[CHRIS] I do what's called 00:00:00.93\00:00:01.96 ultra-endurance bikepacking 00:00:01.96\00:00:03.50 races and these are races 00:00:03.50\00:00:05.20 typically of several thousand 00:00:05.20\00:00:06.63 kilometres long. 00:00:06.63\00:00:07.80 I've done a seven and a half 00:00:07.80\00:00:09.20 thousand kilometre race from 00:00:09.20\00:00:10.37 Norway to Spain, four and a half 00:00:10.37\00:00:12.07 thousand kilometre races, London 00:00:12.07\00:00:13.68 to Istanbul, length of New 00:00:13.68\00:00:15.58 Zealand across Australia. 00:00:15.58\00:00:17.28 And the concept behind these 00:00:17.28\00:00:18.65 races is it's you and your bike 00:00:18.65\00:00:21.48 with no outside support 00:00:21.48\00:00:23.18 to the finish line. 00:00:23.18\00:00:24.35 And you ride, 00:00:24.35\00:00:26.55 you follow a set route 00:00:26.55\00:00:28.02 and you ride as long as you want 00:00:28.02\00:00:30.19 each day. 00:00:30.19\00:00:31.36 And so I've averaged 230 00:00:31.36\00:00:33.13 kilometres for 32 and a half 00:00:33.13\00:00:35.06 days right now. 00:00:35.06\00:00:36.10 So I've done 7,400 kilometres to 00:00:36.10\00:00:38.43 where we are right now. 00:00:38.43\00:00:39.67 And this race has got-- is a 12 00:00:39.67\00:00:41.40 and a half thousand kilometre 00:00:41.40\00:00:42.34 race, it's the longest one 00:00:42.34\00:00:43.61 in the world. 00:00:43.61\00:00:44.47 >> Welcome to It Is Written 00:00:46.21\00:00:47.68 Canada. 00:00:47.68\00:00:48.51 Thank you for joining us. 00:00:48.51\00:00:49.94 Chris Bennett is a civil 00:00:50.68\00:00:52.21 engineer and an avid cyclist. 00:00:52.21\00:00:55.15 When Chris is pedalling along a 00:00:55.15\00:00:57.19 trail on his bike, he is in his 00:00:57.19\00:01:00.19 happy place. 00:01:00.19\00:01:01.46 In fact, Chris enjoys cycling so 00:01:01.46\00:01:04.79 intensely that he has taken on 00:01:04.79\00:01:07.00 some of the world's most 00:01:07.00\00:01:08.43 beautiful, most demanding and 00:01:08.43\00:01:11.43 longest cycling trails, tracks, 00:01:11.43\00:01:14.50 paths, and lanes connected by 00:01:14.50\00:01:17.07 enjoyable wilderness roads. 00:01:17.07\00:01:19.67 >> Chris challenged himself to 00:01:19.67\00:01:20.91 ride the Tour Aotearoa, 00:01:20.91\00:01:23.81 a cycle along the entire coast 00:01:23.81\00:01:26.05 of New Zealand, stretching 3000 00:01:26.05\00:01:28.22 kilometres from Cape Reinga in 00:01:28.22\00:01:30.12 the north to Bluff in the south. 00:01:30.12\00:01:32.75 His first attempt in 2016 was 00:01:32.75\00:01:35.29 promptly curtailed by a health 00:01:35.29\00:01:37.46 challenge, and his second effort 00:01:37.46\00:01:39.33 in 2018 ended 00:01:39.33\00:01:40.90 in a bad crash 00:01:40.90\00:01:42.60 at the 750 00:01:42.60\00:01:44.70 kilometre mark, 00:01:44.70\00:01:45.97 which meant 4 hours 00:01:45.97\00:01:48.10 of facial reconstructive surgery 00:01:48.10\00:01:50.54 and a traumatic brain injury. 00:01:50.54\00:01:53.24 [RENÉ] Four years later, Chris 00:01:53.81\00:01:55.41 trained hard and promised his 00:01:55.41\00:01:57.38 wife, Lis, that he would not 00:01:57.38\00:01:59.08 overdo it. 00:01:59.08\00:02:00.62 Then he took the road on his 00:02:00.62\00:02:02.48 bike, finishing first in his 00:02:02.48\00:02:05.09 wave of riders. 00:02:05.09\00:02:07.02 However, Chris disqualified 00:02:07.02\00:02:08.99 himself in the end because 00:02:08.99\00:02:10.56 although he finished first, 00:02:10.56\00:02:12.63 he was unable to ride a few 00:02:12.63\00:02:14.83 unpaved trails when his brain 00:02:14.83\00:02:16.83 injury acted up and so he chose 00:02:16.83\00:02:19.37 to stay on adjacent, smoother, 00:02:19.37\00:02:21.64 paved roads. 00:02:21.64\00:02:22.97 [MIKE] But that wasn't enough 00:02:22.97\00:02:24.34 for Chris. 00:02:24.34\00:02:25.17 A Canadian by birth, a few 00:02:25.17\00:02:26.84 months later, he also took the 00:02:26.84\00:02:29.48 challenge of the hardest and 00:02:29.48\00:02:31.28 longest, self-supporting ultra 00:02:31.28\00:02:33.08 endurance bike race in the 00:02:33.08\00:02:34.62 entire world. 00:02:34.62\00:02:35.78 And he won. 00:02:35.78\00:02:37.62 The TransCanada Ultra crosses 00:02:38.19\00:02:40.16 Canada from the north to the 00:02:40.16\00:02:42.26 south and from the west to the 00:02:42.26\00:02:43.86 east, a distance of 12,500 00:02:43.86\00:02:46.59 kilometres from Whitehorse to 00:02:46.59\00:02:49.23 Newfoundland. 