One thing I look forward to as I cross the USA by bicycle this May 2nd to August 2nd, is the wide variety of foods and seemingly unlimited grocery store selections and choices but the one thing I do not look forward to is the lack of eating places and options as abundant as in the Philippines.
In the Philippines, you do not even have to carry food with you or cook. There are unlimited restaurants and highway cafes nearly every few hundred meters - or at least, just around the corner.
In the USA, I expect to have to cook, not necessarily daily, but often.
The stove, of my choice is the MSR Whisperlite™ I like it because I can use normal unleaded fuel, which is the same fuel for cars. Kerosene is not as easy to find in the USA as gasoline.
The one down side of the unleaded is the black soot cleanup after using the stove. It burns a little bit dirtier than probably other types of fuel.
I am still using the tried, and true, Boy Scouts™ Mess Kit. The BSMK has been around since the 50's. I used it during all my camping adventures in the 70's and 80's and I'm still going with it for this trip - although, I am considering upgrading to a larger cooking pot and I still like my traditional coffee cup - although heavy.
As you can see in the graph below, the terrible complaints about the old school mess kit. With today's advances in cook ware, I can understand but my choice is
more because of familiarity from using the kit in the 70's/80's. It's a nice starting spot.
I also completely survive with one spoon and one knife. I hardly ever use a fork anymore, even in the Philippines.
One food item I would really like to go with, for at least one meal a day, is the Mountain House Freeze Dried Meals™
I estimate that I would need to raise about $1,000 for 90 days of "freeze dried meals."
Every 10 days, my "Home Base Manager (HBM)" in Sandy, Oregon will be shipping me a box of my Bible, literature, and freeze dried meals supplies.
As you are aware, I am distributing a goal of "two New Testament Bibles" per day to divine appointments along the way, with included tracts or Christian literature. That totals to 20 New Testaments every 10 days. Because I cannot carry these items in bulk, this is the reason for the shipping plan. The Bibles, literature, and freeze dried meals can all be put into one "care box" and shipped ahead to the designated address I give to the HBM. Each box will contain: 20 bibles, 10 meals, and a handful of literature. Shipping costs $5.50 and takes 3-4 days in the USA.
Each of the Bibles is stamped under the front cover with my contact information shown in the photo below...
Here is a sample of my business card for all necessary purposes. My goal is to stay in the homes/front or back yard, of a minimum of 25 complete strangers, and speak/visit/preach or teach in at least eight (8) churches. I will be raising money for, at least, five different charity options listed here: https://www.mitchtour.com/our-charity
Support a Volunteer Staff in the Philippines.
Children's Sponsorship Program in the Philippines.
Meters for Missions: Adopt a Square Meter of Property in the Philippines.
Sponsor a Discipleship Training School Student in the Philippines.
Sponsor The Metzger Family in missions.
For sure, I will be doing evangelism all the way, and preaching on a few key campuses, that are near my existing route. I am trusting GOD to open all types of creative doors for me during this 90 days - for sure!
Please consider giving towards my trip. I still would like to raise an extra $1,000 for 90 freeze dried meals and I still need some better camera gear for all my vlogging purposes.
For sure, I will have many surprise expenses along the way. Consider giving a one time gift either now or during the trip. This would be greatly helpful.
I have a donation link found here:
https://www.mitchtour.com/donate-to-mitch
Subscribe to my YouTube channel for my latest updates. Be sure to hit the "notifications bell" so that you will be notified each time I upload a new video. Watch my recent video below. I will be traveling through a [minimum] of 370 small towns and cities. I'm sure it is closer to 500. This trip is way bigger than I can imagine. One mountain pass is over 11,000 feet! That is nearly three (3X) times higher than our Baguio City, Philippines elevation! America truly is massive in it's terrain. How can you be completely ready for this?
God Bless! 70 more days!
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