Bikers and Diapers

What would bikers and diapers have in common?

On July 10, 2016 in Wilmington NC, at the Gateway Church, Pastored by Jay Young, bikers who had seen the FaceBook post of our 2016 50CC Diaper Run to raise awareness of our Royal Home Ministries began to walk in with diapers. They did not know any of us, they had no personal invitation but saw the opportunity to support the efforts of life. I would guess that not everyone that brought diapers were fully committed to pro-life but they would support the idea of giving the girls an option. It was a sight to behold as these men walked in the church, hot and sweaty from a ride that afternoon, proudly carrying packages of Pampers!

Jesus With aborted baby in hand
 at the Cross in Groom TX

What is the Royal Home Ministry? Why would we do such a crazy motorcycle ride to raise awareness, diapers, baby wipes and cash? Royal Home Ministries is a place where girls caught in an unwanted pregnancy with no support can go to find love and full support. RHM is an extension of Falcon  Chilren's Home under the leadership of Joey Leggett, being birthed under the burden of Marvin Whitfield. The home has one building to accommodate twelve girls that is pregnant and another building that can house sixteen girls with their babies. The girls, as young as fourteen years of age, have found not only a place to support her but can continue her education, find mentoring in motherhood and running a budget. It is a first class operation under the divine guidance flowing through their new director, Marysol Martinez.

Riding in Arizona

There were "Life Rallies" from Wilmington, NC to Lancaster, CA with stops at Cornerstone Conference in Browns Summit, NC; Compassion Church at Dickson, TN and Memphis, TN; Global Ministry Center in Oklahoma City, OK; Christian Heritage Church, hosted by Full Armor Biker Church in Amarillo, TX; and Renaissance Center in Lancaster, CA. While I would like to take time to give you details on each of the rallies, let me be brief and say, thanks to the Bishops, Pastors and congregants who came out with diapers, baby wipes, cash and encouraging words as we came across the nation.

30 minute radiator change

On the way out we experienced a blow out on the radiator of our chase truck pulling the diapers, We did not view it as an attack of the adversary to stop the mission, it was on a truck with 233,000 miles on it and the thing just blew a hole in the heat of Arizona. The amazing thing was that it happened 8 miles from a parts house that had a radiator in stock, which the team jumped in to repair and within 30 minutes was back on the road. The truck lost it's air conditioning and after two attempts to repair, made it across the desert two times without the comfort. We had one bike that gave the rider electrical problems but managed to ride all the way, some 5,300 miles before breaking completely down 45 minutes from his home in North Carolina!

When we arrived in Lancaster, Bishop Tom Murray, Pastor Bill Kenedy and M25 Pointman Billy Wood were there to host us for two days, rooms, meals and overall love and support were over the top. We had bikes repaired, serviced and then rode to Los Angeles and on down to San Diego for our final night before making the 50CC IBA (Iron Butt Association) sanctioned ride, 50 hours from coast to coast aka 50CC Iron Butt Run.

Starting Line

Before the sun came up on July 19, at 5:45 AM, we were in the saddle headed to the El Cajon Police Station where M25 rider, Jerry Plent organized for the start. After a picture, a hug of encouragement from Dustin Taylor and Pastor Bill Kenedy, the six bikes and truck and trailer hit Interstate 8 headed east to Jacksonville, FL.






Riders were:

• Shane Anderson, Ft Bragg NC, active duty Army with 2 weeks leave of Freedom Biker Church. 
• Gary Burd, Amarillo, TX, National M25 Leader
• Jacob Guenther, Guymon, OK, Leader at Harvest Church
• Rodney McCray, Charlotte NC, Leader at the Rock Church (rode with us last year)
• Jerry Plent, Chino Hills CA, M25 rider who is retired SWAT from the LA County Police
• Jon Potter, Richmond VA, Pastor of Vineyard Church

In the truck pulling the trailer was Herman Strickland, Siler City, NC and Stephen Walker aka Sgt Rock from Amarillo TX. 

We stopped approximately every 150 miles for fuel, to greet people and receive donations. There was a stop in Junction TX where we slept three hours on the church pews. The ride had it's moments of extreme heat, cool night air and some very intense moments of thunderstorms. The biggest hurdle to cross was the 'mattress' in the middle of I-10 at 2 am at 80 miles per hour. Five of the six bikes hit it but none went down and only two sustained front fender damage. 

Prayer in Baton Rouge LA

One of the highlights was stopping in Baton Rouge, LA where we took a moment to have prayer for the policemen's families killed in the line of duty a week before. Jerry Plent led us in a very heartfelt and moving prayer as we stood in front of the Memorial for these heroes of our nation. 

Bishop Doug Beacham with team

We arrived at 8:07 am on Thursday morning after riding all night long, well below the 50 hours at 47 hours and 7 minutes. The feeling of accomplishment was overwhelming. Most of us slept at the Harvest Church in Jacksonville, FL for a few hours and then Allen and Tricia Raugh joined us in the ride to Youth Quest in Daytona Beach, FL. Bishop Doug Beacham, the catalyst for all of this in his stand for life on January 22, every year since 2014 was there to greet us. 

To date our totals are:

• Diapers - 55,415
• Baby Wipers - 62,917
• Cash - $16,055 (with three offerings yet to give us totals)

There is much to be said of this incredible ride but this would turn into a book. Let us just say a great big thank you to all who supported this effort in so many different ways. One of the highlights of our trip was to see so many of our Run For The Wall family members come out and ride with us for a few miles, bring donations and most importantly, give us encouraging hugs.