Embarking on a new journey (FMX)

Greetings bloggers! As I sit here this warm September morning after a refreshing cup of coffee and time well spent with the Lord, I wanted to share something pretty big going on with the kingdom stunters ministry. Several years ago the Lord was prompting me to pursue freestyle motocross as another means by which to reach people with the gospel of King Jesus. For those of you who are not familiar, freestyle motocross (FMX) is an extreme sport that essentially involves jumping a dirt bike and doing tricks in the air. It's is a thrilling spectacle to say the least. I have some experience with jumping, since my formative years were spent at the motocross track doing practice days and races. When I was a young teenager, I lived near some public land that was used for dumping fill dirt. With access to a skid steer, I morphed that dump into a freestyle haven. My buddies and I would go out there and jump doubles, triples and quads that we had formed and practice basic tricks. It was a pretty rad experience for a 14 year old! Fast forward to my college days, circa 2003, I built a freestyle ramp out of tube steel and a plywood. Myself and a couple local pro motocross guys took the ramp out to the local track and jumped it a few times. It was fun for sure, but we couldn't secure a dedicated landing and so after a few trips out there, the ramp had to go to storage. So, about two years ago, without even owning a dirt bike, I dusted the cobwebs off the ramp and started converting it into a mobile take-off. It took a few months time to get the axles, tongue, lights and expanded metal welded on, but now it is a beauty. Then around December 2015, a friend in the freestyle world (Bryce Hudson) who was part of our America's Got Talent audition, called me to see if I wanted to buy his dirt bike that was already equipped for freestyle motocross. After discussing with my wife and praying about it, I believed that the Lord wanted me to continue pursuing this thing. Once getting the bike, myself and a couple friends started going to the local motocross tracks to get use to riding again (since it had been nearly 8 years since I had ridden in the dirt). It was terrifying but also a blast! Around June/July we took the portable ramp on it's maiden voyage to a compound in Dallas that had a dirt landing. It was awesome to start jumping and even begin learning tricks. We started with the ramp set at about 35 feet and moved it back over the course of a few practices to 55 feet. Of course, as much fun as we had, there were some major difficulties with the portable ramp. Basically, I had some inferior welds on the tongue that were fatiguing during the haul back and forth from Dallas. After a few break-downs and scary ghosting down the interstate, we got the ramp reinforced. At some point, one of my buddies (Robbie King), took me out to the Moore's place to practice at their facility. It was a pretty cool experience jumping. Then, in December, I went out to a local track and had an accident with another rider, effectively snapping my femur (there is a dedicated blog about that experience). A month later, while still using a wheelchair and crutches, one of the guys with Riders on a Mission called me to see if I could help him find a rider to go to Nicaragua on a missions trip. I recommended Robbie and then he also asked me to join them! It was a leap of faith because I would not get released from the doctor until May and the trip was in June. So there was basically one month to prepare to jump fmx in a third world country. But God was faithful and he healed my leg and provided not only the confidence to go but also the funds. It turned out to be a fantastic trip where many thousands heard the gospel of Jesus! At the end of that trip, two of the guys with ROAM, discussed with me the prospect of carrying the torch for that ministry and purchasing the portable landing. So, we prayed and agreed that the Lord was in it. One week after we got home from Nicaragua, I drove up to Missouri to purchase the landing (which God had provided the funds for that as well!). The landing is now here in Texas and all I have to do to practice is literally walk outside and throw my leg over the bike (praise God!). It is a dream come true! Check out the pictures that help tell the story...