Signing the Lease

21W161 Hill Ave. Glen Ellyn, IL

April 20, 2010 I went for a two hour prayer walk. While praying the old saying, "Don't put off until tomorrow, what you can do today," kept coming to mind. I still had questions, insurance policies for the new place weren't in place yet. Finalizing the insurance was scheduled for the next day. I'm sure as the days went by I could think of just one more reason to procrastinate just one more day. Instead I went and signed the lease, effective today.

"When I get rich I will buy you a bicycle shop," my twin brother began telling me over 30 years ago when we were teenagers. After signing the lease the first person I called was my brother. "I got a bicycle store for my birthday. Is it all you thought it would be when you first began telling me you'd buy me a shop?" We just laughed.

Zoning Board

On April 19, 2010 we went before the DuPage County zoning board with the list of what we want to use the property for. This includes all of HWI's ministries: trike prototyping, teaching, preparing kits to ship, bicycle repair, three one-day bicycle sales a year open to the public (dates not determined yet) amidst a two page list of detailed activities.

My thought was, "God You can still slam this door shut." Well instead it flew open. Everything we requested to use the property for was approved. Now God has done His part, it is time to do my part.

The Hurdles to HWI Headquarters

The Hurdles to HWI Headquarters

On 4/18/10 as I was praying I pondered these quotes from Alexander Maclaren

“Life is not worth living, unless it is the vestibule to a life beyond.”

“Men do not really possess themselves unless they yield themselves to Jesus Christ. He that loveth his life shall lose it, and he that loseth himself, in glad surrender of himself to his Saviour, he and only he is truly lord and owner of his own soul. And to such an one shall be given rewards beyond hope and beyond measure-and, as the crown of all, the blessed possession of Christ, and in it the full, true, eternal possession of himself, glorified and changed into the image of the Lord who loved him and gave Himself for him.”

I read these words the day before going to the DuPage zoning board for approval of doing what we planned to do at our new headquarters. If everything went well at the zoning board then I was left to follow the Lord in utter abandonment, and take a leap of faith. Yes the board had already agreed, but in many ways going forward was counter cultural. God was asking us to trust Him and He would provide the resources. For me, and many of us in America it is much easier to trust Him for the resources when we've already secured the resources.

This adventure of taking the next step by faith is a huge spiritual learning curve. I am finding out right now how painful, stretching, brutal and demanding obedience is. There are the sins of commission (You shall not do something) or the sin of omission (Knowing what I am to do and not doing it). I was in a place of choosing obedience to God or choosing the sin of omission. Outwardly I wouldn't have been judged for the sin of omission, but I knew I would forfeit future blessings from God. I also knew HWI would never become all God wants it to be without obedience from the director and its leaders.

I prayed that night, "At a time when I’d like to hide under a rock and not move forward, You oh Lord are asking me to trust You. I can relate to Joshua being asked to go around Jericho and blow the trumpet and shout, but I feel my shout is hampered by laryngitis and the trumpet I’m blowing is broken. Yes, Lord, I am one of little faith. Forgive me, and expand my faith in You, and may I walk forth allowing the credentials of my life to shine through Your Shikinah Glory on my countenance."

From Home to HWI's New Headquarters

April 15, 2010

Thank you for supporting HWI and being such a crucial part of our team. Without your support we couldn’t continue moving forward in this exciting ministry.

“Serve the LORD with fear,
and rejoice with trembling” (Ps. 2:11).

Back on January 1, 2010 I wrote in my prayer diary, “As we move forward with HWI, may we do so according to Psalms 2:11.” We at HWI understand this verse more clearly today than we did only four months ago.

We are on the verge of making a big leap. As I wrote in our last newsletter, we are in need of finding space to call our headquarters. We have long ago outgrown my home as HWI’s headquarters. Back in October 2009, while driving I spotted a building for lease about three miles from my home at 21W161 Hill Ave., Glen Ellyn, IL. I pulled into the parking lot and wondered, “What am I thinking?” I left aware that I must go home and pray. A month later I went back to show a friend and I also wrote the phone number down. Again I realized I must go home and pray some more. At the beginning of April our accountant said, “I know of a place nearby that is renting space.” I blurted, “oh, I know that space too.” He looked at me as if to say, how do you know what space I’m talking about. He went to inquire about the space, yes the same space I thought, but couldn’t find anyone. So, he brought the contact information back and suggested I call and inquire.

By this point, I had prayed 400 hours since October. So, I mustered my courage and made the call. Before I finished introducing myself the gal at the other end of the line said, “Alice, this is Jane. Do you remember me?” I said, “Yes, but since I was making a cold call I didn’t expect to know the person at the other end.” Within thirty minutes, three of our HWI team went to see the property, meet the owner, and to let him know we were proceeding with faith. The owner is a strong Christian, the cousin of Jim Elliot, one of the five missionaries martyred back in the 1950’s in Ecuador.

Wiesbrook School's Bicycle Recycle April 17

April 17, 2010

Thanks and congratulations to everyone at Wiesbrook School for making the bicycle recycle a huge success. The efforts of students, staff, PTA members, and community members were evident by the 68 bicycles donated, HWI largest single collection.

“How is your collection going?” asked a volunteer who was collecting bicycles at the Wheaton Recycle Event. “Very well, and how is your collection going?” I asked. He said, “Well we have about the same number of bicycles as you do.” What he saw was only a small number of what we had already collected. Two loads had already been delivered to HWI.

HWI had a great time meeting some of the Wiesbrook School community. Henry was our bicycle helper. He transported bikes from cars to our loading truck. He was eager to help and his help made our load lighter. Also we want to say thanks to Mrs. S. who received a HWI flyer and passed it on to the committee who organized this service event.

