Zion Lutheran hosts riders bicycling for a cause
By LINDA M. LINONIS
YOUNGSTOWN
Zion Lutheran Church provided a place to rest, refresh and relax for members of Across America Team.
The eight bicyclists started their cross-country trek June 8 from Seattle, Wash., and plan to arrive Friday in New York City. The 3,500-mile trip benefits Venture Projects, a program that supports education, food security and faith development for refugees and oppressed people in Southeast Asia. The bicyclists are accompanied by a support van with two volunteers.
The Rev. Duane Jesse, senior pastor at Zion, said the church has hosted youth and leadership groups on mission trips as they traveled through the Mahoning Valley. “People just find us,” he said of the groups that have contacted the church requesting an overnight stay. “We’re an open place,” the pastor added. The church at 3300 Canfield Road (Route 62) is located on a state highway and there’s easy access. The bicycle team travels on state routes and country roads; overnight stays are in churches.
On Tuesday night, church members provided a meal for the team and hosted members at their homes for showers. Bicycle team members also spoke at a church council meeting to explain their mission and goals.
Four members of the team reflected on their participation. They were Mark Vaccaro, 24, of Long Island, N.Y; Kate Rabago, 22, of St. Cloud, Minn.; Naomi Kolhoff, 21, Princeton, Minn.; and Jeff Mitchell, 29, of Detroit. Vaccaro is a team leader along with Dane Sink, 34, of Bend, Ore., and Jana Giles, 26, of Lubbock, Texas.
Vaccaro, who is on his second trip, said the team bicycles from 80 to 130 miles daily, Monday through Saturday. “Sunday is our day of rest,” he said. Before this first trip, he hadn’t bicycled in years but now does as a hobby. Rabago said a typical day has the bicyclists “on the road by 7 a.m. ... we get up by 5:30 a.m. with a stop for lunch. “We finish up about 4 p.m. depending ...,” she said. They ride road bicycles that cost from $1,000 or more.
Rabago, who is on her first trip but said she planned on others, said many team members train to prepare by “putting miles on their bicycles.” Kolhoff admitted she didn’t train. “It’s been OK though the first days were rough,” she said.
Each bicyclist does fundraising to finance his or her trip. Rabago said each rider raises $5,500 with $1,000 to benefit the refugees. The other funds support the tour and the stops, fod, gas and insurance involved.
All agreed team members are motivated by their Christian faith.
Mitchell said a verse from Micah 6:8, “He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?” is his inspiration.
“Faith is a huge aspect of this,” he said. “I believe it’s a platform to help people and inspire others to participate.” He continued that he saw participation in this project and others to benefit people as “acting on your faith.”
Vaccaro agreed. He said he did mission work in New York with Youth on a Mission and that was motivation to participate in such a project. “I believe this helps me grow in my faith. I am learning more about myself and about being a Christian,” he said.
“Everything I do is for Christ,” Rabago said. “Being a Christian isn’t a title but a way of life. What I am doing is for Christ’s kingdom.”
She added that being out on the road, though in the group, still allows each rider “to experience life and be alone with your thoughts.”
Vaccaro said the bicyclists build a “community among ourselves and with the people we meet.”
“I think this is something God wanted me to do,” Kolhoff said. “Meeting new friends builds a sense of community.”
Mitchell added that the trip “connects people with one another.”
Team members said being away from family and friends was difficult. But communicating by cellphone and email helped.
On the highways and country roads, the bicyclists said the biggest challenges are potholes, the weather ... heat and humidity and rain ... and some dogs who give chase. “We only stop if there’s lightning,” Vaccaro said, adding he’s bicycled through hail.
“We’ve seen how nice people can be,” Vaccaro said. “Once we were out of water and we stopped at a house and a man gave us water and ice,” he said.
When they left Tuesday, bicyclists were headed to Sarver, Pa., then moving on through Pennsylvania to Philadelphia then the culmination of the ride.
Venture Expeditions is a humanitarian nonprofit organization based in Minneapolis, Minn. It organizes adventure-themed events to raise awareness and funds for a variety of causes including injustices in Southeast Asia. Activities are long-distance running, bicycling and hiking tours. Visit www.ventureexpeditions.org.