This is a copy of an article that Pastor Don wrote for Thunder Roads Indiana Biker Magazine

As I set down to write this, I look outside to see snowflakes the size of dimes and the temperature falling like a pebble in a pond. The bike is under its cover all warm, and my heart is begging to ride in the warm sun with the wind warming my soul. My mind, like all of yours, is dreaming of the road sliding by like a blur. But what comes to mind are the bikers and others we meet. I want to share a few of the stories, if I may.

Our road time always brings something or someone new into this journey we call life. From being asked at a gas station for prayer, to just lending an ear or a shoulder to lean on at one of the many biker events we attend, there is always someone, or something new God puts in our path. We go to clubhouses, on runs that other clubs and organizations put on, and fellowship with other bikers. One of the things my wife, Cyndy, and I do at some of the weekend events we attend is to set up an outdoor movie theater with chairs and popcorn for anyone to enjoy. This time has brought many brothers and sisters into our lives, and I will share a few of the stories over the next two months. But I will start with the story of a non-biker.

I was staying in a campground in Ohio because the job assignment that I was on was temporary. I was heading back to the camper on the bike when I saw a woman walking around the campers, moving rather strangely. So I shut off the bike and coasted as I rolled up close to her. She was standing in the middle of the road, babbling to herself. Not wanting to scare her, I just sat there and waited.

After a few moments, a man looks over from behind their camper and sees a black Harley and a man in leather inches from his wife. He comes running over with fear and concern on his face. I introduce myself. He tells me his name is Ron and that this is his wife, Jenny. I invited them over for dinner. I had started a slow cooker with stew before work, and it was waiting in the camper.

You see, Jenny had Pick’s disease, a disease that, as I saw it, takes a grown woman and makes her a 16-month-old child, just walking around and jabbering, until it takes her. I have never seen a man so in love with someone as Ron is with Jenny. He had to feed her, comb her hair, carry her upstairs, wash her face, and all the things you would have to do with a baby. He did all this with a smile and a soft voice to his love, Jenny.

We spent several hours, and then days, together as I watched Ron with Jenny. The same love Ron has for his Jenny is the same kind of love that Jesus has for each of us, an unconditional type of love. Ron is not a biker, but he has the heart of a biker, for his wife, Jenny. You can learn more about their story on the web. Just look for “Coffee Time With Jesus”. . . I now count Ron as one of my closest friends, and he now looks at bikers with a new heart filled with love and joy.

Cyndy and I believe that God meets us where we are and as we are. Not asking us to change the way we look or the way we dress. Any changes we do, we do because we love HIM and as children of the one true God.

We had the theater set up at one of the events we attended last year with Abate. While a movie was playing, a young man road up, parked his street glide, then sat watching the movie and eating popcorn. As the movie ended, he came over and asked for prayer for freedom from addiction. He had lost almost everything to addiction. As we kneeled before the Lord Jesus to ask that his addiction be removed from his life, Jesus answered right then and there! To this day he rides in victory through a one-step program called Jesus!

We are all called by God into a relationship with Him. At another event, a man walks into our campsite and states, “I have been waiting for a sign from God. I know He is calling for me.” With a smile on my face I said, “Well, you walked into the only campsite around with a preacher in it. What more sign do you need?” He left our campsite with a new life. He dressed the same and looked the same, but had a new future that will last forever with a man named Jesus.

God looks at the HEART, not what is on the outside. While out on a ride with Cyndy, we saw a sign that said to “Join us for a Special Night of Music and Worship.” We stopped and parked the bike near the glass doors of a church. I could see inside through the glass front doors to the pulpit. As we knocked the road dust from our bodies, I could see three men in the front of the church talking. Two of the men made me look small, and I am not a small man. As we walked toward the church entrance, they saw us and beat us to the door. With both of their hands on the crash bars of the double doors, one of the men let the door open, just a crack, and asked: “Can I help you?” I replied, “I am Pastor Don, and we are here for a night of praise and worship.“ I had to repeat this several times before they welcomed us into the church. All they could see is leather and the bike. Many times I have been told that some do not feel welcomed in a church because of the way they look or dress.

