encouraging all listeners to find ways to promote justice locally and globally.
You can listen to Steve's interview by clicking on the link below:
http://www.ajs-us.org/Steveontheradio.mp3
Thanks, Steve, for being a great advocate for AJS and for justice!
You can listen to Steve's interview by clicking on the link below:
http://www.ajs-us.org/Steveontheradio.mp3
Thanks, Steve, for being a great advocate for AJS and for justice!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Words of Thanks for Steve from the Staff Here in Honduras
Deisy, Edward, Claudia, and Orbelina polished up their English (and Virginia used some new video editing skills) to send this message to Steve, on behalf of all 50 staff people here at Asociación para una Sociedad más Justa and the thousands of people they serve. Thank you Steve! (and Pete, Pollie, Mark, and Diane!!!!!)
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Day 26; Day of Rest- Comments on Social Justice
I have spent many days and weeks now on a bicycle riding on all kinds of terrain, through all sorts of weather and a variety of traffic and road conditions. I have had plenty of "alone" time on the road to think about my connection to the people of Honduras, why I am doing this ride and what "social justice" means to me. I have met the elderly, mothers, young men, children and the sick in both the U.S. and Honduras. Everyone has their story. And, these stories must be heard.
This bicycle journey has raised a few issues for me and while I am keenly aware that we are on a mission for AJS and ASJ, I think that discussing the ride today with Kiley Seligman, a staff writer for Iowa Information in Sheldon, Iowa, helped me to better process and hopefully articulate these thoughts.
One thing is certain, my sensitivity to social injustice has clearly risen. Here are just a few examples of social justice concerns I have come across:
Day 18: On our bike ride from Gillette, WY to Newcastle, WY we stopped at Polly’s Pub & Grub in Upton, Wyoming. We made a big fuss here back in 2007 when I was on my bicycle ride from Seattle to Washington, D.C. and my wife Pollie and I took photos out front and we got to meet the owner, Polly, who gave my Pollie a bright pink Polly’s Pub & Grub baseball cap, a bunch of bumper stickers and posed with us for pictures.
This morning though, Mom and Dad had been waiting for Pete and I for quite awhile and were a little worried about our late arrival until we explained our dawdling at the West Texas Trail Museum and how the weather had beaten us up a bit. Spaghetti and meat sauce, extra slices of garlic bread and some corn and we were fully loaded and ready to hit the road again. On the way out though, I had a conversation with Polly about the “for sale” sign I saw posted in her window. Having worked in restaurants much of my adult life I know how hard the work can be so I naively suggested that to Polly as the likely reason for her selling the business.
“Oh no. That’s not it,” she said. “I had a brain tumor that the doctors found a while back and they said that it was benign and treated it with some injections. Apparently, the tumor is back and I’m going to have to have some surgery to take care of it. But I have to sell the business first.”
In my feeble way, of encouragement I mentioned to her that I am a stage IV cancer survivor and how Dad has survived cancer twice in life. And, I mentioned that I would ask all of you reading this blog to pray for Polly of Polly’s Pub & Grub in Upton, Wyoming-- for her healing-- and, the ability to keep her business rather than have to give it up in order to heal.
While I pedal on the rest of the day, I can’t help thinking of Polly and the people of Honduras who struggle against different but powerful forces every day. Where is their justice?
Day 21: Today was a blistering day in the heat: 96 degrees F. and all we could think of as we pedaled from Rapid City to Kadoka, South Dakota through the Badlands was water and sunscreen. Water, even in an insulated water bottle, quickly warms to body temperature not more than a few miles down the road from where we filled it. Yet, I think of how I have water here, even warm water, and how it is clean and how it keeps me alive. I cannot say the same for the kids at the Hogar Tierra Santa orphanage in Villa San Antonio, Honduras near Comayagua or how our friends Arturo and Jolie who have hosted us in Tegucigalpa regularly go for stints of 30 or 40 days until water is delivered to them.
What do I really know of these things? I will meet up with Mom and Dad in the RV somewhere up on the road ahead, sit in the shade and guzzle down clean, cool water; as much as I want to fill up on. I will take a hot shower later this evening and let it spill all over me for as long as my sore muscles demand. Social justice?
And, when we finally arrive in Kadoka, South Dakota, we speak with our hosts, Pastor Gary and his wife, Ruth, at the First Presbyterian Church where they have agreed to let us put up our tents, use the bathrooms and park the RV with electrical hook up. When we discuss the work of AJS and why we are doing the bike ride, Pastor Gary comments on the work his church is doing with youth going in to help in the local Indian reservations. The reservation land in this region encompasses three counties. The Lakota Sioux is the tribe he and the youth serve. The tribe has an 81% unemployment rate. And, these three counties are the poorest counties in the entire U.S.
We had visited the Battle of the Little Bighorn national park earlier in the week, the site of "Custer's Last Stand" and the notion of the Indian "way of life" was expressed in great detail in the land, the rivers, in the air and in the blood of those who fought to preserve these things. I can't get over 81% unemployment and the poorest three counties in the U.S. And, this has been considered sacred land. These statistics are how we measure wholeness or capability or success in the modern era. Certainly, by modern measure we know that justice is lacking here-- and who is fighting for social justice on the reservations today?
