This summer, our Cycle for Hope USA team completed an unforgettable three-week journey that became far more than a physical challenge.
Over the course of the trip, the team cycled 1,115 kilometres across Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, experiencing what became a very real spiritual journey along the way. Three riders completed every mile of the journey.
From almost the beginning, one phrase seemed to follow us throughout the trip: “Not by chance.” Again and again, people used those words, and as the journey unfolded, we became increasingly aware of the many ways God seemed to be leading, guiding and providing for us.
We had planned as much as we could in advance, but there were still lots of things that hadn't fallen into place. With 15 people, bikes, luggage and equipment, we desperately needed a support vehicle, yet despite our efforts nothing had worked out. Then, less than a week before we flew, we were offered the use of a 15-seater vehicle — exactly what we needed — and remarkably it was located less than an hour from the airport we were flying into. It was one of the first moments when we found ourselves saying, “This is not by chance.”
Accommodation provided another lesson in trust. Despite months of preparation and attempts to connect with churches and organisations along the route, when we climbed onto our bikes on the first morning we still did not know where we would sleep that night. In fact, much of our accommodation plan for the first ten days remained completely blank. But we couldn't wait any longer and simply had to start cycling and trust God for the next step.
And He provided.
Throughout the journey, individuals, churches and ministries opened their doors to us with extraordinary kindness and generosity. We were given places to stay, meals, showers, practical help, fun activities and, perhaps most importantly, wonderful times of fellowship. Strangers welcomed us into their homes and quickly became friends. Again and again, the right people seemed to come alongside us at exactly the right moment.
“Not by chance.”
Each morning before setting off, someone from the team shared a Bible verse for the day. We were often amazed by how relevant those verses became to the situations we encountered. They encouraged us when we were tired, challenged us when things were uncertain and reminded us to keep looking to God rather than trying to work everything out ourselves. The physical cycle gradually became a spiritual journey of learning to trust God one day at a time.
Perhaps the most remarkable “Not by chance” moment was saved for our final day. We attended a World Cup Final watch party with several thousand people and, among that enormous crowd, somehow met a Senegalese woman whose family came from Thiès — the town beside Sanghé, where Yakaar Football is based. She was so excited to meet people who lived in Senegal that she insisted on making our whole team a Senegalese meal.
As we talked over the meal, she asked why we were living in Senegal, which gave us the opportunity to share about our Christian faith and why we had come to serve there. She then said something that stopped us in our tracks:
“I don't think it is by chance that we met today.”
After everything that had happened during the previous three weeks, we didn't think so either.
She went on to explain that she had been asking serious questions about faith and wanted to understand more about Christianity and Jesus. Remarkably, the people hosting us that weekend had previously served in Senegal themselves and now hosted a weekly Bible study in their home, giving her an immediate opportunity to continue exploring those questions. Out of thousands of people, on the final day of our journey, we had met someone from the very part of Senegal where we live and serve. It felt like a fitting final reminder that God had been going ahead of us throughout the entire trip.
The cycle also gave us many opportunities to share about the work of Yakaar Football, build new friendships and encourage others through the story of what God is doing through football in Senegal.
Through the generosity of so many supporters, Cycle for Hope USA raised more than £12,000 / $16,000 towards the development of the Yakaar (Hope) Football Centre. We are incredibly grateful for every donation and for the difference these funds will make as we continue developing the centre as a place where young people can play, learn, grow and discover hope.
But when we look back, the greatest impact of the trip cannot be measured simply in kilometres cycled or pounds raised. It was found in the people we met, the friendships formed and the lessons God taught us along the way. We were reminded that we do not always need to see the whole road ahead before taking the next step. Sometimes we simply need to move forward in faith and trust God to guide us as we go.
A huge thank you to everyone who played a part in making Cycle for Hope USA possible — those who prayed for us, sponsored the team, supported the fundraising, hosted us along the route, provided meals and accommodation, encouraged us and helped in countless practical ways.
We could never have completed the journey alone. Looking back, so many moments might easily have been dismissed as coincidence. Yet taken together, they left us with a very different impression: that God was with us all along, leading, guiding and providing for us, and that these things were indeed ‘not by chance’.
