Once-in-a-lifetime day – By Scott Smothers
Mark Benjamin met trip leader Ryan Iafigliola last year at Koinonia Farms outside of Americus, Ga. Mark joined the trip for a few days in 2009. This year he gathered a team from his church made up of Mark, Scott Smothers and James Berstein. Read what Scott had to say about the adventure…(and then check out this video where Scott admits his true motivation for joining.)
What an awesome experience. The ride was great and we really enjoyed having our church (Asbury United Methodist Church) host the gang last night. It was a blessing for everyone who was there.
The riders and Kelli are just some of the best people you could ever meet. I am not sure how we ended up joining on one of the longest ride days, but is was a ton of fun/exhausting. The cool thing is to see the vision of Millard Fuller in action.
A big thanks to Chris Cosby’s sister who provided delicious smoothies for us at our first rest stop in Pittsboro, N.C.
Then during another rest stop the owner of local restaurant (Dixie III in Asheboro, N.C.) saw us all resting in the parking lot, hot and tired and invited us in. Not only did they provide much needed air conditioning, but they gave everyone anything they wanted off the menu. They were wonderful people who recognized a good cause and just wanted to help out. When I left the ride tonight with my family we went back by and had dinner and saw the owner and his wife again. They want to help next year. It was a fantastic experience.
Good luck the rest of the way!
Scott, Mark and James are hoping to raise enough money to fund a home in El Salvador. Then they plan to travel there to help build it. Click here to help them accomplish that goal!
**Missed the first mail stop? Your next shot is Americus, Ga., where The Fuller Center is headquartered. Send your mail to arrive when we arrive there on July 24.
c/o The Fuller Center for Housing
701 S. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd
Americus, GA 31709
*Flat Tire Count*
Current riders: Aaron Alaman – 2 Brett Safran – 8 Chris Cosby – 0 Ivan Cunningham – 0 Kyle Halat – 8 Ryan Iafigliola – 7 Susan Pratt – 0 Mark Benjamin – 0 James Berstein – 0 Scott Smothers – 0 |
Previous Riders: Abby – 4 Jonny – 0 Leah – 2 Melissa – 3 Nate – Still collecting data Olivia – 0 Sarah – 2 Tom – 2 Tony – 0 |
One Comment
Cute socks Mark!