What does “family” mean to you?
My own family (the one I have built with my wife and children) feels untraditional in comparison to many around us. We moved away from our “home” community almost twenty years ago and have lived in three different states and another country since. Because of this, we have not been able to set down roots or establish the traditions that many other family units can. Instead, we have had the unique blessing of building an extended family in each place we’ve called home.
One of these families is Ride for Missions (RFM), which adopted me in 2021 when I took my role as Director of Advancement at Rosedale International (RI). A big part of my role is raising funds, so I was given the responsibility of planning and leading the Ride, which has been our biggest yearly fundraiser for the past twenty years.
My first year, I had no idea what I was doing, and to be honest, it was a terrible time. We battled horrible rain and cold temperatures, struggled up enormous hills, and stayed in bad hotels. Some of us learned that we had lost family members during the Ride. When the week was finally over, I remember thinking, what just happened?! I never want to do that again.
With whom do you struggle? Celebrate? Share honestly about life here on earth?
Maybe, if Ride for Missions was merely a fundraiser, my attitude would have stayed the same. But years of cycling together had forged deep bonds between our riders—and like it or not, I was part of their family now. As any good family does, they invited me into their world and taught me their language. I learned the ins and outs of biking—what makes a route good or bad, what it means to pull or draft someone, what drink or snack refuels a rider the quickest. I learned the rhythms of the Ride, took our cyclists’ suggestions, and valued their expertise; in return, they were willing to try some of my crazy new ideas.
Today, I cannot imagine my life without this family and our yearly reunions. Every summer, we return to the common joy of cycling and the common goal of raising money to support RI’s global missions. We work hard together, sweat together, and encourage each other through difficult routes and long days of exertion. We laugh, cry, and pray together, share meals, and hang out late into the night.
This summer felt especially meaningful as we honored the life of Eileen Yoder, who passed away after a very quick battle with cancer in the fall of 2025. Eileen was a matriarch of the Ride for Missions family. She loved us and looked forward to our reunion every summer. Though we rode without her this year, the week was full of moments that touched us and reminded us that she is still with us, and we celebrated as her husband, son, and grandson biked many miles in her honor.
As I reflect on this last Ride, I am reminded that the RFM family is full of people from at least seven states, five generations, and as many walks of life as there are people. We are teachers, farmers, businesspeople, pastors, retirees. This year, our youngest rider was nine, and our oldest was eighty-one; that is a lot of life! In this Ride for Missions family, I see a glimpse of what our heavenly family will look like one day.
So I ask again: what does “family” mean to you? With whom do you struggle? Celebrate? Share honestly about life here on earth? Do you have a family that is diverse, pushes you to be your best, do hard things, and turn toward Christ? If not, I encourage you to look beyond your biological family to discover the “extended” family that God has given you. Perhaps a little glimpse of heaven in our family is what we all need.
Ride for Missions 2027 will take place in Iowa from July 9-14. We invite you to join this amazing family! More information will be coming soon at rosedaleinternational.org/rfm.
Photo credit: Rosedale International
