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Although my bicycle ride was completed more than a week ago, additional donations continue to arrive.  Part of these were stimulated by the article in the Times of India (see earlier post to the blog) which resulted in donations from London, Wisconsin and the Chicago area.  That was very exciting to see the publicity have that effect.

Also, my last program was presented to the Telegu Christian Fellowship in Sterling VA.  This group has been formed by families who grew up in the Hyderabad, A.P. area of India and are people familiar with the Methodist Schools in the area.  The response was heart-warming.

Other donations have also arrived and the total has substantially increased again.  Please check the page on the website for the updated list of those who have donated.

Many thanks to everyone!

Here's the summary:

U. S. Goal:                                $25,000                       
Last reporting date:                    August 17, 2010               
Total amount donated:                $ 18,283.56
# of states represented               19  (CA, GA, FL, WI, MD, NM, 
                                                     KS, NE, HI, SD, TX, VA, WA, MI,                                                                        PA, IL, VA, DC, CT)
# of countries represented           3  (USA, China, United Kingdom)
# of donors                                 124

Visit to Telegu Christian Fellowship Sterling VA - August 14

For the final presentation as part of my cross-country bicycle trip, I had the honor of visiting the Telegu Christian Fellowship in Sterling VA on Saturday, August 14.  Susan and I were invited to attend through the assistance of Abraham Arvind, son of my friend from India, A. V. Samuel.  This group has been meeting for several years under the leadership of Rev. Rufus Bhimanapalli with all the members sharing a background of coming from the Telegu-speaking region of India around Hyderabad in the state of Andhra Pradesh. We were treated to the enthusiastic conclusion of their Vacation Bible School as well as their regular service and then my presentation.  this time I had the company of my wife, Susan,, who had accompanied me on bicycle for the journey from Pittsburgh to Washington D.C.  In the questions afterward there was a new element: appreciation for Susan for bicycling that 320 mile segment from Pittsburgh (they were impressed!) as well as lots of questions as to whether or not she was worried about me while I traveled solo across most of the country.  It was fun hearing Susan field some of these questions!

Afterward there was a delicious buffet of Indian curries and other dishes following the service. After the dinner quite a number of members of the fellowship approached me with checks to contribute to the scholarship fund and their generous support helped to keep the fund growing.

The Telegu Christian Fellowship of Virginia has its own website, for those interested:  teluguchristianfellowship.net/default.aspx 

Here is a photo of Rev. Rufus Bhimanapalli with Abraham Arvind, Pallavi and their two sons, Joshua and Jonathan.

Update on Gifts to Scholarship Fund - August 13

Contributions continue to be received for the Dormitories in India Project even though the bicycle ride has been completed.

The totals now stand at:

Amount Contributed                                  $16,358.56
# of U.S. states represented                           16
# of countries                                                        3  (US, Hong Kong, U.K.)
# of contributors                                               113 

I want to extend my heartfelt appreciation to all the people who have donated to this fund.  So many children in India will be helped as a result, we can be assured.     

In Memory of Rev. Paul Scharer

Two special donations for the Dormitories in India Project for children from poor villages in India have been received in the last several days in memory of Rev. Paul Scharer.  The donors are Robert and Marilyn Myers and Phil and Jackie Palise.  Paul, the person being so honored, was a member of a Methodist work-team of college students and recent graduates from Southern CA who traveled to India in 1966 to serve for one month in Methodist mission schools in teaching and cultural exchange. The team was led by Rev. Everett and Dorothy Taylor.  This work-team has special significance to the current scholarship project because the members of the work-team, beside Paul, included Marilyn Myers, Phil Palise and Susan Pietz, who subsequently became my wife.  All of us were greatly saddened by Paul's death on July 15 at age 65 following a courageous battle with cancer. Paul had deep roots in India, where his grandparents served as missionaries in Belgaum in what is now Karnataka State. Paul's father, Flethcher, became a Methodist minister and leader in the Methodist Church in the Southwest.  With this background it is not surprising that Paul also became a Methodist minister and served congregations in various communities in CA:  Fallbrook, Lompoc, North Glendale and Alhambra before retiring to La Mirada. Throughout his life Paul never lost his love for India, traveling there on multiple occasions and helping with some of the Methodist schools there.  Here in America, many were touched by his leadership as a Pastor and his example as a committed Christian. Paul is survived by his wife Dorothy, his son Philip, his son Stephen and his daughter Elyse Murphy.  We all will miss Paul’s gentle presence and friendship.

