This is the second installment of a post written by Venture alumna Erin Perkins, a seasoned Venture participant and leader, and a big part of our extended Venture Community.

When I remember back to the end of each of my tours, my first thought is to describe what I think “joyous sorrow” may mean. I think joyous sorrow is the best way to describe the feeling of leaving that almost instant family you just spent anywhere from ten days to nine weeks with. The feeling of joy is in knowing you really (for me) rode your bike across a country with these people you had previously not known, but in the past seven weeks have sweat, bled and cried by your side twelve hours a day, seven days a week, through bloody noses, extreme fear, guilt, failure and in the end, triumph.

The joy is that this really happened, and these people really love you, and you know they always will. The sorrow is that it’s over; the sub culture of a tour cyclist, the blood, sweat and tears; and your muscles begin to atrophy. And to top it off, in my case, my bike and all of my gear got lost in the mail, never to return. The sorrow is in the loss, and the joy is in what you gained despite the loss, and how you can never lose what you gained: family.

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This post was written by Venture alumna Erin Perkins, a seasoned Venture participant and leader, and a big part of our extended Venture Community.

There is something about a Venture tour; if you have been blessed to participate in one already, you know what I mean. If you are new this year, you will soon understand.

 
The key to the idea of “benefit[ing] the world, and discover[ing] your soul” I think is: community. I can’t say that every participant feels exactly the same as me; I realize I am prone to connectedness. However, I do know that many have expressed sentiments similar to mine: “Venture is family”, and almost instantly at that.

I think I changed during that first Ride:Well Bike Tour in 2008, though I cannot say exactly when. In college my heart was pulled towards Africa. All 50 countries in Africa (now 51). I had narrowed it down with a top ten list of places in Africa I felt most pulled toward, with Tanzania in the number one spot. In 2007, I had the opportunity to travel to Rwanda, and after that imagined that I could, and maybe should, live there in Rwanda as a missionary of some kind. Towards the end of college, I found myself researching every organization there was that sent people to Africa. My best friend and I had a plan to move there together. Uganda at first, then the Sudan.

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Photo Courtesy World Vision ACT:S

Today, April 25, is World Malaria Day. Venture is partnering with World Vision ACT:S this summer to join the movement to END MALARIA BY 2015 with our 5 Summits Trek. You can still join the 5 Summits Team (here)!

Bed nets are inexpensive and life-saving – one net costs you $6 (prevention education included), and $18 can protect an entire family for up to 4 years.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter today, where we’ll pass along some valuable tools and information from our friends at ACT:S so you can engage in the campaign.

Yesterday, ACT:S highlighted the 5 Summits Trek participants on their blog.

Let’s be the generation that ends malaria! Find a way to engage in this effort.

www.ventureexpeditions.org

 
In this photo from Free Burma Rangers, a Karen mother holds her daughter while fleeing Burmese oppression. Some Venture staff spent time last week at Neighborhood House learning about Karen Culture in the Twin Cities.

Original post from Yahoo! News here.

This post is an excerpt from Rich Dixon’s blog. Rich is riding with our IJM Freedom Tour this summer. He is a writer and motivational speaker, and logs over 2,000 miles annually on his hand cycle.

I’m preparing for a bike ride in July that’ll raise awareness and funds for International Justice Mission.

I’m riding with a team. We want to advance IJM’s vision: To rescue thousands, protect millions and prove that justice for the poor is possible. It’s a big dream.

A DREAM is a God-inspired desire to use your gifts and passions to serve and change the world.

It’s awfully easy to dismiss that kind of dream as being too big. Can eighteen people on bikes really change the world?

I believe we can. One bike ride won’t end worldwide slavery or sex trafficking. It won’t free 27 million slaves or rescue 2 million children trapped in worldwide sex trade.

Read the rest of this post on Rich’s blog here.

www.ventureexpeditions.org

This post is a conversation with the newly crowned “Mrs. Minnesota,” Ali Carr. Ali climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro with Venture in 2007. Congratulations on winning the pageant, Ali!

Name: Ali Carr
Age: 24
City: Minneapolis, MN
Occupation: Graduation Specialist at North Central University. I primarily work with graduating seniors and assist them in finalizing their graduation plans, coordinate the graduation ceremonies and oversee our files and records. As a North Central alumni, it is a really rewarding job to work with students during this time of personal development and growth.

What has been your life’s “greatest adventure” so far, and why?

Well, besides embarking on a first year of marriage in a 500 square foot apartment, my life’s greatest adventure truly has been summiting Mount Kilimanjaro with Venture Expeditions in 2007. My husband had gone on the trip the year prior. I craved to have a soul-searching experience that would benefit others like he did. So in 2007, I traded in my high-heels and bought my first pair of hiking boots.

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