atholbarnes - mission accomplished

Dear Friends and Prayer Warriors

Thank you so much for your prayers leading up to, and during Athol's Six Gap Century Race this past weekend. After a final week with no training due to a chest infection, he decided to go ahead and ride it anyway, since he had invested so much time and effort in his training and support-raising. The weather was perfect, and everything went well, except for a few minor mechanical issues. Overall, he finished in 6 hours 56 minutes and 267^th out of the 2,200 registered riders. He was very disappointed in that he was about an hour slower than his goal, but I'm proud of him nonetheless! This was his first race in over 6 years, and one of the most grueling he has ever ridden. The last riders came in just over 11 hours, so I think he should be really proud of his time!After all, it was 104 miles and not 100....

Praise God for His protection of Athol during his training and during the race. A broken spoke on his back wheel while descending Hogpen Gap at 50 mph could have resulted in a bad fall, but God had His hand of protection on him, and Athol was able to continue riding the remaining 35 miles with a loose and wobbly back wheel. Another rider was not as fortunate, and was airlifted off the mountain after plunging over a guardrail on a downhill.

Overall, the Six Gap Century was a tremendous blessing and we were able to add almost $6,000 to our support account, which will enable us to focus on ministry rather than worrying about our support balance for at least the next 6 months. Athol has also met so many new friends. He has enjoyed getting fit again, and being able to fellowship with other bicyclists. Once again, we thank you for your generous financial and prayer support over the last several weeks.

Blessings!

Athol, Debbie, Christie and Joshua Barnes