I think a lot of the words I have spoken and written in my journal on this trip: "Your courage, your hope, your ability to make a difference is available to you. Your opportunity to serve exists. If you choose to be courageous."
I have chosen to make a tiny dent in the battle against social injustice and I am well aware that bicycling to Grand Rapids for AJS and ASJ is just the beginning. I pray that all of you make your own special dent in the charge against oppression, corruption and the demeaning of the poor and less powerful. God bless...
This bicycle journey has raised a few issues for me and while I am keenly aware that we are on a mission for AJS and ASJ, I think that discussing the ride today with Kiley Seligman, a staff writer for Iowa Information in Sheldon, Iowa, helped me to better process and hopefully articulate these thoughts.
One thing is certain, my sensitivity to social injustice has clearly risen. Here are just a few examples of social justice concerns I have come across:
Day 18: On our bike ride from Gillette, WY to Newcastle, WY we stopped at Polly’s Pub & Grub in Upton, Wyoming. We made a big fuss here back in 2007 when I was on my bicycle ride from Seattle to Washington, D.C. and my wife Pollie and I took photos out front and we got to meet the owner, Polly, who gave my Pollie a bright pink Polly’s Pub & Grub baseball cap, a bunch of bumper stickers and posed with us for pictures.
This morning though, Mom and Dad had been waiting for Pete and I for quite awhile and were a little worried about our late arrival until we explained our dawdling at the West Texas Trail Museum and how the weather had beaten us up a bit. Spaghetti and meat sauce, extra slices of garlic bread and some corn and we were fully loaded and ready to hit the road again. On the way out though, I had a conversation with Polly about the “for sale” sign I saw posted in her window. Having worked in restaurants much of my adult life I know how hard the work can be so I naively suggested that to Polly as the likely reason for her selling the business.
“Oh no. That’s not it,” she said. “I had a brain tumor that the doctors found a while back and they said that it was benign and treated it with some injections. Apparently, the tumor is back and I’m going to have to have some surgery to take care of it. But I have to sell the business first.”
In my feeble way, of encouragement I mentioned to her that I am a stage IV cancer survivor and how Dad has survived cancer twice in life. And, I mentioned that I would ask all of you reading this blog to pray for Polly of Polly’s Pub & Grub in Upton, Wyoming-- for her healing-- and, the ability to keep her business rather than have to give it up in order to heal.
While I pedal on the rest of the day, I can’t help thinking of Polly and the people of Honduras who struggle against different but powerful forces every day. Where is their justice?
Day 21: Today was a blistering day in the heat: 96 degrees F. and all we could think of as we pedaled from Rapid City to Kadoka, South Dakota through the Badlands was water and sunscreen. Water, even in an insulated water bottle, quickly warms to body temperature not more than a few miles down the road from where we filled it. Yet, I think of how I have water here, even warm water, and how it is clean and how it keeps me alive. I cannot say the same for the kids at the Hogar Tierra Santa orphanage in Villa San Antonio, Honduras near Comayagua or how our friends Arturo and Jolie who have hosted us in Tegucigalpa regularly go for stints of 30 or 40 days until water is delivered to them.
What do I really know of these things? I will meet up with Mom and Dad in the RV somewhere up on the road ahead, sit in the shade and guzzle down clean, cool water; as much as I want to fill up on. I will take a hot shower later this evening and let it spill all over me for as long as my sore muscles demand. Social justice?
And, when we finally arrive in Kadoka, South Dakota, we speak with our hosts, Pastor Gary and his wife, Ruth, at the First Presbyterian Church where they have agreed to let us put up our tents, use the bathrooms and park the RV with electrical hook up. When we discuss the work of AJS and why we are doing the bike ride, Pastor Gary comments on the work his church is doing with youth going in to help in the local Indian reservations. The reservation land in this region encompasses three counties. The Lakota Sioux is the tribe he and the youth serve. The tribe has an 81% unemployment rate. And, these three counties are the poorest counties in the entire U.S.
We had visited the Battle of the Little Bighorn national park earlier in the week, the site of "Custer's Last Stand" and the notion of the Indian "way of life" was expressed in great detail in the land, the rivers, in the air and in the blood of those who fought to preserve these things. I can't get over 81% unemployment and the poorest three counties in the U.S. And, this has been considered sacred land. These statistics are how we measure wholeness or capability or success in the modern era. Certainly, by modern measure we know that justice is lacking here-- and who is fighting for social justice on the reservations today?
I think a lot of the words I have spoken and written in my journal on this trip: "Your courage, your hope, your ability to make a difference is available to you. Your opportunity to serve exists. If you choose to be courageous."
I have chosen to make a tiny dent in the battle against social injustice and I am well aware that bicycling to Grand Rapids for AJS and ASJ is just the beginning. I pray that all of you make your own special dent in the charge against oppression, corruption and the demeaning of the poor and less powerful. God bless...
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