00:02:49.23\00:02:50.57 >> Our film crew met up with 00:02:50.93\00:02:52.77 Chris while he was pedalling 00:02:52.77\00:02:54.50 through Oshawa, Ontario, and he 00:02:54.50\00:02:56.84 graciously stopped to share some 00:02:56.84\00:02:58.64 of his insights on how he has 00:02:58.64\00:03:01.28 chosen to trust God to take care 00:03:01.28\00:03:03.45 of everything while he rides 00:03:03.45\00:03:05.58 along some of the world's most 00:03:05.58\00:03:07.35 arduous and impressive 00:03:07.35\00:03:09.08 cycling trails. 00:03:09.08\00:03:10.19 >> In a moment, you will meet 00:03:10.19\00:03:11.52 Chris and hear some of the 00:03:11.52\00:03:13.82 stories of his incredible 00:03:13.82\00:03:15.72 faith-building adventures. 00:03:15.72\00:03:17.59 [theme music playing] 00:03:19.59\00:03:22.56 ¤¤ 00:03:22.56\00:03:25.57 >> Welcome back to It is Written 00:04:03.17\00:04:04.37 Canada. 00:04:04.37\00:04:04.87 Thank you for joining us. 00:04:05.01\00:04:05.84 Imagine discovering your dream 00:04:05.84\00:04:07.88 job, I mean, you see it, your 00:04:07.88\00:04:10.48 dream job, and you say to 00:04:10.48\00:04:12.21 yourself, "I'm gonna do whatever 00:04:12.21\00:04:15.32 it takes to get that job." 00:04:15.32\00:04:17.42 And so you set out with all your 00:04:17.42\00:04:20.12 grit, all your guts, and all 00:04:20.12\00:04:21.96 your determination 00:04:21.96\00:04:23.09 to get that job. 00:04:23.09\00:04:24.53 >> You study, get the 00:04:25.06\00:04:26.63 necessary degrees and 00:04:26.63\00:04:28.16 qualifications and experience, 00:04:28.16\00:04:31.17 and you rise in the ranks 00:04:31.17\00:04:33.03 at your work. 00:04:33.03\00:04:34.80 And what if it takes you 19 00:04:34.80\00:04:37.01 years of blood, sweat, and tears 00:04:37.01\00:04:39.94 to get to the place where you 00:04:39.94\00:04:41.71 are perfectly qualified to do 00:04:41.71\00:04:44.38 your dream job? 00:04:44.38\00:04:46.01 And the person in charge gives 00:04:46.01\00:04:48.32 you a call and says, 00:04:48.32\00:04:50.25 "The job is yours." 00:04:50.25\00:04:52.49 >> But instead of accepting it, 00:04:52.49\00:04:54.26 you pause and you say, "Give me 00:04:54.26\00:04:56.66 a week to pray about it 00:04:56.66\00:04:58.79 and to talk to my wife." 00:04:58.79\00:05:00.76 And the next day you pray and 00:05:00.76\00:05:02.80 God speaks to your conscience, 00:05:02.80\00:05:04.77 telling you not to take the job. 00:05:04.77\00:05:07.64 What do you do? 00:05:07.64\00:05:09.44 >> Our special guest on It Is 00:05:10.47\00:05:12.41 Written Canada today is 00:05:12.41\00:05:14.04 Chris Bennett, who faced this 00:05:14.04\00:05:16.68 precise predicament. 00:05:16.68\00:05:18.51 Chris is a passionate ultra 00:05:19.15\00:05:21.92 endurance cyclist who our film 00:05:21.92\00:05:24.35 crew met up with while he was 00:05:24.35\00:05:26.19 pedalling through Oshawa, 00:05:26.19\00:05:27.62 Ontario, cycling across Canada 00:05:27.62\00:05:30.49 in a 12 and a half thousand 00:05:30.49\00:05:33.36 kilometre ultra-endurance 00:05:33.36\00:05:36.46 bikepacking race, 00:05:36.46\00:05:38.67 the hardest and longest 00:05:38.67\00:05:41.37 self-supporting bike race 00:05:41.37\00:05:43.34 in the world, 00:05:43.34\00:05:45.21 The TransCanada Ultra, 00:05:45.21\00:05:48.08 which he later won. 00:05:48.08\00:05:50.55 [MIKE] We'll let Chris tell you 00:05:50.55\00:05:51.98 himself how he handled this 00:05:51.98\00:05:54.28 unexpected, unwanted answer to 00:05:54.28\00:05:56.75 prayer and how trusting God's 00:05:56.75\00:05:58.69 "No" turned out to be way better 00:05:58.69\00:06:01.92 for his career than his burning 00:06:01.92\00:06:04.33 desire to say yes to his dream 00:06:04.33\00:06:06.56 job when it was offered to him 00:06:06.56\00:06:09.23 for the taking. 00:06:09.23\00:06:10.40 Here's Chris. 00:06:10.40\00:06:11.43 >> Hi, I'm Chris Bennett and as 00:06:12.90\00:06:14.54 you can see from my outfit, I'm 00:06:14.54\00:06:15.87 a passionate cyclist. 00:06:15.87\00:06:17.21 In fact, cycling has been a key 00:06:17.21\00:06:18.61 part of my Christian walk. 00:06:18.61\00:06:20.48 I'd like to share with you a 00:06:20.48\00:06:21.51 testimony of how God changed my 00:06:21.51\00:06:24.38 entire life through cycling. 