We will fix up the bicycles and then send them out. Some of the bicycles will go to refugees and immigrants through World Relief, DuPage. Other bicycles will go to International students studying at Wheaton College. In June a group of about 13-20 leaders from the Eastern European area will come and study at Wheaton College for six weeks. They use HWI bikes while here. The bicycles enrich their experience in America by giving them the freedom to ride around and see our beautiful city and neighboring areas. You can learn more at www.hiswheels.org.

I challenge each of you to look for a HWI bicycle. You can identify it by the HWI sticker. Wherever I go I look for HWI bikes. While walking to church on Easter Sunday I saw a refugee riding a HWI bike and on the way home I saw a young girl riding one of our bikes. I’ve spotted bikes at the library, College of DuPage, Wheaton College, the Post Office, in the Wheaton Parade and many other places. When you see a HWI bike remind yourself that your efforts make a difference in our community. Your giving has put a smile on someone’s face by making it a little easier for them to get to school, to work, to the library or to do errands. For many this is the first bike they have ever owned.

HWI is grateful for your willingness to give of your time and effort. It allows us to keep getting bicycles out to those in need. My initial goal back in 2003 was to give away 100 bicycles in my lifetime. In 2005 I was challenged to start HWI. Over the last five years through HWI we have given away more than 1,000 bicycles in the USA. An additional 100 were bought in seven African countries. Students, educators, pastors, health and aids workers are using them. I encourage each of you to dream big dreams of how you can use your passions and interests to help others. It is a blessing to give.

Trike Pilot Program

Check out our latest HWI video. Mission accomplished in North Africa. Our Pilot Trike Building Project.

Trike Pilot Project072809 T0x1e0ab90 tmp NCKA1s

Source: www.youtube.com

Battles Bicycles Beliefs God has a Plan

*Battles * Bicycles * Beliefs

God Has A Plan

BATTLES

At the age of thirty, only days prior to a 1,000-mile bicycle trip, I came down with an invisible, debilitating, flu-like illness. Months later it was diagnosed as Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS), which doctors say feels like having AIDS. My symptoms included severe pain and a persistent low-grade fever. When standing still, my heart rate would rapidly rise from 80 to 160 beats per minute. As a nurse I knew medicine did not have answers for CFIDS. This left me devastated. My health was now unreliable and resulted in the inability to continue practicing nursing. Of course, I was depressed and scared. “Why me?” I wondered. Does my life still have a purpose? I realized it does, but I also realized I had a choice: “Will I become bitter and give up, or will I embrace God’s new vision for my life?”

Still fiercely battling CFIDS eight years later, I recognized my sense of security and identity were both physically and emotionally crushed. I doubted whether God really had a plan for me. I was about to sell my bicycle, but a friend said, “You can’t sell your bicycle. Selling your bicycle means you are giving up hope.” I knew she was right. I kept my bicycle. That decision became a turning point in how I adapted to my condition. II Corinthians 12:9 came alive to me: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

Unexpectedly, I lost my private disability income for CFIDS three years later. Again, I became despondent and questioned whether God really had a plan for my life. Yet, God pursued me. He wanted me to invite John and Carolyn Lutembeka, a Tanzanian couple, over for dinner. Three months later I finally obeyed. From the Lutembekas I learned $100 would buy a bicycle, allowing a pastor in Tanzania to travel to five villages. On average the distance between villages can be a six-hour walk.

BICYCLES

My bicycling passions, buried since the onset of CFIDS, rushed to mind when the Lutembekas shared their need. They were unaware that cycling was woven into the matrix of my life. Before I was diagnosed with CFIDS I had bicycled 10,000 miles on four continents. I rode from “Coast to Coast” across America twice, around England and Scotland, in Zimbabwe, Africa, and through Israel. Late that evening, after the Lutembekas left, God challenged me to provide them with $1,200 in order to buy bicycles for pastors in Tanzania. Due to my financial crisis I wrestled with God’s challenge. He won, but I did too. Within a week of giving $1,200 I received $1,500 unexpectedly from three different sources. This sparked a new vision for my life.

Out of this vision His Wheels International (HWI) was born. HWI is a not-for-profit Christian bicycle service organization. We provide bicycles and bicycle expertise to individuals and Christian organizations throughout the world. We have also designed and built hand-pedaled three-wheelers, which we affectionately call trikes. The trikes are for those disabled by landmines, polio or birth deformities. We are assisting and encouraging nationals to build trikes locally. In Wheaton, Illinois, volunteers refurbish, repair, and recycle bicycles for those in need. HWI’s purpose is to mobilize God’s work worldwide. HWI has provided bicycles for individuals from six continents and our trikes are on five continents.

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (Jeremiah 29:11). When CFIDS struck, I wondered whether God still had a plan for me. Now I know the answer to, “Why me?” I am living life for His glorious purpose. Through HWI I have gone further around the world than I could ever have imagined before I was stricken.

BELIEF

Do you struggle to believe God has a purpose for your life? The truth is God already has a plan for you. I have found this to be true in my life, especially in such things as the ministry of HWI. You can find it to be true in your life, too. Accepting Jesus Christ as Savior was my first step to finding God’s plan and it can be yours too.

The Bible says that we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, and who He made us to be (Romans 3:23). But there is hope. If we humble ourselves and admit we are sinners, He will forgive us and give us a brand new start (1 John 1:9).

If you have questions, please contact me.

Alice Teisan

His Wheels International

P.O Box 423

Wheaton, IL 60187-0423

www.hiswheels.org

alice@hiswheels.org

@2009 Alice Teisan, Bible references @NIV.