Paul Janzen

home-cooked goodness at the Country Bounty. watching football on the big screen. warm beds & a shower. the best steel-cut oats you could have for breakfast (with raspberries and honey no less!). tales of the wild forest fires out west. an incredible feast & fellowship with the local church body of Christ. the inside scoop on salida and a magnificent tour of its features. expert advice and guidance on flyfishing the Arkansas River. a chaufferred ride up to Monarch Pass to ride the MTB trail back down. Godly wisdom and advice over cups of coffee in the morning. a love and care for our every need. 

Paul Janzen is the man behind our incredible stay in Salida. under his roof, in his sweet truck, wading along the chilly banks of the Arkansas - Paul showed us what Christ's love for His people truly looks like, and blessed us in a way that I will never forget. 

and let's not forget James Walker - youth pastor extraordinaire and husband/father to a wonderful family - who not only set up our stay and all the logistics of getting folks together at Paul's house for a great night of fellowship and food on monday, but loaned us two incredible full-suspension mountain bikes to tackle the monarch crest trail, 4th best in the world and 1st in my book (never ridden a trail at 12,000' before, unparalleled views along the entire ridge line and an unforgettable downhill chocked full of rocky ravines and narrow chutes and jumps and everything else a MTB enthusiast craves). 

Thanks James for making Salida such an incredible place to rest & recuperate. 

or the Hills (George & Sheri) who took excellent care of us during our time in Salida - felt as though we'd known them for years after just ten minutes with them. thanks for showing us 'round Salida, seeing Salida Baptist (loved that building!), incredible food each night, and great conversation & advice from 30+ years in the youth (and now counseling) ministry. George & Sheri, it is clear that God is (and has been) doing powerful things in your lives, and we are so blessed to have been able to share in that over the past few days, and will continue to lift you and your sons (Josh & Tyler) in prayer as we ride east. 

and so many others who made our time in Salida possible. I apologize, I won't be able to cover them all, as there were likely folks from Salida Baptist that helped without us even knowing it. such a blessing to meet everyone that we did. 

Ron, thanks for taking us flyfishing, giving us expert advice and a great time at the Arkansas River, and treating us to some great pizza afterward. Mary (at Su Casa), thanks for your insight into Salida's spiritual pulse. Jenny (at Absolute Bikes), great to connect with you, thanks for your encouragement and looking forward to seeing where your ministry might lead.  

after three nights and two full days in Salida, we made our way east to Pueblo and stayed with Paco, a friend of the Hill's (amazing how God works all of that out). What an incredible story Paco shared with us, in just the first few minutes of chatting we were enraptured by the passion he had for living every moment of his life for Christ. How blessed we felt to be able to stay in his, Andrew & Brandon's home, in brotherly fellowship with such strong believers. it was certainly an Acts / early church moment, as Andrew keenly observed. 

How blessed were we to hit up the Country Buffet (our 3rd Buffet! love these stops) which the Hill's graciously paid for. How blessed were we to save an hour of unpacking / cooking that night, and another hour of packing / cooking in the morning. Paco, Andrew, Brandon - you guys rock. 

headed into the flats of Colorado today,(and hopefully Kansas tomorrow) praying for tailwinds, and giving God the glory all the way. 

thank you all for your prayers and thoughts, God hears and answers. 

until next time,

may the rains fall softy on your fields

josh & mark

the lifecycle team