00:06:24.38\00:06:26.75 When I was 25, I was studying in 00:06:27.68\00:06:29.72 Auckland University for my 00:06:29.72\00:06:30.92 master's degree. 00:06:30.92\00:06:31.85 I was looking for a topic for my 00:06:31.85\00:06:33.46 thesis and this guy from the 00:06:33.46\00:06:34.76 World Bank came in and presented 00:06:34.76\00:06:35.99 on his job and I thought, 00:06:35.99\00:06:37.69 "I want your job." 00:06:37.69\00:06:39.16 It was working developing 00:06:39.16\00:06:40.46 countries, helping people. 00:06:40.46\00:06:42.16 So I did a master's degree, then 00:06:42.16\00:06:43.73 a PhD, and I worked for 00:06:43.73\00:06:46.33 17 years getting experience 00:06:46.33\00:06:48.30 so I could actually get this job 00:06:48.30\00:06:49.44 at the World Bank. 00:06:49.44\00:06:50.67 And so that was 1983. 00:06:50.67\00:06:52.51 In 2002, I got a phone call from 00:06:52.51\00:06:55.11 World Bank, I was working in 00:06:55.11\00:06:56.44 Cambodia, and they said, "We'd 00:06:56.44\00:06:58.28 like to offer-- to interview you 00:06:58.28\00:06:59.91 for a job." 00:06:59.91\00:07:00.95 So they flew me to Bangkok and I 00:07:00.95\00:07:02.28 had an interview and they called 00:07:02.28\00:07:03.95 me the next morning and said, 00:07:03.95\00:07:04.99 "Right, the job's yours. 00:07:04.99\00:07:05.99 Here's the package. 00:07:05.99\00:07:06.86 I guess you accept." 00:07:06.86\00:07:08.29 So here it is, for 19 years I've 00:07:08.29\00:07:10.89 waited for this moment. 00:07:10.89\00:07:12.06 What was my response? 00:07:12.06\00:07:12.96 I said, "I need a week to pray 00:07:12.96\00:07:15.20 about it and talk to my wife." 00:07:15.20\00:07:16.63 The next day for my devotions I 00:07:17.50\00:07:19.07 was reading this book 00:07:19.07\00:07:20.14 and the first thing it said was, 00:07:20.14\00:07:21.97 "The Commandment says 'Thou 00:07:21.97\00:07:23.47 shall have no other God before 00:07:23.47\00:07:24.91 me,'" dot, dot, dot, "'and that 00:07:24.91\00:07:26.68 includes your job.'" 00:07:26.68\00:07:28.31 So imagine giving 00:07:28.31\00:07:29.84 that response. 00:07:29.84\00:07:32.21 And then the next morning God 00:07:32.21\00:07:33.62 says to me, "Be very careful." 00:07:33.62\00:07:35.82 And as I thought about it and 00:07:35.82\00:07:37.12 prayed about, spoke to my wife, 00:07:37.12\00:07:38.95 I became convinced this wasn't 00:07:38.95\00:07:40.46 what God wanted me to do. 00:07:40.46\00:07:41.82 So what do you do? 00:07:41.82\00:07:42.52 You know, 19 years, five years 00:07:42.52\00:07:44.19 of university, all this work. 00:07:44.19\00:07:46.13 So I contacted them back and I 00:07:46.13\00:07:47.23 said, "Look, it's not the job, 00:07:47.23\00:07:48.83 I really want this, but I've 00:07:48.83\00:07:49.96 prayed about it, it just is not 00:07:49.96\00:07:51.33 the right time frame. 00:07:51.33\00:07:52.10 I'm really sorry." 00:07:52.10\00:07:52.80 And that was it. 00:07:52.80\00:07:53.74 So afterwards I was, you know, 00:07:53.74\00:07:56.30 kind of a total loss as to what 00:07:56.30\00:07:57.44 to do so I went and rode my 00:07:57.44\00:07:58.87 mountain bike from Canada to 00:07:58.87\00:08:00.08 Mexico, along the Rocky 00:08:00.08\00:08:01.04 Mountains. 00:08:01.04\00:08:01.64 Four and a half thousand 00:08:01.64\00:08:02.48 kilometres, took me two months. 00:08:02.48\00:08:04.28 And I was in New Mexico, just 00:08:04.28\00:08:05.68 south of Silver City, when a bad 00:08:05.68\00:08:07.15 storm hit. 00:08:07.15\00:08:08.42 And I was sheltering in my tent 00:08:08.42\00:08:10.52 and I got this really clear 00:08:10.52\00:08:11.52 impression from God saying, 00:08:11.52\00:08:13.15 "You can take the job, but you 00:08:13.15\00:08:14.59 can't ask for it." 00:08:14.59\00:08:15.79 And I thought, "Is this hunger, 00:08:15.79\00:08:17.06 is this tiredness? 00:08:17.06\00:08:17.96 Because how can you take a job 00:08:17.96\00:08:19.63 and not ask for it? 00:08:19.63\00:08:20.50 And besides which, this is now 00:08:20.50\00:08:22.10 six months since I said, "No 00:08:22.10\00:08:23.50 thank you." 00:08:23.50\00:08:24.37 So I thought, this is just 00:08:24.37\00:08:25.57 crazy. 