At this point, I would like to apologize to all that have been hurt or wounded by the church today. This is not what God is. That is why Jesus came and died on the cross because we all have come up short. None of us can stand above another. To you, I say, “You are loved and can be forgiven of all the things in your life.” Just ask HIM!

It’s not about the destination; it’s about the journey until you get to the destination.

As I mentioned, we set up an outdoor theater at some of the events we attend, and we were getting ready to go to one of those events. As you can imagine we have to bring a lot of equipment. We brought a sound system, projector, chairs, popcorn, and all the things to make it an outdoor theater. Before the event, I had some repairs to make to the camper. The starter on the generator failed at the last event we went to, so it needed to be replaced. The camper needed a new battery and the alternator needed replacing, which is why we needed a new battery. All the repairs were made late Wednesday night for an early Thursday morning departure to an event we have done for over 12 years. As the sun just started to lighten the sky, we completed the loading. When the sky was bright, we started on the road.

Not 4 miles from the house Cyndy said: “Did you hear that pop?” Of course, I didn’t. And I was not going to be moved from my mission, getting to the weekend event. But she did not stop with her questions about the “pop” sound she heard. I will tell you that right then I didn’t have the same heart with Cyndy as I saw that Ron had for Jenny. But as I looked in the review mirror, I saw nothing but smoke rolling from under the camper. As quick as I could we pulled off the road. I opened the dog house cover over the motor. Flames over 3 feet high shot out from the engine compartment, burning the hair from my arms and filling the camper with a thick, black, heavy smoke. Just then, a pickup truck pulls up, and the two men inside said “We saw the smoke from 2 roads away. Do you need help?”

I am calling out to Cyndy get me some water, and then yell out to the guys in the truck, “Do you have a fire extinguisher?” They yelled back “NO!” Cyndy yells, “I DON’T HAVE ANY WATER!”

Ok. At this point, I had to start to laugh.

The camper is on fire, my wife can’t find the 100 gallons of water we have on board, the guys outside are no help, and my arms are starting to feel like a chunk of meat over the fire. (It is funny how time can stand still for a moment.) Cyndy finds a gallon of water and pours the whole thing on the fire. The engine is so hot the water boils and turns to steam. I can’t see her through the smoke from the fire and steam from the water, and notice she is right next to me. I look around, and the guys in the truck are gone. They must have seen their lives flash before their eye and headed for the hills.

With the fire out and the camper still filled with smoke, Cyndy and I fall out of the camper into the fresh, clean air that was outside of the camper.

NOW, WHAT?

The biker family at this event have come to depend on us and look for our site as a landmark and an anchor for them. We felt we had to be there.

I was able to put the camper back together and get back on the road in a few hours. We stopped for gas, and that pickup truck was there. The guys came over to say, “We would never have believed you would be on the road after what we saw.” God is good all the time! A transmission line broke and sprayed transmission fluid all over the motor. That’s what started the fire. After replacing a belt, adding fluid and repairing the line, we got back on the road.

That weekend, we handed out hundreds of New Testament Bibles, and 12 bikers gave their heart to the Lord Jesus! Man are we Blessed to be used in such a way! WE LOVE BIKERS! We have a lot of work to do on the camper for the upcoming season, but one way or another, we will be on the roads looking to be a blessing to you and to be blessed by you.

I could go on and on with tales of the brothers and sister we have met as we ride, and the ones we have met at events we have gone to. Maybe Thunder roads will ask us for more tales; you never know, just keep looking. And know you are Loved, By a God that wants you to be with Him forever in love and joy.

Pastor Don

Love and respect,

Bikers for Christ – State Elder Indiana

Spirit Led Ministries, Inc.