ROAD CAPTAIN'S REPORT JANUARY 2014

Matt. 28:18-20, Then Jesus came to them and said, “All power in heaven and on the earth is given to me. So go and make followers of all people in the world, Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach them to obey everything that I have taught you, and I will be with you always, even until the end of this age.”

This is the verse we have chosen for Superior Lights for Christ #1212.  It tells us to go, touch lives, tell about the Father, Son & Holy Spirit and don’t be afraid to speak up in his name.

As 2013 has come to a close, I think back to our riding season.  I think of the chapter rides, I of think the cold & rainy rides that we had, I think of the fellowship (the great fellowship).  I think of the camp outs, but what stands out in my mind the most was our tour of Lake Superior. It started out as a cold & rainy day, but with the love of Jesus in our hearts it was a great day to ride. The ride was awesome, the fellowship was also awesome. We had a schedule to keep, places to see,  places to eat breakfast, places to get gas, places to eat lunch, places to have rest stops, places to have pie & coffee, places to stay at night, places to eat dinner, time for fellowship. Oh, did I mention places to eat, (CMA’s call it FELLOWSHIPPING).

We may have had schedules to keep, a riding agenda, time to be here, a time to be there. As hectic as it may have seemed at first, we were on God’s schedule, God’s timing. (So go & make followers of all people).

As we would pray before every days ride, for safe riding, good weather, keeping us in unity, and most of all Lord let us be witnesses for you. (I will be with you always).

On our last night’s stay was scheduled to be in the Soo, Canada but we wanted to get back in the U.S. so we decided (the Lord decided) to stay in the Soo, Michigan. After a gas stop, we went looking for lodging. We met Lonnie & Alice Newton on the road on our way to the Comfort Inn. They happened to be in the area (God’s timing) for the Canadian fireworks.  As we all got checked into the Comfort Inn, I went to park my bike & I saw a tow truck come into the parking lot with a pretty yellow Gold Wing trike & trailer. I went up to the tow truck driver and asked what happened to the trike. He told me that it locked up on the couple who were riding it. I asked if the couple were okay?  He said they were at the desk checking in. I went up to them & introduced myself letting them know I was there with other CMA’ers, if we can help let us know.  We exchanged greetings & found out Eddie & Mary Davis are from Amarillo, Texas.

They were touring the U.P. of Michigan when the trike came to a skidding stop at 55 mph. (As we prayed that morning, let us be witnesses for you Lord & keep us & fellow bikers safe on the road).  When Eddie & Mary were checking in I looked into the lobby, lo & behold our CMA group was sitting around fellowshipping.  I motioned to the group to come over & meet Eddie & Mary. (God’s scheduled appointment).  The tow truck driver asked where to drop off the trike.  We assisted in every way we could, even to drag the trike off the tow truck. Eddie & Mary didn’t know what to do. They said they would need a tow truck to the trike & trailer back to Texas. Lonnie said there was a U-Haul dealer down the street.  We checked it out & saw three trucks outside, but they were closed until 8 a.m. the next day.  In the meant time we were looking over the trike trying to free it up.  With no luck we decided to go out to dinner. (Oh, did I mention we eat a lot).  We had a great time getting to know Eddie & Mary & sharing our faith.  We prayed with them for direction & wisdom.  (So go & make followers of all people in the world).  The next day (our last day of the Lake Superior tour) Doug took Eddie & Mary in Paddy’s truck to see about a U-Haul.  Good news, bad news. Bad news the trucks at the dealership were spoken for.  Good news, one was available in St. Ignace, 50 miles south, the other in Newberry, 60 miles to the west.  We suggested to book the one in Newberry since it was on way home & loaded the trailer & trike into Paddy’s trailer.  Well the easy part was reserving the U-Haul truck.  

Remember the back tires are locked up, no way to get the trike freewheeling.  We did have a ramp on Paddy’s trailer to push & pull the trike up. Once we had the trike loaded onto the trailer, what to do with the trike trailer?  No one had a trailer hitch on their motorcycles (All power in heaven & on earth is given to me).  Thank you Lord for your word & wisdom.  We had to stand the trike trailer on its end to fit on the trailer. End of story, not yet.  We had a great breakfast (did I mention we like to eat) & checked out of the comfort Inn.  After praying we headed west on M-28 to Newberry, great day, sunny & clear.  Now “the rest of the story”.  When we got to the U-Haul dealership in Newberry, we got the truck okay, but how to get the trike off of Paddy’s trailer & into the U-Haul truck.  We looked over the area & figured it we put the truck in the ditch to lower it to match up with the trailer.  Easy, ya right!  Now to get the trike & trailer off of Paddy’s trailer.  We had all hands on deck to help, thanks to the ladies for the extra push.  We did it!  Everything secured in the U-Haul, door closed, Eddie & Mary Davis were ready to head back to Texas.  Not without them wanting to buy us lunch.  After lunch we prayed with them for a safe ride back home.  It was like saying good-bye to old friends.  And for us of course we had to stop for ice cream, we made it home safely & in the Lord’s care. Thank you Lord for putting us on your schedule & agenda.  Eddie & Mary made it home safely, here is the thank you letter I received from them.

“We returned home safely, due in large part of the grace of God, for placing you & your group of bike riders in our path.  Once again we would like to say “Thank You” for your assistance.  Our transmission was the failure on our bike.  We ended up trading for a new trike.  Please tell all who provided assistance “Thanks”. We would have never made it without everyone’s help.  We have told everyone about your organization & how great the people of Michigan are.”

Remember what Jesus said, “I will be with you always, even until the end of this age”.

In 2014 ride defensively;

Dave Kari

Superior Lights for Christ #1212

317 Cleveland Ave
Ishpeming, MI 49849

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christian-Motorcyclists-Association-Upper-Peninsula-Michigan-UP-CMA/243362682480816

President - Paddy Palomaki           cell 906 236 1107
Vice President - Dave Kari            cell 906 458 8273
Secretary - Gail Palomaki              cell 906 236 1762
Treasure - Kathy Ammerman        cell 906 346 6564