00:08:25.57\00:08:26.37 So I finished my bike ride and I 00:08:26.37\00:08:27.70 went up to Toronto to visit 00:08:27.70\00:08:28.60 my parents. 00:08:28.60\00:08:29.70 Monday morning, 9:30, the phone 00:08:29.70\00:08:31.41 rings, it's the World Bank. 00:08:31.41\00:08:32.47 They said, "Have you changed 00:08:32.47\00:08:33.34 your mind?" 00:08:33.34\00:08:34.34 And I said, "Well, actually, now 00:08:34.34\00:08:35.71 that you ask, um, yes." 00:08:35.71\00:08:37.71 So I ended up in October 2003 00:08:37.71\00:08:40.62 working for the World Bank. 00:08:40.62\00:08:42.15 So a lot of people ask me, why 00:08:42.15\00:08:43.89 is it that you had this delay? 00:08:43.89\00:08:46.22 Because you could have gone a 00:08:46.22\00:08:46.99 year earlier and made such a 00:08:46.99\00:08:48.02 difference. 00:08:48.02\00:08:48.66 But it was really clear to me. 00:08:48.66\00:08:49.96 You see, I had spent 19 years 00:08:49.96\00:08:52.96 of ambition for this job, 00:08:52.96\00:08:55.26 and by saying no to it, 00:08:55.26\00:08:58.20 God showed me I wasn't there for 00:08:58.20\00:08:59.43 my ambition, I was there 00:08:59.43\00:09:00.57 to serve Him. 00:09:00.57\00:09:01.67 And it really changed the whole 00:09:01.67\00:09:02.97 dynamics, because it meant that 00:09:02.97\00:09:04.84 when presented with 00:09:04.84\00:09:05.64 opportunities with the World 00:09:05.64\00:09:06.47 Bank, it wasn't, "Oh, how can I 00:09:06.47\00:09:08.14 progress my career?" it's, "Is 00:09:08.14\00:09:09.71 this consistent with what God 00:09:09.71\00:09:10.75 wants me to do?" 00:09:10.75\00:09:11.91 And it also gave me a huge sense 00:09:11.91\00:09:13.11 of freedom. 00:09:13.11\00:09:14.02 Like, one time my boss said to 00:09:14.02\00:09:16.05 me that, you know, he wasn't 00:09:16.05\00:09:17.09 happy with me and he might fire 00:09:17.09\00:09:18.85 me and I said, "That's really 00:09:18.85\00:09:19.65 okay because I'm here at God's 00:09:19.65\00:09:20.92 will and He opens and closes 00:09:20.92\00:09:22.56 doors all the time. 00:09:22.56\00:09:23.83 So if you choose to move me on, 00:09:23.83\00:09:26.09 it's really okay with me because 00:09:26.09\00:09:27.40 that means God has other plans 00:09:27.40\00:09:28.73 for my life." 00:09:28.73\00:09:29.30 He goes, "You're crazy." 00:09:29.30\00:09:30.07 I said, "Don't ask you to 00:09:30.07\00:09:30.90 believe it, just accept that I'm 00:09:30.90\00:09:32.37 really quite indifferent 00:09:32.37\00:09:33.23 because, you know, in the end 00:09:33.23\00:09:34.74 I'm here to serve God." 00:09:34.74\00:09:36.04 And it was a great opportunity 00:09:36.04\00:09:37.71 and I spent 18 years at the 00:09:37.71\00:09:38.94 World Bank and it was a 00:09:38.94\00:09:40.58 fantastic job and I'm really 00:09:40.58\00:09:42.68 grateful for God's opening that 00:09:42.68\00:09:44.78 door in my life. 00:09:44.78\00:09:45.85 >> Why do you do what you do? 00:09:48.12\00:09:49.92 Is it just the job? 00:09:49.92\00:09:51.65 Is it your career? 00:09:51.65\00:09:53.09 Or is it your calling? 00:09:53.09\00:09:54.72 >> Remember what Chris said. 00:09:55.46\00:09:57.73 Having said no, gave him a 00:09:57.73\00:09:59.73 chance to ask the question, 00:09:59.73\00:10:02.26 is this job consistent with what 00:10:02.26\00:10:05.00 God wants me to do? 00:10:05.00\00:10:06.87 >> And it also gave Chris a huge 00:10:06.87\00:10:08.90 sense of freedom. 00:10:08.90\00:10:11.01 He had no fear of losing his job 00:10:11.01\00:10:13.64 because in the end he knew that 00:10:13.64\00:10:16.41 he was working to serve God and 00:10:16.41\00:10:18.45 not for the paycheck or the 00:10:18.45\00:10:20.18 status, or because the job was 00:10:20.18\00:10:22.75 his idol. 00:10:22.75\00:10:23.99 >> His job at the World Bank was 00:10:25.12\00:10:27.62 not his sense of identity 00:10:27.62\00:10:30.06 or his sense of value 00:10:30.06\00:10:31.86 as a person. 00:10:31.86\00:10:33.73 He was free from all fear. 00:10:33.73\00:10:36.70 Just imagine working 00:10:36.70\00:10:38.73 every day, free 00:10:38.73\00:10:41.04 from all fear. 00:10:41.04\00:10:42.84 >> Working in a high-stress job 00:10:42.84\00:10:45.11 like he did at the World Bank 00:10:45.11\00:10:47.54 was very gruelling and was, in 00:10:47.54\00:10:49.88 fact, wearing him down. 00:10:49.88\00:10:51.91 So besides not being afraid of 00:10:51.91\00:10:54.12 losing his job, just knowing 00:10:54.12\00:10:56.95 that God wanted him in that 00:10:56.95\00:10:59.62 particular job would make it 00:10:59.62\00:11:02.32 a lot harder to quit when the 00:11:02.32\00:11:05.26 going got really, really tough. 