From Her Perspective

Hello!

Today, my sister Belle is going to share her thoughts about cycle4compassion.  Cycle4compassion is a bike-a-thon to raise money to support a Compassion sponsored boy, Mainor.  To read more about cycle4compassion please to my page dedicated to that HERE.

Tell me a little about yourself.   

 My name is Belle.  I am nine.  I like to ride my bike, swim, play guitar, and help my grandparents. 

 What did you think about cycle4compassion before you rode?

 I thought that it was a cool idea to get sponsors to raise money for Compassion.  I also thought that it would be cool if we could sponsor a kid, which we did!

How did you feel when you asked people for donations? 

 I was very nervous.  I actually screwed up a little.  I was really happy when people donated. 

Tell me about your ride.

I rode fifteen kilometers, which was four times around our block.  The last time around nearly killed my legs.  Every time I went up a hill, my right leg really hurt.  When it got hard, I remembered that I was helping Mainor.

What did you learn by participating in cycle4compassion? 

 I learned that hard work is good.  I also learned that every dollar counts.

Change a life!
Lizzie :)

What I Learned By Going Door-to-door

Hello!

To get sponsorships for my cycle4compassion ride, I went door-to-door to ask for donations.  I had never done this before, so it was a new experience for me.

The first time, I rode my bike for over an hour.  I only got about half of the block done, but I had over $200 in donations.  It was really encouraging.

The couple at the first house I went to were really sweet.  As you can imagine, I was quite nervous, even though I memorized what to say.  I stepped inside the door while the lady went to get the money.  Apparently the man realized I was nervous, because he told me not to be.  He told me it was a good cause to raise money for.  I know that God used that man to reassure me.  Now I won't say I wasn't still nervous, but I was not as much.

The second time I went door-to-door was after I came home from camping.  Because I had sprained my arm, I could not ride my bike.  So, my mom drove me around.

That day I met two fellow sponsors.  It was so cool to see that there were Compassion sponsors near me.  I could tell that they loved their sponsored kids.  From what they said about their sponsored children, I think they probably write to them as well.  I am so glad that there are other sponsors in my area.  One day when I have a letter writing party, I will invite them.  I would really love to get to know them and their sponsored kids.

While I found going door-to-door easier than asking people I know for donations, it still taught me a lot.  It taught me that God is good all the time and He really does work all things together for good.

Being able to see the people God led to give was awesome.  One lady gave one dollar.  She was so sweet though, and it was all the small bills she had.  She stopped watching a seventies skating movie to find it for me.

All in all, I am glad I went door-to-door.  I can't wait for cycle4compassion next year and to see how God brings all things together to continue sponsoring Mainor.

Change a life!
Lizzie :)

It is that time again!  For more information on how you can participate in Cycle4Compassion this year, go to cycle4compassion.com

And the results are in...

Hello!

I know you all have been patiently waiting to see how the results for cycle4compassion worked out.  Sorry, if took me so long to let you guys know.

For those of you who do not know, my sister, dad, and I rode 25km on September 22, 2012.  This was to raise money for Compassion International.  You can read more about that HERE.

For the results--

I got thirty-six sponsors by going door-to-door and family.  My little sister got four sponsors.  And my older sponsor got one.  That equals forty-one sponsorships!

My older sister and I rode 25km each.  My little sister rode 15km.  All-in-all, we rode a grand total of 65 kilometers!

We raised enough money to sponsor Mainor for one year and give a graduation gift to Mabel for college!

I am so happy with the outcome of cycle4compassion.  It really shows that when we all work together, we can change lives.  While I do have some changes in store for next year, I think it is amazing that this much happened the first year.  God is so good.

I plan on setting up a page where all the posts about cycle4compassion, Mainor, and Mabel will be linked to.  So stay tuned for that :)

And if you participated or gave, thank you soo much!  You have truly changed Mainor and Mabel's lives!!

Change a life!
Lizzie :)

Cycle4compassion

Hello!

Remember when I wrote about the Compassion fundraiser?  Well last Saturday, my dad, sister, and I rode 25km.

It was raining in the morning, but we decided to go on as scheduled.  We got ready and went to the Erie Canal bike path. 

at the beginning

We put on our rain ponchos on and started out.  I thought the path was supposed to be mostly blacktop.  I was wrong.  Like really wrong.  It was like fine gravel and sand mixture.  And it was soaked.  If you biked in the center, your tire would leave an inch indent.  Under the bridges was paved, though.

It was really hard.  We went about 10km an hour, which is only 6 miles per hour.  It was just a little path, and there were drop-offs on each side.  The one side was rocky down to the canal.  The other side had a bunch of trees down the slope to a road or something. 

We stopped once to take off our rain ponchos, because it appeared to stop raining.  It was noon before we got half way.  We stopped, took some pictures, and had a quick lunch.

half-way

My arm started to hurt, because I had sprained it when I fell off my bike while I was camping.  I did not feel like riding much more.  But we had to go on.  So we went.

Not ten minutes later, we stopped to put our ponchos back on.  It was really cold and kinda breezy and raining.  We were going so slow.  I would have liked to go faster, but I think it would have worn me out. 

Because it was so hard to bike, we walked our bikes for a while.  It was easier but not faster.  We got to one of the bridges and got back on our bikes.  It was refreshing to ride on the blacktop. 

When we still had 5km left, I wanted to walk the rest.  I think we all did.  But we kept riding.  Finally in the distance, I could see our truck!  I went as fast as I could, which wasn't very fast at all.  We made it.  It was so nice to get in the truck and get warmed up.

I'm not going to lie, I wanted to quit many times.  But, then I would think about all the people who donated to Compassion because of my ride.  I would think about the lives I was changing.  I couldn't quit.  And I am so glad we didn't.  It was a lot of fun, and I wouldn't change it if I could.

Soon, I'll get the final tally of how much we raised.  You'll never guess how much.  God is good.

Change a life!

Lizzie :)

Compassion Fundraiser

Hello!

I can't believe that summer is practically over!  I've been busy camping, hanging out with friends, and lazing about. 

To finish up summer, my dad and I planned a bike-a-thon.  It is called Cycle4Compassion.  I am so excited about it.  The best part is you can participate too.  It is an individual event.  All you have to do is fill out a form, enlist people to sponsor you, and ride!  You can ride 15 or 25 kilometers.  And you can have an awesome t-shirt for $10.  The money raised through sponsorships will go to sponsor children with Compassion International.  Compassion is a holistic child development organization.  Their mission is to "release children from poverty in Jesus' name."  You must register and ride by September 30, 2012.  However if you cannot do it by this day, let me know.  I am sure we can work something out.  Since I cannot post pdf's on here, you can e-mail me for the forms.  I am going to be riding 25km around September 22.  I am looking for sponsors as well.  So my e-mail is lizzie4compassion@gmail.com if you'd like the forms.

Change a life!
Lizzie :)