Two Faces Of A Bible Ride: Rider And Recipient

February 2, 2018 407 0 0

Kyla Eva Nagim belongs to a typical Filipino family. Her father works in a distant city in order to provide for them. Her mother stays at home to care for Kyla and her siblings. Like most of the community, Kyla’s family lives near the shorelines of Zambales. She often sees her grandmother, who would tell her something about the Bible. However, she wasn’t keen on listening intently nor to ponder on what she heard.

The young lady’s face lit up at the question of who her hero or model was. “The hero I want to be like is my mom. She took care of us all these years,” she said fondly. “We usually go to church together but sometimes we miss it when my mom has to go to work during some Sundays.”

The day came when she was given her very first copy of the Bible. Some people visited their school riding in motorbikes. Kyla heard that they had already visited other schools that morning despite the rain. In this curious visit, Kyla learned to open and read her first Bible.

“I can read this Bible if we don’t get to attend church. I may even get to share it with my mom,” Kyla said. Aside from her new Bible, she also held in her hand a booklet called How Should I Read My Bible?, which would be her companion to reading this very thick book.

For the first memorable time, she herself heard and listened to Bible verses being shared by the visitors. She and her classmates were separated into small groups, and each group had a personal time of sharing with the visitors, who called themselves The Word Riders.

One of these Riders was Eric Schuck, who knew a thing or two about kids. Being a dad of two lads, he took it upon himself to be their “bike buddy”. Through the Word Riders he has managed to tag his sons along in a couple of rides where, together, they helped distribute Bibles to Grade 8 students in provincial high schools.

Alongside that opportunity, Eric has found much fulfillment in giving his time to the younger, less privileged children. For every Bible ride, Eric and his companions would engage eighth graders like Kyla about the Bible. then they would break up into small groups. When Eric leads a small group he would usually share a Bible passage, and spend the rest of the time encouraging them to start reading the Bible. Then he would pray with them.

Oftentimes he observed that the kids would get emotional when they pray together. “I could sense that these kids really need someone to talk to them about God. I’m glad to help them this way, because in my growing years no one really taught me how to be intimate with God. Every visit and every child is unique. And it’s always a blessing to me,” Eric said.