Now in my 34th year of ordained ministry, like many of us, I’ve seen my share of hilarious and not-so-hilarious issues in church life. Each situation has taught me more about myself, given me a chance to grow and given me an opportunity to see God’s handiwork. Here’s the story of one such situation.
Some years ago, I travelled to northern Vietnam to be part of a week-long bicycling trip. I had found the opportunity on the internet and was drawn to it because it looked to combine my love of cycling with my love of travel. I couldn’t wait to experience a new culture as well as the physical challenge.
I trained as much as possible beforehand, but given my full-time work schedule in the church I was serving, along with parenting duties, I knew I was not in my best shape. It was billed as an “expert” course since it would take us through the mountains, but, I thought, hey, you only live once!
We flew into Hanoi and travelled overnight by train arriving close to the Chinese border. Our group of four dropped our luggage at our hotel and prepared for our first day’s ride. It was then I realized that this trip was as much off-road biking as on-road. Uh-oh. I had cycled many miles on a road bike but only a little on a mountain bike, and only on moderately rough roads. This was different. I knew I was in trouble.
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