Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Tom R's Surprise Party

Wow did we pull off an awesome surprise on a Gold Oat today. We had a surprise 76th birthday party for Tom R one week early. There were 15 who came to surprise him. We all had a huge dose of laughter, the best medicine possible. First two friends walked in. We pretended like they were checking out the possibilities to come volunteer with us. Next four other people walked in. Tom asked Grant what was going on. Then we brought the cake in and just slid it on the table. He read it "Happy Birthday to a Gold Oat." 

"That's Me" Tom said

All the while people kept filing in.
Gotcha



Sure Did!
Basking in our mischief
Hecklers!
The other instigator
Having trouble with those obnoxious candles?

That's one way to keep him quiet

Wow was that good

 No-it was downright PERFECT!!!.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

New Year - New Opportunities

The year started off with a bang. Unbeknownst to me two radio interviews I had in the past were rebroadcast at the end of December and on Jan 2, 2012. A local program was on Family Radio in the Chicagoland area. The other was on January 2, 2012 on Chris Fabry Live which was broadcast nationally.

As a result of the broadcasts we've heard from someone who wants to start building our trikes. The newly formed organization has an interest in Haiti, which has been on our hearts at HWI for some time.

A physician just contacted HWI about the possibility of incorporating trikes into his medical missions to the Philippines.

Another person emailed me and informed me that she knew a para olympic cyclist who is also an engineer. We have prayed for such a connection. Please pray with us that as the friend shares with the para olympian that her heart might be moved to check us out.

Friday, January 6, 2012

The Road of Life



At first I saw God as my observer, my judge,
Keeping track of the things I did wrong,
So as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die.
He was out there sort of like a president.
I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I really didn’t know Him.

But later on when I met Christ, it seemed as though life were rather like a bike ride,
but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that Christ was in the back helping me pedal.

I don’t know just when it was that He
suggested we change places,
but life has not been the same since.

When I had control, I knew the way.  It was rather boring but predictable . . .
It was the shortest distance between two points.

But when He took the lead,
He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places at breakneck speeds,
It was all I could do to hang on!  Even though it looked like madness,
He said, “Pedal!”

I worried and was anxious and asked,
“Where are you taking me?” He laughed and didn’t answer, and I started to learn to trust.

I forgot my bring life and entered into the adventure.
And when I’d say, “I’m scared,” He’d lean back and touch my hand.

He took me to people with gifts that I needed, gifts of healing, acceptance and joy.
They gave me gifts to take on my journey,
My Lord’s and mine.

And we were off again.
He said, “Give the gifts away; they’re extra baggage, too much weight.” 
So I did,
To the people we met,
And I found that in giving I received,
And still our burden was light.
I did not trust Him, at first,
in control of my life.

I thought He’d wreck it;
But He knows bike secrets,
Knows how to make it bend to take sharp corners,
Knows how to jump to clear high rocks,
Knows how to fly to shorten scary passages.

And I am learning to shut up and pedal
In the strangest places,
And I’m beginning to enjoy the view
And the cool breeze on my face
With delightful constant companion, Jesus Christ.

And when I’m sure I just can’t do anymore, 
He just smiles and says . . . “Pedal”
  Author unknown 

Friday, December 9, 2011

Working Bikes Founder visits His Wheels Headquarter

Today Lee from Working Bikes located in Chicago came out to His Wheels Headquarters. Working bikes has a system where they have shipped 6,000 bikes around the world this year alone. They have trained mechanics where the shipments are sent. With the bikes they also send spare parts that are needed to repair the bikes. These bikes need more repair than we would put into them. So today we have begun a partnership with Working Bikes. Those bikes that are beyond repair will go to Working Bikes. 



 Where will this bike go? 

No problem. There's room. 
Grant is learning from Lee, the pro. 

 What # of bike does that make Grant?

Guess how many bikes ended up in this load. Add to the number you guess one HWI trike. 
 They will put our trike on display at their headquarters. Lee will also take it with him to the 50 + events he attends around the state every year.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Working Bikes Visit

Here are a few pictures from our visit to Working Bikes in Chicago last Tuesday, the 29th.

 This is their storefront where they sell bikes, do repairs, and sell a small selection of parts.  This is about a quarter of their building where Kevin estimated they have 5,000 bikes stored!
 Here Alice and Kevin are getting a run down on how volunteers get involved, while Grant wandered around gaping at the 10 work stands and full tool sets they had in this upstairs workshop.
One Working Bikes' major purposes is to send bikes overseas to partners they have in various Global South countries. All the bikes were all ready to be packed into one shipping container with tons of extra tires, wheels, seats, and other parts they might need to be replaced when they arrive. They give out 5,000 bikes a year this way.

 These polaroids are of some of their volunteers who have helped work on bikes and pack shipping containers. They look like a fun group!
This last picture is of one of the ways they like to get people excited about bikes. This old Schwinn trainer is connected to a generator that as you pedal faster turns progressively turns on the each bulb, 1 through 5.  Another bike was set up to power a turn-table that played a Diana Ross record.

Saturday, December 3, 2011

1st Togo Trike Update


When the Ebersole's went back to Togo West Africa in 2007, they took one of our first generation trikes. Today I got a report back. I can't think of a better way to celebrate Christmas than knowing how God has used a trike in a person's life. Russ Ebersole wrote, "we exhibited the trike many times as we were looking for a good candidate.  Because of its larger size, it was not conducive for a younger child, and the fact that the chain moved continuously (ie, no "glide" if you stopped pedaling) made it more difficult for younger people.  But during that term, we found a young man from a village about 7 km away from the hospital who had to have his leg amputated due to a delay in seeking care after a severe fracture that became infected.  He was at our hospital for a long time, and afterwards he returned to see us on many occasions. So we gave him the trike, and we have some photos/videos...I will get forward the pictures your way.  Thanks so much for that trike, and I know this young man (in his 20s now) certainly appreciates it."

They will take one of our latest generation trikes back with them in the fall. They are interested in possibly getting some compact trike kit.

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Our time at UIC

Here are a couple of pictures of the two different groups that presented on Tuesday about their findings regarding HWI potentially bringing a US trike into production. These undergrad students learned a lot about how hard it is to bring a product to market and we gained a lot more understanding about what we will have to do if we want to make that happen. 

This last picture is of Harvey and Alice laughing, I think this portrays the fun that we had that morning both at UIC and at Working Bikes.