WELCOME!

by the grace of God, we - Mark Fila & Joshua Klevorn - were blessed to see His kingdom advance mightily in the fall of 2013 / spring of 2014. 

this blog recounts His masterful orchestration of an experience unlike any other.

in short, we cycled across the United States - coast to coast, California to North Carolina - in an effort to raise more than $15,000 for Living Water International (water.cc) in order to build two freshwater wells in Guatemala and assist in funding an extensive water distribution system in Enkora, Kenya.

as seen below, our posts - ordered from most recent to the very first - cover the entire journey, which even included 8 days in Guatemala to help LWI build the 2nd freshwater well! we are WAY too blessed by our Lord and Savior.

should you (like many people, including myself) prefer to start at the beginning of our adventure instead, on the right you'll see links to the same posts, organized by:

1. our time in Guatemala (February 21st, 2014 - March 1st, 2014) 
2. our 55 days on the road (September 6th, 2013 - October 29th, 2013)
3. perspectives & musings on each of the states we rode through


thank you for reading. thank you for supporting us. we could not have done this without all of your prayers to a God who is above all things. in case you're reading for the very first time, it all started here with a vision from our Lord, to trust more in His power and less in our own. 


Tailwinds, and may the road rise up to meet you,

Mark & Josh
the lifecycle team

guatemala: speaking

I can’t begin to describe how patient our team leaders and the locals were with our command (or lack thereof) of their native language. Whether we were helping Blanca with her hygiene lessons, talking with the locals over lunch time and at the end of the day, or shouting along with the kids on the soccer field, what a pleasure it was to be immersed in a foreign culture.

A few bits of advice I can offer in getting acquainted with – and understanding – another language. Step one: look. A LOT can be said simply through body gestures and facial expressions, and by paying close attention to how someone is speaking to you, it’s often much easier to infer words that you don’t understand. Step two: listen! “Even a fool is though wise if he keeps silent,” said Solomon, and if you’re struggling with a language, why not become avid listener? By paying close attention to the aforementioned body language cues – and returning them with a few of your own (nods, smiles, concern, surprise, laughter, etc.) – you can almost always get away with making it look as though you know more than you know. Just be careful not to overdo it, especially if you happen to have team leaders who’ve picked up on your charade, and find great humor in seeing you agree to or laugh about something that is very likely poking fun at yourself.

Lastly, and most importantly in my opinion: be willing to make mistakes. You will anyway, so why not take them in stride and feel comfortable laughing at yourself? Throughout our entire trip, I was always encouraged by the locals whenever I tried to speak Spanish, and all of them were genuinely willing to help during the many times when I didn’t know the right word or verb conjugation.

All in all, a wonderful time, a wonderful language, and a truly wonderful people that shared it with our team.

until next time,

may God hold you in the hollow of His hand

josh & mark

the lifecycle team

guatemala: eating

Oh boy did we ever have some delicious Guatemalan food last week! Let me break it down for ya.

breakfast

Fresh succulent pineapple. Fresh bananas. Fresh milk. (Fresh?) cereal. Fresh breads of all flavors – banana nut, orange & chocolate, almond, etc. Fresh coffee “black as night, strong as passion, sweet as love and hot as hell” (kudos to whoever knew who said that without googling it). Did I mention everything was fresh? Each morning from 5-6am the team ambled into the common room of our hostel at various times to grab whatever they could before leaving for the village each day. And while I am sure our perspective on local eating customs was skewed due to the fact that we were, well, not locals, I felt breakfast was the least social of the meals we had each day. Whether this was because of the early hour, or that we were away from our team leaders’ families (and their typical morning routines), breakfast was a subdued affair in comparison to our midday and evening meals.

lunch

Wonderful. Simply wonderful. Each day in the community we were treated to an incredible meal at the house of one of the village leaders. Fresh hot tortillas, sumptuous black beans, vegetable soups and either fish (tilapia!!! so delicious!), chicken or beef. All our dishes were prepared over an open flame, served piping hot and seasoned to perfection. Coupled with cold soda and bottled waters for everyone that wasn’t a coke fan, we couldn’t have asked for anything more. Everyone sat outdoors at the same long table, a palm branch roof/covering extending out from the village leader’s house and protecting the eating area, cooking area and cleaning area from the noonday sun. Chickens, turkeys, dogs, a pig, lizards, birds, etc. wandered around outside the house and under the nearby shade trees as we ate, adding to the ambient country noises of southern Guatemala - wind blowing in the sugar cane fields and palm trees, the occasional motorbike rumbling by on the dirt road and the chirps and buzzing of insects about their daily routine.