00:11:05.26\00:11:07.60 We'll let Chris himself tell you 00:11:08.23\00:11:10.37 what his dream job was like. 00:11:10.37\00:11:12.67 >> So during my time with the 00:11:15.50\00:11:16.34 World Bank, I'm a civil 00:11:16.34\00:11:17.31 engineer, I did a whole range 00:11:17.31\00:11:18.54 of things. 00:11:18.54\00:11:19.11 And in fact, I ended up being 00:11:19.24\00:11:20.24 appointed the World Bank's first 00:11:20.24\00:11:21.91 advisor for addressing 00:11:21.91\00:11:23.38 environmental and social issues 00:11:23.38\00:11:24.91 on the transport sector. 00:11:24.91\00:11:26.18 And that was because I took a 00:11:26.18\00:11:27.45 real interest in the soft side 00:11:27.45\00:11:29.15 of things. 00:11:29.15\00:11:30.02 For example, I introduced 00:11:30.02\00:11:30.82 HIV/AIDS training to China for 00:11:30.82\00:11:32.49 construction workers. 00:11:32.49\00:11:34.06 And the World Bank is a 00:11:34.06\00:11:35.52 fantastic job, but really hard. 00:11:35.52\00:11:37.23 I travelled six months of the 00:11:37.23\00:11:38.46 year to all these developing 00:11:38.46\00:11:39.59 countries. 00:11:39.59\00:11:40.36 I got really worn down. 00:11:40.36\00:11:41.56 And in 2010 I was just really 00:11:42.43\00:11:45.07 tired of the job. 00:11:45.07\00:11:47.00 And one day before church I went 00:11:47.00\00:11:48.64 out for a bike ride and cycling 00:11:48.64\00:11:50.74 is my real happy place where I 00:11:50.74\00:11:52.24 can just meditate and I can just 00:11:52.24\00:11:54.31 zone out. 00:11:54.31\00:11:55.38 And I was praying to God during 00:11:55.38\00:11:57.75 my bike ride saying, "You know, 00:11:57.75\00:11:59.25 I'm really tired. 00:11:59.25\00:12:00.45 I really don't want to do this 00:12:00.45\00:12:01.62 travel anymore. 00:12:01.62\00:12:02.95 I really just want to do this, 00:12:02.95\00:12:04.32 this, this, and this." 00:12:04.32\00:12:05.55 And God came through really 00:12:05.55\00:12:06.65 clear to me and said, 00:12:06.65\00:12:07.92 "Everything you said there 00:12:07.92\00:12:09.06 starts with the word, 'I.' 00:12:09.06\00:12:10.86 You are not at the World Bank 00:12:10.86\00:12:11.89 for yourself, you're there to 00:12:11.89\00:12:13.33 fulfill My will." 00:12:13.33\00:12:14.73 So I went back from my bike ride 00:12:14.73\00:12:15.83 and told my wife this story, 00:12:15.83\00:12:17.80 and we went to church. 00:12:17.80\00:12:19.47 And that day the theme of the 00:12:19.47\00:12:20.60 sermon was fulfilling God's 00:12:20.60\00:12:22.37 purpose in your life. 00:12:22.37\00:12:23.81 So my wife turned to me and 00:12:23.81\00:12:24.74 said, "Um, I think God has 00:12:24.74\00:12:26.07 pretty clearly answered your 00:12:26.07\00:12:27.61 question about what He wants you 00:12:27.61\00:12:28.88 to do, it's keep staying where 00:12:28.88\00:12:30.35 you are." 00:12:30.35\00:12:31.81 And subsequent to that, I 00:12:31.81\00:12:33.88 started working more and more in 00:12:33.88\00:12:35.12 the Pacific Islands. 00:12:35.12\00:12:36.38 And one of the things in the 00:12:36.38\00:12:37.45 Pacific Islands is there's a 00:12:37.45\00:12:38.59 huge problem with gender-based 00:12:38.59\00:12:39.89 violence, where seven out of ten 00:12:39.89\00:12:41.36 women are victims of 00:12:41.36\00:12:42.29 gender-based violence, there's a 00:12:42.29\00:12:43.56 lot of child abuse as well. 00:12:43.56\00:12:45.33 And so my team and I, we started 00:12:45.33\00:12:46.96 a process to... 00:12:46.96\00:12:49.00 ...have programs to try and 00:12:50.40\00:12:51.87 ameliorate the effect of 00:12:51.87\00:12:53.13 gender-based violence in the 00:12:53.13\00:12:55.00 communities where we were doing 00:12:55.00\00:12:55.87 our projects. 00:12:55.87\00:12:57.11 And we developed all these 00:12:57.11\00:12:58.54 protocols and we're really 00:12:58.54\00:12:59.81 making a good impact in the 00:12:59.81\00:13:01.08 Pacific. 