Day-to-day in the shop

Here is a post from Grant

Bike division coordinator & HWI's first intern.

Grant in the summer at the shop

What happens in the shop day-to-day: Each morning one or more of the volunteers greet me heartily as I walk in the shop door. They almost always arrive up to an hour before me to start working on their projects. I check which bikes they are working on, put away bikes/parts that may have just been donated, and make sure our sign has been rolled out.

Sign in the Summer

The majority of the next 3 hours is taken up with helping volunteers with repairs, sorting parts/bikes, checking in with Alice, praying together, and interacting with people picking/dropping off bikes. Because there is no Internet at the shop I don’t spend much time planning new programs or connecting with other organizations that we work with. Because the weather has been very cold we haven’t had many bike heading out besides those we give to World Relief every week.

He's so special he has his own blocks

Prayer Discovery

Sometimes human interruptions are an important component of prayer. The crying needs of people are part of the Spirit’s sensitivity through prayer. Over the last two days as I’ve set aside time to pray, and have been in the midst of prayer three significant interruptions have come my way.

Through these situations I realized my heart was in prayer but I was also called to give. It is at these times that I have to marry the different components of prayer, which in these encounters required the feet of action. I didn’t seek these encounters but God knew I was available for them to come my way. They were divine encounters that touched God’s heart and the hearts of many as there was a rippling effect outwards from each person I encountered. The rippling impact was as far reaching as Tanzanian as a friend there said, “Tell Alice thank you for helping us to tell our story.”

Prayer is an attitude, that requires action, stamina, perseverance, and interaction with the Triune God. As I come to the throne of God in a posture of humility, with ears, eyes and a heart open to the Lord Jesus the Holy Spirit will uncover new things to me. My discoveries will come through the inspired and inerrant words of Holy Scripture, the leading of the Holy Spirit, the beauty of nature, the individuals that I encounter, and other tools God has creatively made to sculpt me into the child He wants me to become.

It is only in retrospect that I can see these different components of prayer. So, now as I will reach the goal of praying 8,000 hours by the end of February on my Pray 10K journey I now understand the concept of praying without ceasing. However that is only the beginning. Now I must learn to implement the components of praying without ceasing. For me as these interruptions came I was at first annoyed by the interruptions. But now I see I can only pray without ceasing if my attitude is in the right place before God when He asks me to participate in the things that are near to His heart.

As God revealed these amazing discoveries to me I also experienced how only God can fill the deepest places in my soul. Through prayer I am clothed in honor, glory, majesty, blessedness and a richness that rivals all the money in the world. Prayer has provided a thrill and joy that is more exciting than any sports venue I could ever view. It is an adventure second to none. Prayer is enveloped in a peace that passes all understanding. It provides a freedom beyond bounds leaving me in a spacious place beyond what I could ever hope for or dream of uncovering.

Mile Markers-From a trike dream to a reality in Ethiopia

Assembling 15 trike kit sets for Ethiopia

March 2010

Packaging 15 set of trike kit sets

First week in new headquarters

Constructed crate for 15 trike kits sets and 1 completed trike

It takes an engineer to get the contents for 16 trikes into a 4x4x4 ft crate

One week after we moved in the crate was packed

Mission accomplished-many mile markers behind us.

The trike kits will one day look like this after being welded and painted in Ethiopia

Many miles in front of us

Our neighbors are helping us load the container onto the truck.

The crates next leg of the journey to meet the shipping container.

After 10 days in our new headquarters our first of hopefully many containers left the site.

Final Destination of the trikes

Good bye 2010 in Wheaton IL on December 31st CST

Happy New Year His Wheels International as the container pulled into Soddo Christian Hospital on the morning of January 1 Ethiopian time

The big job of unpacking begins

Every box must be thoroughly checked by a customs officer for contents

A long and tedious process

Mellessa, the first HWI trike recipient waiting on with great anticipation.

The trike crate-Mellessa at front left. Dr. Anderson, American surgeon also looking on.

Mellessa said good-bye to his Ethiopian made trike and hello to his new HWI set of wheels.

He's ready to go to the hospital where he works with Dr. Anderson. Mellessa speaks eight languages so he translates for Dr. Anderson.

Notice the adaptations Mellessa made to his trike:

Added a wheelchair leg support for his right knee that was fused together.

Added wheelchair sides to his trike

Added a plush seat. I wish I had a seat that comfortable for some of those long 100 mile days on my hard bicycle seat.