dinner

Back at our budget hostel each night, it was once again impossible to escape the generosity of Guatemalans. More tortillas (again, prepared fresh each day – how cool would that have been on our bike trip?), rice, refried black beans, steamed vegetables, sweet plantains and once again, some incredible beef, chicken and fish. Our nights at Living Water’s base were just as amazing, and here (as well as at lunch), food was savored and conversations unfolded. Guatemalans take time to enjoy their food as well as the company with whom they shared it. 

Basically, we were spoiled the whole time, I probably gained a ton of weight, couldn't stop smiling every time we sat down to eat, and will probably be a coffee snob for the next couple weeks until I forget the taste of that shade-grown Guatemalan goodness we sipped on each morning.

until next time,

may the rains fall softly on your fields

josh & mark

the lifecycle team

Hasta Luego. Muchos Thankyous to everyone.

    It has been a few days now since the arrival home, so I have had some time to contemplate what I would have to say as my wrap up blog post of the journey to Guatemala. I don't think time has made it any easier to be able to put feelings into words, however. As one might expect, the trip to Guatemala to build a well was life changing in and of itself, but there was also something more to it that really pulled on my heart. I think it meant so much more than just your normal mission trip, because it was an idea that God had sparked in Josh and I's hearts almost 2 years ago. Eventually we decided to just go for it, to try something we had never done, or heard of anyone doing (although we weren't in the biking circles at that time), we made the plans and went for it. You know the story, two guys on a big bike trip, end up with enough funds to build two wells in Guatemala, partially fund a huge project in Kenya, and also travel to Guatemala to physically implement the wells in the community of need. It is just an unbelievable journey for us to remember, for you all to remember as our main supporters.

   If I were to explain some of the things I learned this journal would turn into a book..... and who knows maybe it will someday. But, the biggest thing I think that has changed deep in my heart is that if God births an idea in my heart, no matter the difficulty of it, I will be willing to make those things happen mostly because I know that God will make it happen if I give my effort. It is just something deep in my heart now that could never leave, and I don't know if I could have ever really felt that way if I had not had this huge experience. I thank God for being so apparent every day, in such big ways. I also learned a lot about selflessness, from the process of being with one other guy for 2 months on a bike (believe me Josh learned a lot of this as well), being with a new team in Guatemala, sharing time, sharing money, and sharing experiences. Being with Josh for such a long time and getting to know each other so well was/is such a blessing that I will always be thankful for. Being able to complete this journey with another individual with such a passionate heart is something to never take for granted, alone I could not have done it. I learned a lot about living by faith and trusting God each and every day for safety, a place to stay, and trusting his plan above all. I learned more than I ever could have imagined about generosity, obviously on the bike trip when so many individuals helped us out each day, and also in just giving our time and energy to build a well for the often sick people in Guatemala. There was nothing more joyful to me than giving back and providing these people with such a necessary resource. To see the smiles on the children's faces, to see the warmth in the hearts of the village men, and to see the relief in the women's eyes... There is nothing more that we could have asked for. Every pedal on our bicycles was worth it. Worth it!

   
 Now, being home, the question is.... Is this the end of a life dream journey? Or is it the beginning of a new powerful servanthood lifestyle? 

Thank you Lifecycle supporters.... and Josh and Mark believers.... and Believers of Jesus Christ!

It has truly been a ride of a lifetime. We are overjoyed to have brought you along with us. We pray that God has moved in your hearts as he has moved in ours. I hope you have been able to realize the emotion, the feeling, the passion, and the fulfillment of this adventure. Remember, life for Christ is an adventure.... a very fulfilling, fun, and passionate adventure.

