Bicycle Tour Across the USA!

Hello to our friends and family and anyone else who happens to stumble upon this blog! You may or may not know that Mark (Chew) and I will be biking across the country beginning on July 5th. We are cycling the "Northern Tier" route of North America, which means our trip will begin in Anacortes, Washington and end in Bar Harbor, Maine. The total distance is approximately 4,100 miles and our goal is to complete our journey in 10 weeks (Lord, help us!), which means our final day of riding is set for September 13th. When we leave, we will be updating this blog with posts and pictures so that you can follow along with us!

I promise you that we are not crazy. This has been a dream of Mark's since he came to the states in 2003. In May of 2009, he shared the dream with me after church one night and we began praying and seeking the Lord about it. Since then, we've felt the Lord guiding us into this adventure, and now we are so excited and determined that there is no turning back!

We are using this once in a lifetime opportunity to raise money and awareness for an organization headed by Steve Peifer called Kenya Kids Can. It is our hope that you will help us raise at least $4,100 (one dollar for every mile that we will be biking) and we are striving to have it raised BEFORE our day of departure (July 5th). Once we are on the road, we will continue these fundraising efforts in the many towns and churches we pass through in hopes of raising double or even triple the amount of our goal.

We first learned of Kenya Kids Can a few years ago when Steve came to visit our church. His words and pictures stirred our hearts for what he is working to accomplish. To give you a summary, his organization basically set up a school lunch program so that the children in one school no longer had to choose between receiving an education or working to eat. Since 2002, the drop-out rate in that school went from 46% to less than 1%!!! They've also expanded to help feed 33 other schools for a total of 18,000 students daily. They have even begun to build computer centers in some of these remote areas so that the students can receive computer education training. Kenya Kids Can mission statement says:

"Our mission is to enhance the education of Kenyan students by providing meals and offering computer training to impoverished schools. Our vision is to see the next generation of leaders grow physically strong, spiritually generous, technically knowledgeable and ready to change the world."

So, this is who Mark and I are riding for. Please, help us to raise money and spread the word about Kenya Kids Can. $1.50 is enough to feed one student a nutritious lunch for an entire MONTH! So, even if you feel like you don't have much to offer, it is a literal truth that every little bit helps.

As I previously stated, we want to raise $4,100 (or more!) prior to July 5, 2010. You can make your checks payable to: "AIM for Kenya Kids Can". This is a private, non-profit organization, so your donation is tax-deductible.

NOTE: Please mail your donations to:
Mark & Sarah Tiu
2700 Country Club Road SW
Rochester, MN 55902
This will help us keep record of how much we raise so that we are able to then report back to all of you who help! We will then mail your checks forward to the organization. DO NOT SEND CASH!