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pedalingforthepearl
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Interests: We are amazed each day at how we see God working along this journey, as this trip is so much bigger then us.
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Member Since:
4/1/2006
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| The Dream is being built, one brick at a time....Amazing News! CEF of Uganda has moved into the first completed room of the new CEF National Headquarters!!! 
The staff in Uganda have a vision to raise a total of $500,000.00 for all of their plans for the property that CEF owns. They have received a grant and some gifts from other sources, and this summer have started the building process of the national office. They are now receiving the money raised through Pedaling for the Pearl. Mr. Stephen Musisi, the National Director of CEF, wrote this to Esther: "These are the staff members who had come to have a staff meeting and decided to first inspect the work done long before the room was completed." 
(Emmanuel, Esther's teammate, is in the green shirt, second from the left) "This is the Finance & Development sub-committee having the first ever meeting in the National office (completed room) on the 9th of October 2006 and your African father is giving his report."   
"The historical day in the life of CEF Uganda: 18th September 2006, the day CEF (U) shifted into its new premises. From left to right- Ms. Pamala Martinez CEF Missionary to Sudan, Mrs. Beatrice Bakeera, Mrs. Deborah Kaweesa, Ms. Sarah Mirembe (Volunteer), Mr. Joachim Bukenya, Joseph Mukasa, Mr. Richard Sebuliba and Jemba -- all CEF volunteers." 
Praise God for this exciting time as the building begins to go up and is already in use! Please pray for the remaining need of $58,000.00 to complete this project! | | |
| Progress:
We are at $42,000 raised. We are getting a lot of new
exposure. David "No Brakes " Thorn spoke in CEF International
Headquarters Chapel on October 4. He writes ""I can't remember
what I did last week but I sure remember what God did on that
trip." His church Oakridge Baptist in Saint Peters, MO sent $400!
Jim Gutacker showed the 3 minute promo DVD to 15 pastors on October 17
but response was modest . Jim also shared the promo DVD and a challenge
at the CEF Benefit luncheon this past Saturday. Colleen "Stretch"
Recker made a presentation at a church in Virginia last weekend.. This
past Sunday biker and Pastor Jamie Bagley's Carls Corner Community
Fellowship took a $230 offering. This coming weekend Esther
"General Lee" Gutacker will share on the trip at a missions conference
at New Song Fellowship in Lancaster. And next week both Esther and Jim
will be reconnecting in Missouri with Pastor Bruce Chulka and our
friends at Hope Bible Church in O'Fallon. The
New Egypt Press ran an excellent article last week about the
trip. From the article: "They have traveled through 12 states, 3
time zones, and biked
4,000 miles and Esther and Jim Gutacker said that they would do it all
over again in a heart beat. With only a hammock, a sleeping bag
and two
pairs of clothes, the father-daughter team from New Egypt completed a
cross country bike ride that changed their lives forever"
Processing:
I have been trying to carry the lessons of simplifying my life from the
trip to home in NJ. Stopping expansion, reigning in your routine,
and reducing clutter. I sold one car. I'm down to one
car for three drivers. I commute to ministry on my bike a
lot. Rode 750 miles in September. This makes it harder to
just run off and buy stuff. I've been adjusting my routine to
reflect people and the Word of God (life is too short for the Buffalo
Bills). And "Clutters last Stand" is falling in the areas of number of
phones, keys on my ring, books out of the library, and closets and
drawers.
Planning:
What is next in bike touring? Well, I've have my new rebuilt folder in
a suit case ready to fly with to Missouri. We'll see how this bike
works commuting to Warrenton from O'Fallon and riding with friends. My
second daughter Hannah is gaining interest in another father/daughter
ride in 2007. We are praying about a cross Africa trip for the
children. This could be a Pedaling for the Pearl II ride. We are
meeting with CEF President Reese Kauffman about this next week. I also
am praying about a ride to raise awareness of the spiritual needs of
children in elementary schools by riding to every K-6 school in NJ in
2007 (1,290 schools). Would you pray with me?
Jim Gutacker
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| Progress!
Denise
Howard of CEF of Pa in Somerset County forwarded
gifts from her area totaling $1,000. We currently are at $41,000
raised! $59,000 to go. Many are viewing the new 3 minute promotional
DVD produced by Jeff Eades. This explains the faith of the Ugandans so
well! Tom Pollack is looking into copying and distribution of this DVD
to all of NJ's 6,000 churches. The DVD will be shown at the Jersey
Shore Pastor's Fellowship on October 17. If you haven't seen it yet we
will forward you a copy. Esther and Jim had another interview with the
New Egypt Press on Friday and the article is coming out this Thurs.
Processing
Common
questions upon our return include: Are you recovering? and Are you
getting back to normal? Well, I arrived feeling as fit and strong as I
ever have (I wasn't tired) and I guess I now have a "new normal". As I
implement the lessons learned I realized I've been changed. This quote
from Rolf Potts sums it up well:
"As for the practical changes of
"re-entry" into your home life (moving in, finding a job, starting a
routine), confront them all as new adventures. Rediscover your
work and do it well. Re-deploy your simplicity and make it pay
out in free time. Emulate the best of people who themselves were
at home when you met them on your travels. Pinpoint what you
learned from them - hospitality, fun, reverence, integrity - and
incorporate those things into your own life. Integrate the
deliberate pace and fresh perspective that made your travel experience
so vivid, and allow for unstructured time in your day-to-day home
schedule. Don't let the vices you conquered on the road - fear,
selfishness, vanity, prejudice, envy - creep back into your daily
life. Explore your home town as if it were a foreign land, and
take an interest in your neighbors as if they were exotic
tribesmen. Keep things real and keep on learning. Be
creative and get into adventures. Earn your freedom all over
again and don't set limits. Keep things simple and let your
spirit grow. But most of all keep living your life in such a way
that allows your dreams room to breathe. Because you'll never
know when you'll feel the urge to hit the road again."
Last
night Esther and I showed pictures from the trip projected on a large
screen to some friends. We still have a lot of work pulling all the
information together: photos, video, maps, brochures, quotes, music and
studio footage.
Anybody have any ideas?
Planning
What
will the next bike tour be? Well there are some trial balloons floating
around. The new Adventure Cycling "Underground Railroad Trail" 2,200
miles, from Alabama to Canada (6 weeks) has some potential with some
great spiritual themes. How about mid May through June 2007? Denise
Howard has expressed interest in a Blue Ridge Parkway tour ending at
the CEF National conference in NC in May 2007. My next daughter,
Hannah is interested in a tour next summer which could be another
father/daughter ride. I would consider a tour in other countries. I
have interests in Mexico, South America, Uganda and New Zealand. Esther
would like to do Germany next summer. Interested? Talk to me.
It's a beautiful morning,
Jim Gutacker, studentofthegame@comcast.net
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| The GoalPraise the Lord for around $40,000.00 that has come in for the CEF of Uganda National Office! Thank you to those of you who have given so generously!
A 3-minute video highlighting the trip and the work in Uganda has been
produced by CEF Inc, to be shown to churches and individuals. If
you would like a copy, please email Esther at
pearlofafrica@comcast.net. This is a great tool that you can use
to interest others in being a part of getting this building
up! Would you pray about supporting this cause on a monthly basis for this next year? Children's lives will be influenced for eternity as a result! 
All checks can be made payable to CEF, with "Pedaling for the Pearl" written in the margin, and sent to:
PO Box 218, New Egypt, NJ 08533.
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