God Bless, Dios le bendiga,
Tailwinds,
Mark and Josh and the Lifecycle team.....
Until Next time... Hasta Luego...

guatemala: traveling

After a few months on nothing but a bicycle for transportation, it stands to reason that one of the first things you notice when you travel is, well, traveling. Mark did a splendid job of recapping our time in Guatemala, and so rather than re-recapping our trip and boring you all to tears, I thought I'd share just a few impressions I had while in the wiles of central america. 

the city - saturday afternoon

Traffic crawled out of the city center, save for those motorcyclists and mopeds clever enough to bob and weave through the four lanes of chicken buses, pickups, compact cars, moving vans and work trucks – just the usual mix of urban autos with one notable exception: riding a car in Guatemala does NOT translate to riding IN a car in Guatemala. Passengers share space with the tools and machinery in many of the work trucks, or fill the bed of a pickup truck (standing up or sitting down or any way at all), or between luggage piled atop the roof of a brightly colored “chicken bus” (often climbing up/down from the roof while the bus is in motion via two ladders at the rear) – we even saw a few Guatemalans perched on the big black bags bulging out the back of the city’s garbage trucks. Narrow lanes and almost no shoulders on the road whatsoever meant very few bicyclists and a VERY long time to get around any police activity. Midway through our drive, we passed a swarm of black police pickup trucks surrounding an unmarked moving van stopped in the middle of the highway, and just as many policemen circled around two very guilty looking men sitting despondently on the road beside the van. “Cocaine” said our chauffer Manuel as we rolled by.

the mountains- saturday afternoon

Outside Guatemala City, the road wound up and down Guatemala’s hilly landscape in a series of sharp twists and turns, naturally keeping much of the traffic speeds in check. Billboards and bright advertisements turned to tall palm trees and a wide variety of unfamiliar foliage. Occasionally our road cut through smaller cities or towns nestled in the mountains, heralded by “moderate speed” signs and speed bumps, two additional means of slowing the hectic pace of traffic down once it escaped the city jam. It couldn’t have been more than 15 miles from the airport to Living Water’s base in Antigua, but the drive took almost 90 minutes. 

the south - sunday through thursday

A few miles outside Nueva Concepción, we hit nothing but rough dirt roads between the city and the community where we would be building the well. Here, “travel” took on an entirely different role in the daily routine of the local inhabitants and (for the week) our team. “Villages” have spread linearly across the large grid of roads cut into the fertile lowlands of Guatemala – keeping as close to the main routes as possible to cut down on what were often extensive travel times. Few are afforded the luxury of a motorcycle or dirt bike; even fewer the extravagance of a car or truck to bounce down the dusty roads. 

Thus we were constantly on the lookout for kids or adults walking alongside the shoulder of the road, not to mention motorcycles passing on the left or right of our van, school buses zipping by in a cloud of dust that often resulted in blizzard-like visibility and finally, huge sugar cane trucks (kicking up just as much dust) rumbling with a slow, unchanging pattern to and from the fields. Narrow two-lane roads squeezed down to just a single lane at times, but Manuel, our fearless driver, was more than up to the task. Not once did I worry about our safety on the roads thanks to his uncanny skills behind the wheel, and was able to fully enjoy the lush vegetation, vibrant Guatemalan country culture and some truly incredible sunrises/sunsets as we rode to the village each morning and night.

until next time,

may the road rise up to meet you

josh & mark

the lifecycle team

Day 6. 2-26-2014

Today I felt more sad than I can remember in quite some time. I felt like I, and the team, was able to build some great relationships with the people of the community in Trocha 8, Calle 10, of Nueva Concepcion. It is really fun when you can remember multiple faces and names. And when I am saying fun, I mean tons and tons of fun. A big contributor to the fun is that my Spanish is getting dramtically better every day. I have found that I am much better speaking spanish than understanding it, unless it's just people nodding their heads and pretending they understand me ;)

Today I was a teacher all day, I helped with the well for about a half-hour in the morning but then switched to the hygene team for the rest of the day. I taught three classes about general rules of hygene, mostly a review class for them, by using pictures and having them explain the good and the bad things of each picture. I did my best to speak the whole thing in Spanish and use Blanca, my translator, as little as possible. Of course this made for some great laughs as I said many words wrong. The first 2 hour class was with the kindergarten through 2nd grade, the second was with the 3rd through 6th graders. The school there ends after 6th grade. The final class session was with the adults, mostly ladies. We also did a funny skit about how to use the new well properly. I acted as a chicken, while Josh acted as a dog (animals are not supposed to be around the well at all). It created many laughs throughout the communidad. We also playedtowel toss with water baloons, and many yard games with futbols at recess. 

