So I think I will make a go at blogging for one year. Some of the bloggers I read have tried this so I know it can be done, if you join me during this adventure feel free to let me know what you think.
– d1… or Long Way Down reflections –
Tonight I finished the second adventure from Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman called Long Way Down where these two start from John o’ Groats in Scotland ride though Europe and Africa ending in Cape Town, South Africa. Along the way they encounter the people and the culture of the amazing places they see. They also make stops with UNICEF, which has a place in both their hearts. The series documents the joys and the hardships they and their team face. The team is made up of Ewan and Charlie, two producers, a medic, and three camera men; one of them being a security consultant as well with many more support people back in London and along the route.The best part is how they do it, Ewan and Charlie are on BWM R 1200 Adventures (big enduro bikes) along with one of the camera guys while the rest of the team takes two and sometimes three 4 wheelers.
Two of the main things that drew me too this were watching them all experience the journey, the changing landscapes from chaparral to farmlands to swaps and back many times over and the people they met along the way.
Watching them on this journey was incredible, not just because they could do it, but this was the second time they had this awesome experience. I mean imagine being able to do something you love like ride a motorcycle with your best friend for 3 to 6 months. Next imagine you are going to travel the world. Then you are going to meet the people of the world you are traveling though, and probably impacting them forever not to mention meeting people whom you may have already (i.e. going to a bar where a poster of you is hung up because the bar was used in the original star wars) Also you get to test yourself in ways most people don’t dream of, camping anywhere in Africa under the stars, riding a motorcycle along the Skeleton Coast and traveling the length or width of several continents.
One of the last scenes is when the team rides into Cape Town… with HUNDREDS of other motorcycles. Yea, I am a little starstruck at this. But I wonder…
Yes they met with UNICEF along the trip many times, but what if instead of getting their, the whole point of the journey was to minister to the people along the way, to interact with people and spend time with them and show them love form the greatest lover ever, what if a team got to do this trip over with a God first attitude, the journey would not be all that different, the team would still be changed for life, but how would God use them differently, or would He, would the trip end up the same, people still being touched the same way that the Long Way Down guys were able to.
I wold love to be able to do something like this. I know its highly unlikely, and I am excited to think about what God has planned for me in the future, who knows maybe I will do this locally with three other people and make several two week trips out of it. God knows, and perhaps I will too…