Update #9 - March 29th, 2005
Cordell, OK - 3161.0 miles (5057.6 kms.)

I'm a few days ahead of schedule getting into Oklahoma. I crossed into Oklahoma yesterday afternoon after completing a 1524.4 mile ride through Texas. I'll be riding across Oklahoma north of Oklahoma towards Tulsa, OK and then on to Eastern Kansas.

The ride from Hamlin, TX (actually Roby) went okay. Because of some very strong winds (over 30 mph between Roby and Snyder), I accepted a ride from a guy from the Breckenridge area who was going to his carpentry job in Lubbock. This saved me about four days of riding. Before leaving me off in downtown Lubbock, Tom slipped me $20. This was after he had stopped at a Sonic to get me dinner. I found a cheap motel room in the north part of Lubbock.

From Lubbock, I had stops in Littlefield, Hereford, Amarillo, Panhandle, Pampa, TX and then Sayre, OK. In Littlefield, I got to attend a cowboy church and was given the chance to tell my testimony and talk about my ministry. I talked for about 10 minutes at the end of the service. After the service, I was given almost $150 in "Green-Handshakes". In Hereford, I spoke at the First Baptist Church for a few minutes during the Wednesday night Bible study. One of the congregation members offered to get me a room at the local Best Western. What really surprised me was that after I got settled in the room, the guy offered to take me to the local Wal-Mart and get me a few things. I was given the chance to get some food, extra batteries, a new pair of cycling gloves, and a brand new tent. The tent was the biggest help by far since the old one that I had been carrying around from the past couple of years had lost it's rain-proofing.

I tried to connect with a pastor friend in the small town of Panhandle Friday (March 25th) but I wasn't able to. He had gone out of town for the weekend with his wife. The youth pastor at his church offered through the Ministerial Association to get me a room at the local motel for the night.

Saturday, March 26th, was by far the hardest and coldest for the year. A late winter storm had come into the area and they were predicting about 3 inches of snow on the grown. I was really struggling trying to ride against the 30 mph headwinds. It didn't start to snow (more like sleet) about halfway between Panhandle and Pampa. Two young guys who were going home from college for the Easter Weekend picked me up and took me into Pampa. Instead of leaving at a gas station in Pampa, they offered to take me to one of the motels there and even pay for the room for the night.

Sunday, March 27th, was special for me since it was the 12th anniversary of the start of my ministry. I got the chance to speak for a few minutes during the Easter morning service at the United Methodist church. This was the 16th church that I spoke at this year. After the service, I was given $40 in "Green-Handshakes".

I'll try and post and update as often as I can if my plans change.