00:13:01.08\00:13:01.84 And then what happened was, 00:13:01.84\00:13:03.04 there's a problem in Uganda. 00:13:03.04\00:13:04.38 And it transpired that the other 00:13:04.38\00:13:06.21 parts of the World Bank were 00:13:06.21\00:13:07.18 doing what we were doing. 00:13:07.18\00:13:08.18 So I got the opportunity to lead 00:13:08.18\00:13:10.29 the work at the World Bank and 00:13:10.29\00:13:12.09 develop the guidelines for 00:13:12.09\00:13:12.95 addressing gender-based 00:13:12.95\00:13:13.92 violence, which is now used 00:13:13.92\00:13:14.96 throughout the World Bank. 00:13:14.96\00:13:16.76 And then an opportunity came up 00:13:16.76\00:13:18.19 to develop the guidelines for 00:13:18.19\00:13:19.46 doing road safety and how to 00:13:19.46\00:13:20.86 actually do projects to 00:13:20.86\00:13:22.43 prevent-- to protect people from 00:13:22.43\00:13:24.13 traffic accidents and save lots 00:13:24.13\00:13:25.47 of lives. 00:13:25.47\00:13:26.50 And so I really could see how if 00:13:26.50\00:13:28.97 I'd left the Bank when I wanted 00:13:28.97\00:13:30.44 to leave it, I wouldn't have had 00:13:30.44\00:13:31.77 that impact of helping out with 00:13:31.77\00:13:33.58 gender-based violence, child 00:13:33.58\00:13:34.84 abuse, developing standards for 00:13:34.84\00:13:36.48 road safety. 00:13:36.48\00:13:37.41 And it was interesting is that 00:13:37.41\00:13:38.78 after I finished those 00:13:38.78\00:13:41.32 elements of my work, I felt at 00:13:41.32\00:13:43.15 peace for leaving the Bank. 00:13:43.15\00:13:44.69 And it's as if God had said, 00:13:44.69\00:13:45.72 "Right, you've now fulfilled 00:13:45.72\00:13:46.89 what I wanted you to do." 00:13:46.89\00:13:48.16 And so I was able to retire 00:13:48.16\00:13:49.59 and quite happily end my time 00:13:49.59\00:13:51.43 at the Bank. 00:13:51.43\00:13:52.53 >> Chris had to stick it out to 00:13:54.30\00:13:56.03 fulfill God's purpose 00:13:56.03\00:13:57.57 in his life. 00:13:57.57\00:13:58.93 Interesting word, "fulfill." 00:13:58.93\00:14:00.57 It's actually two words, "full" 00:14:00.57\00:14:02.47 and "fill." 00:14:02.47\00:14:03.84 Or in other words, to fill full. 00:14:03.84\00:14:06.04 To fulfill God's purpose in your 00:14:06.04\00:14:08.61 life, you need to complete what 00:14:08.61\00:14:11.11 He asks you to do. 00:14:11.11\00:14:12.95 >> Jesus told an embarrassing 00:14:14.28\00:14:16.22 story of a man who started 00:14:16.22\00:14:17.95 building a tower, and then he 00:14:17.95\00:14:20.16 ran out of money. 00:14:20.16\00:14:21.96 He did not fulfill his purpose 00:14:21.96\00:14:24.39 because he did not count 00:14:24.39\00:14:26.63 the cost. 00:14:26.63\00:14:27.76 >> Since Chris does ultra 00:14:27.76\00:14:29.80 endurance bikepacking races, 00:14:29.80\00:14:32.33 races that are typically several 00:14:32.33\00:14:34.37 thousand kilometres long, he has 00:14:34.37\00:14:36.94 learned what it means to 00:14:36.94\00:14:38.84 stick with it 00:14:38.84\00:14:40.88 until you get the job done. 00:14:40.88\00:14:43.75 As a Christian, your job is 00:14:43.75\00:14:45.95 never finished. 00:14:45.95\00:14:47.78 I am reminded of how Jesus was 00:14:47.78\00:14:50.69 possessed of one purpose. 00:14:50.69\00:14:53.25 He lived to bless others. 00:14:53.25\00:14:56.32 There is always work to do when 00:14:56.86\00:14:59.43 you're blessing others. 00:14:59.43\00:15:00.73 Helping those who are lost or 00:15:00.73\00:15:03.50 lonely, or just needing a 00:15:03.50\00:15:06.13 helping hand. 00:15:06.13\00:15:07.54 >> I do what's called 00:15:09.50\00:15:10.37 ultra-endurance bikepacking 00:15:10.37\00:15:11.97 races and these are races 00:15:11.97\00:15:13.64 typically of several thousand 00:15:13.64\00:15:15.34 kilometres long. 00:15:15.34\00:15:16.44 I've done a seven and a half 00:15:16.44\00:15:17.68 thousand kilometre race from 00:15:17.68\00:15:18.88 Norway to Spain, four and a half 00:15:18.88\00:15:20.38 thousand kilometre races, London 00:15:20.38\00:15:21.95 to Istanbul, length of New 00:15:21.95\00:15:24.09 Zealand, across Australia. 