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2009-01-06 issue:

Bikers begin 8,500 mile ride to Paraguay

Two young men to raise funds so others can attend Global Youth Summit.

by Jim Bishop

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A group of well-wishers stood in the rain on Jan. 6, as Lars Akerson, 22, of Harrisonburg, Va., and Jonathan Spicher, 20, of Lancaster, Pa., left Virginia Mennonite Conference headquarters in Park View, Va., pointing their 27-speed touring bikes southward.

Six months and some 8,500 miles later, they hope to arrive in Asunción, Paraguay, to attend two global church meetings.


Lars Akerson (left) and Jonathan Spicher leave Harrisonburg, Va., Jan. 6. They planned to spend their first night on the road at Charlottesville (Va.)  Mennonite Church. Photo by Lindsey Roeschley.

The 15th Mennonite World Conference (MWC) Assembly, is set for July 13-19 in Asunción with  the Global Youth Summit to follow on July 10-12. The first such gathering was held in 2003 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, and attracted more than 220 young adults from 28 countries.

It’s an adventure, certainly, but more than that the pair seeks to raise funds to help more young adults from other countries to attend the summit.

They will also engage individuals, Anabaptist churches and larger groups along the way, listen to others' concerns and vision for the church, but they also anticipate doing service projects as they arise in keeping with the focus of the youth summit, "Service: Live the Difference."

They also worked with persons at Mennonite Central Committee and with Mennonite church conferences in setting up contacts on their route.

Akerson graduated from Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, in 2008, a double major in  mathematics and liberal arts with a minor in Spanish. Spicher plans to return to EMU this fall as a senior pre-med major. His biking venture will fulfill the school’s cross-cultural requirement.

The first segment of the journey will include stops in Durham, N.C., and at Jubilee Partners in Comer, Ga. They plan to travel through Alabama, Louisiana and Texas and cross into Mexico, through Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and finally, Paraguay.

They invited others to join them for sections of the ride, for a few miles or several days. They also hope to spend time interacting with the EMU cross-cultural spring semester seminar group whose time in Guatemala will coincide with their trip. They will also visit MCC workers in various locations and Conservative Mennonite Conference personnel in Ecuador.

Before the trip, when asked about the weather uncertainties and risk and safety factors of this trek across two continents, Akerson and Spicher remained silent a moment before responding.

"Our main concern is the last leg of the trip," Akerson said. "We’ll spend much of the last two months biking in elevations up to 14,000 feet above sea level."

"We will be vulnerable, but we're relying on persons' hospitality and intentionally depending on God and others for safety and protection," Spicher said. "We've done some planning for contingencies but can’t anticipate everything that could happen along the way."

Nancy Heisey, chair of the Bible and religion department at EMU and president of MWC, called the pair’s impending venture "exciting and scary."

"I admire the amount of energy Lars and Jonathan are putting into this journey," Heisey said, "but even more, I’m pleased that they are demonstrating a commitment to spiritual growth as well as the significant contribution they want to make to other young adults around the world."

The pair has set up an interactive Web site where they will provide updates of their journey. Anyone who wants to contribute to the fund-raising effort can do so at the same site.

"We hope that our journey will encourage and add to an intercultural conversation about discerning and living Christ’s call with integrity," said Akerson.

"Biking together is a great relationship-building endeavor," Spicher said. "I’m excited to have this opportunity for two-way learning with brothers and sisters and for spiritual growth."

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