Many mile-markers behind us and we look forward to the mile-markers ahead of us

Trikes to Ethiopia

old and new side by side!

As we in America said goodnight to 2010 HWI was simultaneously welcoming in 2011 at Soddo Christian Hospital (SCH) in Ethiopia. Nine hours ahead of Wheaton, Illinois, a container was pulling into the hospital compound. Those at SCH celebrated the arrival of the container and we did too because it included our first crate of 16 trike kits.

This momentous event completes two HWI mile markers and begins yet another new adventure. Back in 2005, three miles from home, through an Ethiopian; the trike division vision was sparked. After seeing a picture of a trike we bought in Nigeria the Ethiopian said, “We need these trikes throughout Africa for those impacted by polio, those hit by landmines and those with other disabilities.” I left with a dream to take a welding class, thinking, if I could weld, I could build a trike. God knew better. A month later while at a party I met Kevin. He said, “I’m a mechanical engineer. Can I design, build and pay for the prototype.” Kevin later told me “it was your determination that moved me to help.”

Then in 2007 I met Carolyn and Harold Adolph, both part of SCH. We began brainstorming about getting trikes to Ethiopia and starting a vocational rehabilitation center at the workshop on the hospital compound. The dream became a reality. But God knew we needed a headquarters from which to construct, pack and ship the crate. On May 1, ten days after signing our new lease, the crate left our headquarters.

The next important job was praying that the container would reach SCH, clearing customs. The container arrived at SCH on January 1^st. On December 31^st, Carolyn arrived at SCH, during a visit from the States. She saw the container pull in, participated in the celebration and watched the Ethiopians begin unloading it before she had to leave.

In 2008 I heard about Mellessa and how a few years earlier the orthopedic surgeon at SCH bought him a locally made trike. Mellessa paid for the trike by working at the hospital. There the surgeon discovered he speaks eight languages. Now Mellessa is the surgeon’s translator, facilitating communication between the surgeon, patient, and family members. I never dreamed our first trike to Ethiopia would replace Mellessa’s old trike.

Thanks for your perseverance and love

Hello 2011

I'm working on chapter 14 of probably 18 chapters of my memoir. It has been and continues to be an amazing journey. I'm on 2007, telling His Wheels International's story. So I haven't come around to the blog for awhile but I've been writing everyday. May each of you have an awe-filled 2011 with God's amazing adventures and discoveries.

I'm anxiously waiting to find out if the container that we sent 15 trikes to Soddo Christian Hospital in Ethiopia made it there before a friend of mine got there this week. I am hoping she got to see one of the trikes at the hospital. I did hear the container got out of the port and was on its way to Ethiopia a week before Christmas.

We at His Wheels International are excited to see what new bicycle and tricycle adventures we will find the organization participating in this new year.

All I Want for Christmas

All I want for Christmas is to finish the first draft of my book by December 31st. I am barreling towards the finish line. Tomorrow I will finish Chapter 11. The first 9 chapters have already been through the editor and back for rewrites and approvals. Chapter 12 begins in April 2005-HWI's first project as a organization to get 4 bikes to educators in Angola through Rise International. Maybe 6 chapters to go. The "grueling gusting headwinds" of the difficult chapters are behind me. Now I think "It is a fun downhill coast ahead!"

I must credit my editor and coach Stephanie for her amazing skills, talents and encouragement. Without her my dream would still be spinning around in my head.

First Person Interview December 10, 2010

This Week's Guest: On First Person Interview with Wayne Shepherd

Alice Teisan

Listen on Friday December 10, 2010 at www.firstpersoninterview.com D10 by

Shepherd at www.firstpersoninterview.com

Alice Teisan is a great example of someone who was called by God in spite of her weakness. Alice had a passion for bicycling and was about to leave on a 1000 mile trip when she suddenly became ill with something that felt like the flu, but was later diagnosed as Chronic Fatigue Immune Dysfunction Syndrome (CFIDS). But God had a design all along to use Alice to be the founder of His Wheels, International.

The mission of His Wheels is to provide pedal powered transportation, with dignity, through global partnerships, as a tool for expanding Christ’s Kingdom. You can read all about it online at http://www.hiswheels.org.

I met Alice a couple of months ago through a mutual friend and it was easy to find her, because our offices are only a couple of miles from each other. So I went to His Wheels and talked to Alice right in the shop where they repair and build some incredible bikes and trikes for Kingdom purposes.

I think you’ll enjoy getting to know Alice on this week’s edition of First Person.