For Cycle of Love 2011 (Nov 5-6) our bike shop team has five teens plus two volunteers and me embarking on this life-changing journey. We are asking for donations for our youth development program at $1/mile (or more if you’d like). You can sponsor as many miles as you would like!

Our first pledge came from GA state representative Margaret Kaiser for $1/mile for the entire trip. Please join Mrs. Kaiser in supporting the at-risk youth of South Atlanta by supporting the work we do!

As we were wrapping up today’s shift (with six police officers volunteering) this image was taken, capturing the unlikely trust being built between these caring officers and urban youth of South Atlanta. THIS is why the South Atlanta Bike Shop partners with the Atlanta Police Department – so that this is the only way the officer is ever driving with the young man in the back seat.

As Metro Merge is working to empower local entrepreneurs to strengthen and grow businesses, I don’t have to strain to imagine what kind of challenges a small business owner may be facing – keeping books, writing proposals and contracts, maintaining client relationships, planning cash flow. This gives me a completely different level of credibility when interacting with other small business owners in our neighborhood.

Recently my neighbor across the street, Ray, started his own commercial cleaning business and already employs four others. With the high unemployment rate in our neighborhood (unofficial numbers say 40%) people like Ray are crucial in re-establishing economic health. That’s the reason Metro Merge strives to empower local business owners.

Over the last several months, Ray and I have had many conversations on our front porches, speaking into each other’s lives – both vocationally and personally.

In the afternoons a group of teens hang out around the South Atlanta Marketplace, a store operated by a partnering ministry. The store is not a suitable place for teens to spend large amounts time, but there is no other place that could involve these kids in a positive activity.

During a 65-mile bicycle trip on which I joined our pastor last December, I rediscovered a passion for bicycling and God began stirring my heart to create a similar bike shop here that would give these teens something positive to do.

After much prayer and encouraging feedback from partnering ministries, our church, neighbors, neighborhood association and The Motion Initiative in Grand Rapids, we decided to move forward. I started with a few of my own tools, but no budget, no bikes and no space. However, God provided. I was given a space to use rent free for the rest of 2010, some neighbors donated tools, toolboxes, rags, and a couple of bicycles. Two other volunteers joined me to serve as mechanics/mentors.

A few weeks ago, I opened the South Atlanta Bike Shop and have five boys enrolled in the program. They are working hard and are on their way to earning their own bicycles.

Last week we saw God provide again. Jessica’s parents brought a truck and trailer full of bicycles donated by members of Good Hope Baptist Church. We barely have space for all the bicycles, which should keep the guys very busy. We are incredibly grateful!

All of the bicycles we repair will be placed for sale at the South Atlanta Marketplace for affordable prices ($15-$30). The boys can purchase any of these with the points they earn. The proceeds from the sales will be used to buy inner tubes and other replacement parts, which I would also like to stock at the South Atlanta Marketplace, making it the first place in our neighborhood where you can buy them. Currently one has to go miles outside of our neighborhood to buy a replacement inner tube or tire.

I am excited to be working with the youth in our community to help them improve their job readiness skills. Youth from communities like ours are often disadvantaged in the job market because of lack of teen employment opportunities and leadership skills. We are going to be intentionally creating opportunities for the youth to take on leadership with different areas of the bike shop. We are also planning to take a few bike trips this summer.

1) Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

2) Andrej’s 27th Birthday!

3) The day we hopefully find out if Baby Ciho #3 (lovingly nicknamed by big sister Kaiya, “Ten-nak-oh-na-na”) is a boy or a girl.

If you’re reading this on the 19th, I would love for you to leave a comment and wish Andrej a happy birthday and let us know whether you think little Ten-nak-oh-na-na is a boy or a girl. Thanks and enjoy your 19th of January!

Due to the short notice, I didn’t have a lot of time to ponder and reflect on my own marriage in order to compose truly helpful advice. However, a little task Andrej and I did during our pre-marital counseling immediately popped into my head. We had to write out what we loved about each other and why we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together. The point of the exercise was so that when our marriage went through difficult times or we found ourselves frustrated with the other one, we could read what we wrote pre-marriage and remember why it was exactly that we wanted to marry the other person.

After mom and I hung up, I relayed the story to Andrej, very proud of myself for remembering this little activity. I was sure he would agree that I had shared good advice and praise my efforts. Instead Andrej curled up his nose and said, “That doesn’t paint a very good picture of our marriage.” I laughed and said, “Well if it makes you feel any better in our almost five years of marriage I haven’t had to go back and read what I wrote, not even once. That has to say something.”

A week later, on May 31, Andrej and I celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. We had traded off babysitting with friends, so we had an entire evening to ourselves free of charge. As we drove to Holland (Michigan that is), we honestly couldn’t remember the last time we had a “date night”. We get a baby sitter often but it’s usually for house church, Andrej’s work events or hanging out with friends, so at the cost of babysitting these days we don’t make time for just getting away as a couple. Now that would have been good advice for my cousin: make sure you continue regular date nights even after kids are in the picture. Nevertheless,  it didn’t take long before dating came back to us and we found ourselves walking hand in hand through downtown Holland.

We had dinner at 84 East and then headed out to the lakeshore. We took a long walk on the beach, watched the sunset and reflected on the past five years and dreamed together about the next five. Andrej took a lot of fun pictures of our time at the beach and those are located here. We ended the evening with sundaes from Captain Sundae and enjoyed a slow drive home. A perfect way to celebrate each other and our commitment.

So my love, here’s to five wonderful years and not having to turn to our lists of why we wanted to marry each other…not even once!

Two days later, Andrej was at a conference where yet again his name was chosen from a chance drawing. This time he won an iPod nano! I think it’s time we use his luck for some things we really need like plane tickets, a digital camera and maybe even the Michigan lottery!