bikes

Thoughts on bicycles.

As a kid, I loved to ride my bike. Oh, the freedom! I would ride down the road to the creek and write poetry, take pictures, pray... I have not ridden in a long time.

When we just moved our friend, Drew, who rode over 1000 miles in the last few months, commented that we have the dustiest bikes he's ever seen.

My husband never learned to ride a bike as a kid. He's learned (or rather, is still learning) as an adult. We keep thinking it would be great to add a kid seat to our bikes for Eli. And to add a bike to our reasonable ways to get around in our one-car, crazy scheduled photo-wife, full-time-job-hubby life we lead. He used to ride public transportation to work, and now our new house makes that very silly. Two hour commute. Each way. But... if he could only ride a bike to the station, it would speed that up a lot!

Eli's too little to ride a bike. But one day he will.

When we lived in Holland, the main way to get around is on a bike. They are like feet. But faster. Everyone has them.

I took that picture while in Holland. They are laying on an icy canal. Fun, eh?

Missionaries in Asia could use bikes all the time! But guess what, they can't afford them. Here I am with two great, but ill-used dusty bikes in my garage. There they are, with great need for a bike and no money to buy one.

I had been praying last week about ways that we here at Purple Lemon Photography can increase the money we give to missionaries in the world. That is, you see, why I photograph for money. We have yet to pay ourselves out of our profits (though surely someday we will, I assume), but we have given to missionaries as we said that we would. We want to faithfully continue this trend.

I got a letter today from an organization that we have supported for many years. Gospel for Asia. They are a great organization that is effectively spreading the gospel throughout Asian countries like India and Bangladesh. It was talking about bikes and how the missionaries need them.

Would you help us buy them some bikes? I have a few ways you can do that! And they come complete with catchy, alliterative titles.

1. Bookings for Bikes: Book a session for sometime before October, mention the bikes, and we'll contribute $30 of your session fee to buy a bike

2. Bonuses for Bikes: Add a donation of your choice to an already active order, and we'll add $20 photo credit to your package

3. Brides for Bikes: Book a wedding by the end of May, mention the bikes, and we'll buy a whole bike.

Rules of the game:

You must complete the option by May 30th, 2010. We will round out all the donations to make sure that we buy complete bikes- no unicycles here! Each bike costs $110. How many bikes do you think can we buy?