We had lunch for the third time at Jaime and Juana's home. They are so amazingly sweet. My heart broke today though when I was talking with Jaime anfd he explained to me that he had decided he could not be a Christian because he liked to drink alcohol. I was very sadened by this, one that he could not stop drinking alcohol, but two that he beleived he could not commit to being a Christian because he had a problem. Thank goodness we can still be a Christian and have problems. But it is a different culture than the one I find myself in at home inAmerica. Here in Guatemala it is a huge deal here if one drinks. It is such a big deal because the testimony of Christians is held at such a high standard, they talk about this high standard very often. So for Jaime, he knew friends that claimed Christianity, but went out and drank and did other things that ruined their testimony, and since testimony is held in such high regard he said he could not commit to Christianity because he knew he would be a bad testimony to others looking to Christ. I explained to him the best I could about God's grace and the power of the Holy Spirit to lead us as we allow him to,  most of this through Blanca of course. I was terribly broken though for not only him, but for the idea of criticizing testimonies not perfected. I mean, for myself, I do not always have the best testimony, but I know that Christ has forgiven me for when I don't, and that when I do have good testimony it is the Holy Spirit inside of me working for good. I hope Jaime was able to grasp some of my thoughts and words, I am praying hard that he did. God can continue work when we are not around. I am thankful for one more day with the communidad though. 

A picture from the conversation with Jaime. Blanca is on the other hammock. (The belly thing is a normal guy macho thing there... So it's not weird. Haha.)

The second time my heart broke today was hopping back into the van to leave, with the well close to finished, and the local men working on the cement and final building of the well. I have realized again and again how much I love this culture, and the people, and the beauty of everything here. I have never seen so many heart warming smiles in such a short period of time as I have this week. I am convinced there are not many places like it, if any. I am having an incredibly hard time fathoming that I may not see these kids, teens, or adults, or grandparents again. My heart has been won over with ease, and I know a piece of it will be here forever. 

Josh and I with a pet parakeet. Also the outdoor school is in the background. 

I have enjoyed our team as well, it has been such a fun mix of people. 2 ladies from Toronto, 3 ladies from central New York, Travis (our age) from Houston, and us. I have been able to get to know the ladies from NY pretty well because of our many van rides into the community, and Travis as he has shared a room with us, and the Canadians from working on the well together. God always has a good plan. I am incredibly thankful. 

On another note I know in my heart and mind that I am committing to studying Spanish when I return home. I feel a strong calling to know the language so that Alexis and I can return on occassion. I do not have a perfectly clear dream in mind as to how this would pan out, but it is strong enough to commit to learning a lot more Spanish. Many people were asking today when we were coming back, it about killed me to say I don't know if we will, but it felt good knowing that there was at least a possibility. 

.....and... Travis literally just got stung by a scorpion.... in our hotel room. wow. Just took a nice timeout, but Travis should be just fine aparently, but that was a little freaky....a lotta freaky.....

The very much dead scorpion that freaked us out a bit. 

Also today it was a lot of fun getting to know our leaders a lot better. Each day has been more and more fun with each of them. Alvaro may be the funniest guy I have ever met, not exaggerating one bit. Manuel (Meme) and I get to talk a lot in Spanglish becuase he drives and I ride shotgun, he is an the extrememly loving teddy bear type. Blanca also shared a lot of her stories, and schooling experiences of life. She is such a smart, driven, and nice Senora. She has answered a lot of my questions about the state of the country, teen pregnancy, the Christian traditions, and much much more. Without these three the trip could not have been near as amazing. I thank God for the amazing work that they do, and the passion that they do it with. 

Tailwinds, 

Dios le bendiga,

Marcos y Josue'

Day 5. 2-25-2014.

