I guess this would be one of those things that doesn’t fit in the other discussion categories, so begging the moderators’ indulgence I’ll drop it in here. I hope it is not too far out of line!
Every year, on the Wednesday that precedes the Memorial Day weekend by 10 days, several hundred bikers leave the LA area to ride across the country to the Viet Nam wall in Washington DC. Many of them, myself included, are war vets who have found the trip to have a great emotional impact and for some, genuine healing. While it is not a “Christian” event, it has a strong Christian tone and many of the chaplains who accompany the riders are genuine believers. I have been able to share the testimony of my relationship with Jesus Christ, and the general reverence of the mission somehow opens people to hear in a special way. It is wonderful to see big tough bikers kneeling with tears. Some are just coming back to abandoned faith, some are seeing Christianity in a new and compelling light. No one is really keeping score, but I firmly believe some lives are being born anew on this ten-day motorcycle odyssey.
Some of the riders are old vets who have never been to The Wall, and are so emotionally bound up they can hardly make it to where they will see the names of their friends carved in the black granite. I take lots of Kleenex, and use most of that on my own face. 45 years, with memories and emotions just below the surface- would that everyone could witness this. For me it is once again falling into the warm and loving arms of my Savior, and I love helping someone else do the same.
So, a couple things: If you ride (or want to come by car- no problem) and think you might like to be involved, everyone is invited to participate. Some ride only for a day or two, some will ride all the way. (I ride the whole thing.) For more information you can go to RFTW.org (Run For The Wall) to see the routes. There are so many bikes that they divide the group into two routes, one through the central part of the country, another dips south. Both groups arrive in Washington about the same time on the Friday before Memorial Day.
I will be on the Southern route, and would love to meet any of my new Sermon Index friends at one of the nightly stops! Leaving LA on May 16th we stop over at Phoenix, Las Cruces NM, Odessa TX, Grand Prairie TX, Monroe LA, Meridian MS, Chattanooga TN, Wytheville VA, and Salem/ Roanoke VA. We end up in Arlington, Virginia on the 25th.
If anyone is interested, post here and we’ll correspond off the forum. I participate in the discussion forum at RFTW.org as: LaiKhe67tc