Great friends do great things for one another. We were honored to have our first “formal” GoTeam gathering at the home of Greg and Barb Kinloch in Yakima. This is what we’re hoping to do 20+ times across the country – it was a perfect evening. About 10 of their great friends gathered to have some dessert (I think anyone would come for Barb’s oatmeal cookies!) and lemonade and to hear about the plight of oral learners. Many heard for the first time last night that many unreached people groups cannot read and therefore need to be communicated with by using stories, songs, and dramas crafted in their mother-tongue language. Thank you, Greg and Barb – you fed us well, gave us comfortable beds and showers and a great breakfast along with a great night of new friends.

Day 4 was almost a giddy day – two big days of climbing behind us relieved a lot of stress for all of us.  Our drivers, Dave and Ben, are always concerned for our safety and we were on some narrow and winding roads in the mountains. Christian and I were feeling the pressure of getting to specific locations on time and not knowing how long it would take us to get there.  A couple of long days and then today was comparatively short – we traveled about 84 miles with only about 1,600 ft of elevation gain.  We finished by 5pm after riding through the Washington desert (did you know that Yakima and south are arid, dry desert lands with irrigation from the mountain runoff?) with temperatures around 94 degrees and needed some nice showers, rest and a good meal. Dave, Ben, Christian and I were finally able to truly enjoy an evening without much pressure and got some good bonding time in over dinner. God has blessed us with a great team and I, for one, am grateful.  More later – thanks for joining the journey.

Dessert at the Kinlochs, discussing the needs of Oral Learners.