John in India

My dear mentor, John Hay, Jr., is preparing to head to India next month, bicycling hundreds and hundreds of miles over six weeks to raise money to rebuild a hospital. Two bishops are riding with him, benefiting this aging Free Methodist medical building. I snagged the following article from the Indy Star for ya'll to peruse... keep them in your prayers.



IndyStar.com Metro & State
November 27, 2006

Pastor preparing to bike India
Trip helps Free Methodist Church support a rural hospital there

By Diana Penner
diana.penner@indystar.com

John Hay Jr.'s heart has long been in serving the community and God.
Soon, his legs will get involved, too.
Hay, senior pastor at West Morris Street Free Methodist Church since 2003, plans a 2,000-mile bicycle tour of India to raise money to rebuild a rural Indian hospital affiliated with the Free Methodist Church.
"It's a long time in the saddle," Hay said, noting he already has developed, well, saddle sores in training.
Regardless, on the day after Christmas, the 47-year-old father of four is leaving Indianapolis for India.
On Dec. 30, he, two other Americans and two Indians expect to begin their journey from the southern tip of India to New Delhi. They hope to ride 65 to 80 miles a day, six days a week, for about six weeks.
They're not sure where they will sleep each night, but they will have tents when a more permanent structure isn't available.
The goal is to raise $600,000 for Umri Christian Hospital, founded in central India 55 years ago by the physician-father of one of the other American riders, Bob Yardy, a physical therapist born in Umri who now lives near Champaign, Ill.
The third American is Free Methodist Bishop Joseph F. James, one of four North American bishops of the church. James has lost more than 50 pounds preparing for the trek, Hay said.
Hay regularly cycles for health and fun, logging about 4,000 miles a year. Since last summer, though, he has ratcheted up his training and hoped to get in several 60-mile rides this holiday weekend to test himself.
Umri is a 100-bed hospital with a staff of about 35 people, including three full-time doctors and eight full-time nurses. It serves an area of about 300,000 people, Hay said, and relies largely on donations because many of its patients can pay little, if anything, for their health care.
The cyclists, who'll be accompanied by one support car to carry their gear, plan to arrive in Umri around the third week of January, Hay said. They are taking their bicycles along as luggage, plus an array of extra parts and repair equipment.
In addition to raising money for the hospital, the effort already has raised $37,500 to buy 750 bikes for outreach workers in India.
While he's cycling through India, Hay plans to blog daily about the trip, although he hasn't quite figured out the logistics.
"For me, it's a once-in-a-lifetime challenge," he said. "I couldn't do it without the support of the congregation -- they see it as a really important thing to do."

Call Star reporter Diana Penner at (317) 444-6249.

Copyright 2006 IndyStar.com. All rights reserved

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Want to help?
Tax-deductible donations to Umri Christian Hospital should be sent to the King Trust Charitable Fund, P.O. Box 580, Spring Arbor, MI 49283. Checks should be made out to "Umri Christian Hospital Foundation, Bicycle India 2007."

John Hay Jr., senior pastor at West Morris Street Free Methodist Church, plans to blog daily -- or as often as he can -- while on his 2,000-mile bike trip in India beginning Dec. 30. Follow his trip at www.bicycleindia2007.blogspot.com.

Go to www.bikeindia.org for more.

-- Star report