One of a series of posts featuring someone on the outside looking in.  Special thanks to 11-year-old Joy for sharing the speech that got her to the District Speech Finals – and that reminds us what Arvid’s ride is all about.

The Life Of Charles Mulli
                       
Imagine: You live in Kenya, in a tiny hut with your mother father and brothers. Your father is an addict and comes home almost every night drunk. He constantly beats and has almost killed your mother. One day you wake up and the hut is empty. Gone. Your family has abandoned you.

Today I have come to talk to you about a man named Charles Mulli. He has an amazing story, which I will tell you in just a moment.

Charles lives in Kenya, to this day, with his wife, Esther, and 7 kids. Over 6000 other children, orphans, have been helped through his organization, which I will also mention.      

When Charles Mulli was 6, his parents left him to fend for himself. His neighbours turned him away when he went to them for help, and he begged for food. He was reunited with his parents again, only to have them leave when he was 9. Finally, a grandfather took him in. After 3 years, Charles had to leave due to financial problems.

Through odd jobs, he managed to pay for himself to go to school.    Charles worked hard, and established several businesses involving taxi driving, oil distribution, and a car insurance company.

One day, in 1986, Charles drove to Nairobi to update the registration on his buses. 8 boys, some of them teens, helped Charles to find a spot to park in the crowded lot. The street children asked for 1 shilling for helping him. Charles wanted to help, but realized the youth would only use it to harm themselves.

Half an hour later, he walked out of the building to find his vehicle was gone! He suspected the boys had stolen it. Now, you might think Charles was steaming mad, wouldn’t you be? But he couldn’t stop thinking about the street boys. He was battling an immense turmoil inside.
For 3 years he wondered how he could help.    

Now imagine this: You’re 11 years old, and your father is one of the richest men in Kenya. You live the good life. One day he tells you he is going to us all of his money to help and take in street children. The outcasts.

Charles Mulli’s goal in life was to achieve great riches. Now it was to take in children no one wanted. He started by bringing food to the kids, telling them stories and that he loves them. Then Charles invited a few kids to his house to live and provided them with food and clothing.

Charles went on to start an orphanage, called Mulli Children’s Family and took in an ENORMOUS amount of children, who graduated, and he took in more. He has made a tremendous impact on the lives and destinies of these kids and youth.

So, Charles Mulli has a miraculous story, don’t get me wrong. His parents left him twice, he struggled  through his teenage years, became a millionaire, and dedicated his life and his wealth to helping street children.

Charles has a biography, “Father to The Fatherless”, that I personally recommend.

I have met this man, and gotten to know some of his adoptive and biological kids, so this isn’t just research. I hope he changes your life like he did mine.

Calculated rest.

Sleep deprivation had taken its toll on Arvid. At the rate he was going, he would continue to lose daily distance and potentially fall significantly behind the record. He took the night off, sleeping and resting in hopes that some recovery would enable him to bike stronger for the rest of the ride. The weather is also incredibly discouraging. Please pray that things improve.

Having ridden the equivalent from Vancouver to Halifax , Arvid suggests that we go back to Vancouver.

After a good nights sleep, he was on the road by 6:00 am.
The wind is still gusty which is certainly not one of Arvid’s favourite weather patterns.
However, the mosquitos are in hiding and the grounds are drying out.

The 3 hours of rest a day that Arvid has been getting is no longer enough. There is very little recovery that happens during the short nights. The weather conditions continue to be brutal with hIm getting soaked several times a day. His speed on the bike has been slowly decreasing. We have decided that he will take an extended rest. He has already eaten pizza, had a leg massage and is now snoring. He will rest all night with plans to be on the bike again tomorrow (Sunday) at 6am.

Please pray that he will rest well and that his body and spirit will be strengthened to continue.

One of a series of posts featuring someone on the outside looking in. Special thanks to Matt for sharing your take on Arvid’s adventures.

When I think of Arvid, I think of passion. When I talk to him, I hear passion. And most importantly, when I see Arvid riding day and night, I see passion. And it’s the same kind of passion I saw in Charles Mulli when I volunteered at MCF last August. The same passion for the street children of Kenya and the same “Okay, God, I’ll do the impossible with Your help” kind of attitude and obedience. It’s inspiring. And it makes me passionate!

I’ve known the word passion to mean excitement and strong emotion and desire – all wonderful things that are used to describe Arvid. But I’ve learned that the word passion, or in Latin patere, was actually coined by 12th century religious scholars meaning to suffer. In fact, they created the word to describe the willing suffering of Jesus.

If you’ve been following Arvid on his ride, it’s not a stretch to make that connection. Since I live in Winnipeg and work in Selkirk, I’ve had the opportunity to see Arvid each day so far. Sometimes it’s a honk and a wave as we pass in opposite directions, sometimes it’s a quick cycle-by as I snap a few photos on the side of the road and other times it’s driving beside him to hear an update on the day. Each time I see him, despite the smile he always wears, I am inspired by his passion – by the suffering he is enduring – for each of the 10,000 wonderful children rescued by MCF over the past 25 years.

Thank you, Arvid, for showing me what real passion is.

Day 12 KM: 434
Total KM: 5336
Average KM: 444
Buffer: 32 KM

To break the record Arvid’s average (green line) will need to stay above the pacer (black line). The blue line is his daily distance, the yellow bars are the buffer (using the y-axis on right).

At 4:30 AM we had to stop on the road side for a minor mechanical clip adjustment. With one shoe in hand and his dry sock absorbing rain water on the wet pavement… the mosquitos begin devouring his legs.
Forewarned is forearmed!

correct!

With the completion of Lap 184 Arvid has done 5,000 km! This is huge. But oh the reality of what still remains is overwhelming.

Like any street, Henderson suffers from the weather, traffic, and conditions. After the rain and storms of the previous days gravel and rocks dotted the side. Bill, a former co-worker of Arvid’s, had been out to bike Henderson and cheer him on. Annoyed at the stones, Bill decided to do something about it. He called the powers that be and told them what was happening. Lo and behold, the streets were cleared today. So a shoutout to Bill for the effort and to East St. Paul for the clean route!

Thank you to the neighbour Yolanda, who checks up on us every day and brings us such tasty treats! We are enjoying them.

“It wouldn’t be a record if it was easy.”

I think that defines the last 11 days. In that time, Arvid has done 180 laps of Henderson. He has completed the entire distance of RAAM 2014 (4859km), and he is almost at the halfway point of this incredible journey. If anything, this just reminds me of how big a number 10,000 is. Mindblowing that MCF has rescued 10,000 lives in 25 years.

Arvid slept 3+ hours in a “nap” yesterday (what we would call a nap he calls a night) and 90 minutes at night. Please pray that the rain stays away, the winds die down completely, and the weather gets a little warmer. On a calm, warm day Arvid could put significant distance in, distance that would go above the average.

Day 11 KM: 404
Total KM: 4902
Average KM: 445
Buffer: 40 KM

Updated graph below. Blue is daily distance. Green is cumulative average. Black is the pacer distance. Yellow bars correspond to the y-axis on the right, and represent the gap Arvid has over the average. Right now it’s at 40km. The pacer travels at 18.4km/h. In other words, Arvid has a lead of 2 hours 10 minutes over the invisible pacer. 

The green line (Arvid’s average daily distance) needs to stay above the black (the record pace).

The two oldest grandsons decided to wake their moms up to come see Grandpa late in the evening!?! What a fun outing. And thanks for bringing grandpa the yummy brownies!