     

Coverage by the Times of India -August 12

News of the completion of my cross-country journey has reached India and has resulted in an article in the Time of India.  This is very welcome news and may account for some recent donations from supporters perhaps inspired by this article. I hope more may follow.  Here is the link to the Times of India article: 

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/American-bikes-3831-miles-raises-14500-for-Indian-kids/articleshow/6297280.cms


The same story was also picked up by another India publication and here is their link:

http://publication.samachar.com/pub_article.php?id=9812188&nextids=9813235

A Commendation from Congresswoman Lois Capps - August 10

The member of the House of Representatives  from our Congressional District in San Luis Obispo CA is Lois Capps. Because the House of Representatives has been called back into session in August, I unexpectedly had the opportunity to meet with Congresswoman Capps.  In fact, she had a great honor to bestow upon me: an official commendation that will be read into the Congressional Record and eventually be available on-line.  Here is a photo from the occasion, below which is the wording of the Commendation:

Now that I've completed the cross-country bicycle travel, I hope to get caught up on some of the fund-raising reports and thank you messages to people who have so generously donated to the Scholarship Fund for Dormitories in India for Village Children.  As of August 9, here's where the fund stands:

Total amount donated:                           $14,503.53
# of Donors                                                       107
# of U. S. states                                                  15
# of Countries                                                       2

A very hearty thanks to all who have contributed to this fund.  You are making a real difference with your gifts.  As time goes on, I continue to post more updates and will be publishing periodic newsletters about the students and schools that are helped by these funds.

From Washington, D. C.
Lauren

Jefferson Memorial - Destination Reached- August 8

Today was a very good day, indeed.  After 3831 miles in bicycle travel from San Luis Obispo CA, I've reached my destination that I set at the beginning of my journey:  the Jefferson Memorial and the Tidal Basis beside it. in the National Mall in Washington D. C.  And there was company in achieving this goal: my wife, Susan, who joined the biking in McKeesport PA and bicycled most of the way to Washington D. C.,  my sister, Jean Weber, who bicycled every single step of the way from McKeesport, and her husband, Brian, who not only provided 'sag-wagon' services on this final segment but also did a fair amount of bicycling himself along the way.  Today we had a tag team effort to get Susan's bicycle to Washington D. C., with our good friend, Skip Gwiazda, picking up the trail at Great Falls along the Potomoc and riding Susan's bike the rest of the way to the final destination.

I'll be posting further blogs on the journey and further activities here in Washington D. C.  But before I hit the sack tonight, let me include several photos to give readers of my blog a bit of the flavor for the culmination today of the journey:

First, granddaughters, Chloe and Julia Goforth.



The whole contingent who made reaching the goal so much fun!  From left:  Suzanne and Skip Gwiazda (friends from Peace Corps days); Jean and Brian Weber (sister and brother-in-law from Meadville PA; Susan and Lauren (in matching biking shirts for Great Allegheny Passage + Chesapeake and Ohio Canal); Damon and Sarah Goforth (daughter and son-in-law, currently in D. C., with daughters Chloe and Julia).




And, finally, a picture of the Jefferson Memorial from across the Tidal Basis in the evening light.

Extended Drought Places Farmers in Distress – August 5

Ever since crossing from the Allegheny Mountains in Pennsylvania there has been increasing evidence of a severe drought. Cornfields have been stunted and patchy. Soybeans seem hardly to be growing.  Lawns are brown. This has meant that the trails on the C & O Canal Towpath are dry and bikers aren’t getting muddy.  But the impact of the drought on farmers in this area appears to be calamitous.

As we traveled on the C & O Canal Towpath south of Williamsport MD we came to an area where flooding a few years ago had badly damaged the trail, requiring extensive repairs and a detour onto the nearby surface roads.  Along one of the farms I noticed a cornfield being mowed down and turned into silage.  It was a final effort to pull something of value from a corn crop that had been all but ruined by the drought.  I hailed the driver of one of the tractors to learn what I could.  Calvin Bowers was driving the tractor that was cutting the corn.  Right behind him was his son, Phil, driving another tractor pulling the chopper that turned the corn into silage.  Riding with Phil was his son, 11-year-old Wyatt, who wants to be a farmer when he grows up.  They farm about 300 acres in this part of Maryland, near Downsville, raising feed for their herd of 75 head of beef cows and their calves.  Calvin told me they have had no rain whatsoever for the past 2 months.  Someone else told me it’s been March since this area has had any significant rainfall.  No wonder everything has looked dried up.

The contrast to the tall, healthy cornfields I observed further west in Iowa, Wisconsin and Michigan was striking.  And, I am reminded of great uncertainties and risks that farmers face in dealing with weather, disease and market conditions that make farming such a challenging profession.

Here are a couple pictures of the Bowers in their field of corn:

 

A Welcoming Committee in Shepherdstown, West Virginia – August 5

Our daughter, Sarah, and her husband, Damon are living in Arlington VA for a year while Damon studies Arabic in preparation for a U.S. State Department assignment next March to Oman (on the Arabian Pennisula).  So, Sarah really isn’t too far away from where we are traveling by bicycle.  Why wait for our formal arrival in Washington D. C.???

So when Susan, Jeannie and I bicycled up to Lock # 38, there was a very special welcoming committee: Sarah and their two daughters, Chloe (5) and Julia (2, nearly 3):