00:15:24.09\00:15:25.82 And the concept behind these 00:15:25.82\00:15:27.12 races is it's you and your bike 00:15:27.12\00:15:29.99 with no outside support 00:15:29.99\00:15:31.69 to the finish line. 00:15:31.69\00:15:32.83 And you ride, 00:15:32.83\00:15:35.06 you follow a set route 00:15:35.06\00:15:36.43 and you ride as long as you want 00:15:36.43\00:15:38.57 each day. 00:15:38.57\00:15:39.83 And so I've averaged 230 00:15:39.83\00:15:41.54 kilometres for 32 and a half 00:15:41.54\00:15:43.64 days right now. 00:15:43.64\00:15:44.64 So I've done 7,400 kilometres to 00:15:44.64\00:15:46.94 where we are right now. 00:15:46.94\00:15:48.14 And this race has got-- is a 12 00:15:48.14\00:15:49.61 and a half thousand kilometre 00:15:49.61\00:15:50.61 race, it's the longest one in 00:15:50.61\00:15:52.28 the world. 00:15:52.28\00:15:53.28 Yeah, and I find them uniquely 00:15:53.98\00:15:56.82 challenging because when 00:15:56.82\00:15:58.69 something goes wrong, you've got 00:15:58.69\00:15:59.62 to deal with it. 00:15:59.62\00:16:00.32 Like my bicycle broke to the 00:16:00.32\00:16:02.32 west of Sault Ste. Marie and I 00:16:02.32\00:16:04.86 had to cycle 600 kilometres to a 00:16:04.86\00:16:06.49 bicycle shop with one gear. 00:16:06.49\00:16:08.13 And you just deal with it. 00:16:08.13\00:16:10.60 We've had people with their 00:16:10.60\00:16:11.90 bikes brake in the deserts and 00:16:11.90\00:16:13.10 they've had the cable tie their 00:16:13.10\00:16:14.14 cassettes to the spokes to get 00:16:14.14\00:16:15.84 to where they want to go to. 00:16:15.84\00:16:16.87 So it's all about you and your 00:16:16.87\00:16:18.21 bike and your personal 00:16:18.21\00:16:19.44 resilience. 00:16:19.44\00:16:20.44 When things go wrong, you can't 00:16:20.44\00:16:21.84 throw a hissy fit next to the, 00:16:21.84\00:16:23.58 next the right side of the road, 00:16:23.58\00:16:24.61 just deal with it. 00:16:24.61\00:16:26.05 I also really find, because my 00:16:26.05\00:16:28.08 bicycle's my happy place, I like 00:16:28.08\00:16:29.55 just spending the hours and 00:16:29.55\00:16:30.92 hours just pedalling. 00:16:30.92\00:16:32.49 I'm very happy doing that. 00:16:32.49\00:16:34.42 I often listen to the Bible, 00:16:34.42\00:16:36.56 I listen to music, podcasts, 00:16:36.56\00:16:38.49 but like today I've cycled 7 00:16:38.49\00:16:40.13 hours just with nothing on just 00:16:40.13\00:16:42.26 because I really just enjoy just 00:16:42.26\00:16:43.80 the peace of riding my bicycle 00:16:43.80\00:16:44.97 through beautiful scenery and 00:16:44.97\00:16:46.03 meeting people. 00:16:46.03\00:16:47.14 And this is the other aspect to 00:16:47.14\00:16:48.24 this racing is that you meet 00:16:48.24\00:16:51.07 people from all over as you're 00:16:51.07\00:16:52.91 cycling along, meet people and 00:16:52.91\00:16:54.44 they say, you know, "Why are you 00:16:54.44\00:16:56.18 doing this, are you being paid?" 00:16:56.18\00:16:57.45 And they say, "No, I just like 00:16:57.45\00:16:58.35 to ride my bike." 00:16:58.35\00:16:59.21 It's a huge source of discussion 00:16:59.21\00:17:02.08 and I often can use as a witness 00:17:02.08\00:17:03.55 to people as well when I explain 00:17:03.55\00:17:05.55 how God's influenced my-- in my 00:17:05.55\00:17:07.59 life and creating opportunities. 00:17:07.59\00:17:09.49 I think we witness as Christians 00:17:09.49\00:17:11.26 in ways that we're not aware of. 00:17:11.26\00:17:13.33 For example, because people know 00:17:13.33\00:17:14.36 I'm a Christian, if something 00:17:14.36\00:17:15.80 goes wrong and I start, you 00:17:15.80\00:17:17.27 know, they look at how 00:17:17.27\00:17:18.60 I respond. 00:17:18.60\00:17:19.60 It's like in this race, the 00:17:19.60\00:17:20.87 organizers said it's amazing how 00:17:20.87\00:17:22.50 I just accept whatever 00:17:22.50\00:17:23.94 goes wrong. 00:17:23.94\00:17:24.87 Well, I think that comes with 00:17:24.87\00:17:25.91 our faith, that we learn just to 00:17:25.91\00:17:28.04 roll with how things are and... 00:17:28.04\00:17:30.15 ...people watch us. 00:17:31.51\00:17:32.28 But you also interact with a 00:17:32.28\00:17:34.48 totally different group of 00:17:34.48\00:17:35.32 people that you normally have. 00:17:35.32\00:17:36.99 In these races, you-- I've raced 00:17:36.99\00:17:38.52 against bike couriers, I've 00:17:38.52\00:17:40.26 raced against different 00:17:40.26\00:17:41.76 nationalities, I've raced 00:17:41.76\00:17:43.36 against all sorts of people. 