The Ride for Missing Children...Mohawk Valley

In 2008 I was blessed with my first experience with the Ride for Missing Children (RMC). The ride started in 1995 with seven men riding their bicycles from Utica, New York to Washington, D.C. with two missions: to raise awareness of missing children and to share the importance and message of safety with those they met along the way. On May 25th, the first National Missing Children’s Day, they concluded their ride at the foot of the Capital. In 1997, a similar ride took place with 43 riders starting in Albany and ending in Utica with the same mission. A ride that started with 7 men has flourished to 400 + rider, joining together this coming Friday, May 20th to “Keep our children safer, one child at a time”

We are truly blessed to be a part of this 100 mile trek. One ride has multiplied into five across New York State ~ the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) use the donations raised to “…bring safety education to thousands of school children across New York State as well as their families and communities. The funds which are raised help to support missing child poster distribution, educational programs, case management, and the mission of the NCMEC-NY Branch Office located in Rochester, NY.”

As a family we will travel with my cousins to join our RMC family for the 2011 ride. While there we will reunite with other families directly affected by kidnapping and meet new families attending for the first time while being encouraged, uplifted, prayed for and blessed by every rider, volunteer, sponsor and school we come in contact with. God is at work through this mission…and he IS keeping our children safer because of the angels he is working through. 

Keep the riders in your prayers…pray for the wind to be on their backs and the rain to stay in the clouds until they arrive for closing ceremonies. I’ve been asked to say a few words at closing ceremonies – an honor, pray I have the words of encouragement and hope for the riders – so each and every rider knows how important and precious their dedication, compassion and love is to every family member attending the ride and following it in the media.  Thank you NCMEC and the RMC!

For more information about this year’s ride, visit:

http://www.therideformissingchildren.com/

A video clip from a previous year’s ride is below. I pray you’ll take the time to experience only a tidbit of God’s work through the Ride for Missing Children.