Written by Sarah Kyle
Eight days. 622 miles. $2,200.Last week, seven Harding students literally put the pedal to the metal by biking 622 miles from Searcy, Ark., to Houston, Texas, raising money and awareness for Living Water International.Senior Jordan Harris, who planned the trip and coordinated the bike team, said he came up with the idea of the long-distance journey, named the Pilgrimage, after spending time this past summer with missionaries in Burkina Faso, West Africa, who partnered with Living Water, an organization that builds and maintains clean water wells across the world.During his time in Africa, Harris said he began to see the importance of providing clean, drinkable water to people who live without access to clean water sources.”It’s hard for us to understand not having water because we have so much of it,” Harris said. “In a culture where we can go to a restroom and, with the wave of a hand, clean water pours from a spout, or where we flush with water clean enough to drink, … we can’t grasp what it’s like to walk to the local well, pump water into a steel basin and then carry it back to a compound on your head, just so you can have water to drink with dinner.”After returning to the States, Harris said he decided to take an active role in helping Living Water’s mission and began to plan the Pilgrimage shortly after Christmas break, with all proceeds helping to repair a well in Burkina Faso.The team consisted of seven riders: Harris, Daniel Kaiser, Jon Waddell, Brent “Beans” Walker, Ashley Moore, Andrew Riley and Eric Wilson, and two supporting members: Courtney Elder, who drove a support vehicle, and Justin Harris, who took photographs and videos of the trip’s progress.Riley, a senior at Harding, said the group began the Pilgrimage in Searcy, biking for eight days (four90-mile or more days and four 60-mile days) to Houston, battling sunburns and fatigue to further their cause.Throughout the trip, Riley said people from every walk of life contributed to the group’s efforts, including a chainsaw woodcarver with a huge personality and a unique donation.”He ended up telling us about his drug history, called Ashley ‘pumpkin’ and ended up donating a 2-foot-tall wooden eagle statue and a small painting to our cause,” Riley said. “We were all wondering what we were going to do with the eagle, but when we got to the next stop in Tenaha, Texas, someone bought it for $100.”Riley said he was encouraged by the support the group received during the trip.”The hospitality of the people we stayed with was the best part,” Riley said. “All kinds of different people from the church family took us into their homes, fed us and let us use their showers and beds.”For more information about Living Water International, visitwww.water.cc.
