Zoe says, "Welcome in, Everybody."
Readings:
Exodus 16, 2-4, 12-15, The whole community grumbled against Moses & Aaron
Psalm 78, The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Ephesians 4: 17, 20-24, You must no longer live as the Gentiles do.
John 6: 24-35, It was not Moses who gave them the bread from heaven
Ragbrai (honest, no bragging) report this Sunday. Prepare yourself.
Important Board of Directors Meeting.
Exodus observations:
What:
Exodus is a fun book and a good read. It comes after Genesis & it has three main sections.
One – the struggle between stubborn old Pharoah vs Moses & Yahweh. Pharoah loses. You can imagine the Passover had a significant impact.
Every year the USAF comes to Ragbrai not just to ride, but to help, with dropped chains like me, flat tires, injuries.
Two – the time of wandering in the Sinai desert and the covenant, that is, the 10 Commandments
Three – the coming into the Promised Land.
This all took around 40 years, and so we have stories in-between. Today’s is one of these, showing Yahweh feeding his grumbling people
USAF in action, bandaging up an injured female rider.
When written:
Toward the end of the Babylonian Captivity, around 550 before Christ
Who wrote it:
Not Moses, but people who lived centuries after this mythical character. How much of this is historical is a question. The story greatly encouraged the Jewish people enslaved in Babylon.
At the final town of the week's ride, Davenport, this year the USAF riders enter in formation, as they told me. 145 strong this year, the most ever. I remember 9-10 years ago they came with 45 riders. I would be most moved to watch them enter 'in formation.'
Our selection:
An amusing account of the Jewish people grumbling against Moses. They say they would prefer to be back in Egypt than in this infernal desert where they are wandering in the heat & sand. We can sympathize with them in these days of 100’s. They did not have a/c. So Yahweh feeds them. See how.
After entering in formation, they take a group foto.
Want to get a people jolt, see their craziness, see their goodness? Ride Ragbrai
For those of you not familiar with the Ragbrai event, it is a Sunday to Saturday bike ride across Iowa from west to east, from the Missouri River to the Mississippi, a distance of ca. 500 miles. 15 thousand are registered, another 15 thousand ride unregistered. So it is crowded everywhere.
The little Iowa villages have the most beautiful, shady central squares/parks. Ideal for a nap, a snack, a mid-day break
Three highlights for me.
First of all, a lot of families ride together. Sometimes they have dad pulling two attached bikes. One time I ride up behind this woman who has a carrier on her front wheel. I suspect from behind that she probably has a little kid in the carrier. As I come up beside her I greet her and ask her if she has room for one more in her carrier. I look at the carrier again and cannot believe my eyes. She has 3 little kids in the carrier and they are having a fun time playing and talking to people like me.
Later in the afternoon I ride up on her again. She and the kids probably passed me walking through one of the achingly pretty little Iowa towns, maybe while I was taking a nap under one of the huge shade trees. This time the kids are all asleep on each other.
Every need is catered to.
Another thing I found touching and amusing was the presence of dogs in the ride. For instance, one guy had a medium sized, black maybe shepherd-lab mix. He pulled a little cart with one rear wheel. The dog, which was well trained, sat on the cart and accepted homage from everybody. Later I saw the guy climbing a high hill and the dog was trotting along side.
I think my favorite dog was a little white dog that looked like Aviana, all white, but was a little smaller. This little doggie belonged to a young woman. Where did she have the dog? On her back, front paws almost up to her shoulders, back paws splayed out on her lower back. She was wearing like a small back pack with holes in the bottom. This little dog let you know it was there. I was barking constantly, first to the left, then to the right.
University of Iowa campus, Iowa City, the yard of the medical students' fraternity house. We covered their yard. We were 55 in our group and ca. 30 tents. My tent, the green one with the towel on top.
The final story has to do with me dropping my bike chain one afternoon. I was entering a small town and had to climb over a trestle. At the top my chain jumped off when I down shifted. Trestles seem to target me. The only other time I remember having this problem was a few years ago coming in to Wichita Falls from the Hotter N Hell.
So I turn my bike over and start to replace the chain. Almost immediately two guys ride up and offer to help.
The goodness of people. These are two special guys in beautiful blue & white bike uniforms, USAF.
All this luggage came out of that bus. It is located at Davenport, the final town and will return some of this luggage and cover the roof with standing bikes. On our way home to Ames.
There were 145 USAF riders this summer, up from 45 a few years ago, guys, girls, black, white, Hispanic. They come not just to ride, but to help riders whose chains have fallen off, who have flat tires, or who have gone down & injured themselves. They are there on Air Force time to help. I saw them everywhere and was always moved and proud.
How did I get in here? How do I get out??
So, who wants to sign up for next year? David and Dana are going. Unfortunately, I cannot accompany you. I don’t have the stamina I had even last summer. It is time for me to hang up my Ragbrai medallion.
Good Morning to Iowa.