Aug. 2, 2010 issue
Cyclist's goal: 10,000 miles for MDS
Journey also supports Hesston College disaster program
By Celeste Kennel-Shank Mennonite Weekly ReviewNeal Friesen, 26, wasn’t sure what he wanted to do next in life.
Neal Friesen started biking May 31 from an MDS site in New Iberia, La., and plans to be back in Louisiana by the end of November. — Photo provided by MDS
He had graduated from Goshen (Ind.) College and spent three years as a resident director at Hesston (Kan.) College.
He decided to take a bicycle trip around the U.S., but wanted a good reason to do it.
“Was there any greater purpose than just my own selfish ambitions of taking a six-month vacation while I was unemployed?” Friesen wrote on his blog.
He told his family of his plans.
“We said, ‘If you’re going to do it, do it for a cause,’ ” Nancy Friesen, his mother, said in a phone interview.
Friesen decided to raise awareness and money for Mennonite Disaster Service and the Hesston College Disaster Management Program while he cycles about 10,000 miles by himself through all 48 contiguous states, as well as Ontario.
“MDS became my focus because I like the way they do things,” Friesen wrote. “They don’t go into an area that has been decimated by a disaster to beat people over the head with their Bible until they ‘convert’, rewarding the conversion with a new house. Their ministry is building that house… .
“MDS meets the needs of people caught in awful situations and empowers them to take further steps to increase their standard of living, all while not being shy or quiet about why.”
Friesen, a member of Bethesda Mennonite Church in Henderson, Neb., started May 31 from an MDS site in New Iberia, La., where Hesston students have served. He is scheduled to be back in Louisiana by the end of November.
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