Open Hearts International Children's Relief Mission
Video: On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!
We had a group of guys down from Pennsylvania last week and they spent the weekend out at Ruby Ranch. Our really good friend Scott brought down his friends from a Mountain biking club and he teamed with Brinson to put together an awesome race for kids at Ruby Ranch. It was an awesome couple of days!
The kids had a great time, as you can imagine. The trail was really really tough. A three mile loop that had some very technical spots…so technical that we forced the kids to dismount so we didn’t lose any off the side of the trail in one section! You can learn alot when you are pushing through a long trail and the team took the opportunity to teach the kids one of the great lessons in life. When it is hard, when it hurts…lean into God and ask Him to help you…push on and win the race!
Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have laid hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which Christ Jesus has called me heavenward.” -Phil. 3:13-14
“I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength” -Phil. 4:13
In an interesting twist and a testament to the kind of kids Nicaraguans are, we underestimated them a little bit! The team did a test run the day before the race and it took about an hour to complete. So, we were all set to have the kids come in about the hour mark as everyone waited at the finish line. Well about thirty minutes in, John who was “the rabbit” came flying up to the last down hill….he was like “I have five of them on my tail”….so we scrambled and started yelling towards the finish live, “THEY ARE COMING!!!” It was so awesome. The first place winner Mario finished the race in a little more than half an hour! Can you believe that?
As all the other kids poured in over the next thirty minutes or so, the team received them with lots of cheering and hollering…most of their parents were there as well. It was a fun fun time! And guess what? For the winner of the girls group and the winner of the boys group….their prize was a new bike!!! (Special thank you to Josh at NicaBikeShop for help with all the bikes!)
We are looking forward to a great 2019 at Ruby Ranch and this was a great kick off to the year….Thank you to our Pennsylvanian mountain biking friends!!!
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