Day 2 at the comunidad was even more grand than the first. It was fantastic to see familiar faces, remember names,  and make a lot of progress on the well. 

 

We both spoke a lot more Spanish today. It is fun to start feeling a little more competent, although I've become very convinced that I need to hone my Spanish skills once I am home in preparation for my next return. I'm going to find a good book to learn from. No seriously... I am. :)

We drilled the well 7 inches wide at 125 feet deep. Then put the PVC pipe together and lowered it down by hand. Then filled around the PVC with gravel pack. We then forced a lot of air down the pipe to kick start the water flow. Now we are working on developing the well, or in other words cleaning out the water and making the hole secure.  

My verses for the week. 

I also spent time in the hygene lessons today teaching with Blanca. It was a ton of fun. I was able to connect a lot more with the children, and the mothers of the community. Blanca is seriously the most amazing teacher one could ask for, she had a terribly sore throat today, no voice, and taught alllll day long. We are praying for God's strength to keep her strong. Tomorrow I should also be teaching little kids proper use of the well, proper hygene techniques etc. today I had to teach on worms and parasites. That was a rough subject, but all of them had experienced parasites personally so it was very needed. 

I have been sitting in the front seat with Manuel everyday, both to and from the community. We have been communicating a lot in Spanglish, and learning quite a bit of each other's native languages from each other. What a fun and amazing young 24 year old man of God. 

Manuel (meme), on the drill site with the rig. 

Until next time,

Tailwinds,

Dios le bendiga,

Marcos y Josue'

Day 4. 2-24-2014

We have been waiting for today for a longggg time. It was very special to me being in this moment, when a year and a half ago we began brainstorming. We are starting the well we dreamed and thought of so much. All the times on the bike trip that we told people what we were doing, we were talking about today. Wow. So as one could expect....Today was a great day. 

In sequential order....

We ate breakfast at 5 am, left for the village at 6, arrived at 7. 

We were intriduced to the community, and it was quite amazing to meet the leaders, the men, the teachers, a few women, and many students of the community. Soon we began digging trenches to rotate and filter slimy mud through the drill to help it break through the ground. 

The circulation of the muddy mix. 

Drinking from a coconut. If only we had an unlimited supply of these on the bike trip...

After the digging was finished we began drilling the exploring hole, we drilled until early afternoon when we reached 150 ft. The best aquifer we found was at 120 ft, so eventually that's where our pipes will go to. We all rotated through the four driller positions; driller, assistant driller, tool pusher, and helper. In the middle of the work day we had lunch at Jaime's casa. I learned to make tortillas with Juana, Jaime's wife. After lunch we finished the exploring hole and pulled up all the pipes while getting mud all over ourselves. 

    At lunch time, and after the drilling was done for the day we played a bunch of barefoot soccer with the kids. We met a bunch of amazingly beautiful boys and girls. Instantly we knew it would be very hard to leave in a few days.  

     On our way back to the hotel we checked out the other well that the generous donors of lifecycle sposored at Trocha 7, Calle 10. As we were there talking to the leader of the village Marbe, a family pulled up in their small car and began filling a bunch of water jugs with the pump. It was amazing to just sit there and watch the well bringing life to a wide expanse of people in the village. 

First glance. 

Realizing the awesomeness....

Thanks lifecycle supporters!

With Marbe, the village leader. 

    When we finally arrived at the hotel there was no power or water after a very hot and dirty day. I guess that was something we were a little used to after the bike trip. Eventually the power did turn back on and the team celebrated the thought of a clean shower before bed. 

It was my turn to share a devotional and I shared on 1 Cor 2:1-6, my verses for the week (at least!) with the theme of "I am nothing, God is everything."

After the devotional a few of us sat down with Blanca to learn how to teach the hygene lessons for the next few days. It was awesome to see the detail and intricacy of the lessons. We would be the teacher essentially, and Blanca would then translate and add tidbits of helpful information. I ended up teaching on worms, parasites, a water mixture to aid with dehydration associated with diarrhea, and a photo by photo review of the overall hygeine lessons. Then it was time to call it a night. 

Tailwinds,

Dios le bendiga,

Marcos y Josue'