00:17:43.36\00:17:45.69 And in fact, one time I was 00:17:45.69\00:17:47.10 doing London to Istanbul, 00:17:47.10\00:17:49.00 and this is an interesting story 00:17:49.00\00:17:50.13 because it shows the 00:17:50.13\00:17:51.67 interactions, we tend to fall 00:17:51.67\00:17:54.54 into groups of similar distances 00:17:54.54\00:17:56.87 every day. 00:17:56.87\00:17:57.87 And so I was doing about 250 00:17:57.87\00:17:59.07 kilometres a day and there were 00:17:59.07\00:18:00.44 half a dozen others with the 00:18:00.44\00:18:01.44 same distances. 00:18:01.44\00:18:03.14 And so we'd often find ourselves 00:18:03.14\00:18:04.58 in the same hotels at night or 00:18:04.58\00:18:06.25 the same campgrounds. 00:18:06.25\00:18:07.95 And one morning we were having 00:18:07.95\00:18:09.15 breakfast with three other 00:18:09.15\00:18:10.05 racers and one who looked at her 00:18:10.05\00:18:11.32 phone and said, "Oh, there's 00:18:11.32\00:18:12.89 riots in Kosovo. 00:18:12.89\00:18:14.56 I can't go that route and I 00:18:14.56\00:18:16.69 don't know what to do." 00:18:16.69\00:18:17.79 So I took my Garmin 00:18:17.79\00:18:20.50 and took out the memory card and 00:18:20.50\00:18:21.70 said, "Here's a route through 00:18:21.70\00:18:22.66 Albania and Greece that'll get 00:18:22.66\00:18:23.73 you to the finish line." 00:18:23.73\00:18:24.77 And she said, "Why are you 00:18:24.77\00:18:25.97 giving me this?" 00:18:25.97\00:18:27.14 And I said, "What do you mean?" 00:18:27.14\00:18:28.47 She says, "Well, this is a £100 00:18:28.47\00:18:29.80 memory card. 00:18:29.80\00:18:30.64 You just met me this morning." 00:18:30.64\00:18:31.97 And I said, "Well, you're in 00:18:31.97\00:18:33.31 trouble and this is what 00:18:33.31\00:18:35.08 people do." 00:18:35.08\00:18:36.38 So we ended up riding together 00:18:36.38\00:18:37.98 and we spent the next night in 00:18:37.98\00:18:40.22 an Albanian brothel. 00:18:40.22\00:18:41.18 That's another story. 00:18:41.18\00:18:42.32 And... 00:18:42.32\00:18:43.32 ...about two days later on, she 00:18:45.02\00:18:46.39 said to me, "You know, I'm a 00:18:46.39\00:18:47.69 lesbian." 00:18:47.69\00:18:48.36 And I said, "Yeah, I worked out 00:18:48.36\00:18:49.32 that the first day." 00:18:49.32\00:18:50.23 She says, "But you're Christian, 00:18:50.23\00:18:51.23 you're being so nice to me." 00:18:51.23\00:18:52.59 And I sort of realized that her 00:18:52.59\00:18:54.60 only interaction with Christians 00:18:54.60\00:18:55.83 had come from a negative, 00:18:55.83\00:18:57.10 critical side. 00:18:57.10\00:18:58.17 And I said, "Well, I mean, who 00:18:58.17\00:19:00.47 you are and what you do is not 00:19:00.47\00:19:01.60 my business. 00:19:01.60\00:19:02.67 My business is just to help you 00:19:02.67\00:19:04.34 and be nice to you." 00:19:04.34\00:19:05.87 And since that time, she has 00:19:05.87\00:19:09.01 become like a foster daughter to 00:19:09.01\00:19:10.65 my wife and I. 00:19:10.65\00:19:11.78 She's visited us twice in New 00:19:11.78\00:19:12.81 Zealand and we've helped her get 00:19:12.81\00:19:14.22 established in the UK. 00:19:14.22\00:19:15.62 And it just shows how God will 00:19:15.62\00:19:17.45 bring people into your lives you 00:19:17.45\00:19:18.92 would never normally interact 00:19:18.92\00:19:20.32 with and you have an opportunity 00:19:20.32\00:19:22.39 as a Christian just to show 00:19:22.39\00:19:24.39 God's love to people. 00:19:24.39\00:19:25.36 And that's what we're 00:19:25.36\00:19:26.03 supposed to do. 00:19:26.03\00:19:26.83 ¤ Do not wait until some deed ¤ 00:19:29.30\00:19:31.37 ¤ of greatness you may do ¤ 00:19:31.37\00:19:34.40 ¤ Do not wait ¤ 00:19:34.40\00:19:36.10 ¤ to shed your light afar ¤ 00:19:36.10\00:19:39.41 ¤ To the many duties ¤ 00:19:39.41\00:19:41.48 ¤ ever near you now be true ¤ 00:19:41.48\00:19:45.11 ¤ Brighten the corner ¤ 00:19:45.11\00:19:47.48 ¤ where you are ¤ 00:19:47.48\00:19:49.88 ¤ Brighten the corner ¤ 00:19:49.88\00:19:52.29 ¤ Shine for Jesus ¤ 00:19:52.29\00:19:53.52 ¤ where you are ¤ 00:19:53.52\00:19:54.72 ¤ Brighten the corner ¤ 00:19:54.72\00:19:57.13 ¤ where you are ¤ 00:19:57.13\00:19:59.56 ¤ Someone far from harbour ¤ 00:19:59.56\00:20:01.13 ¤ you may guide across the bar ¤ 00:20:01.13\00:20:04.37 ¤ Brighten the corner ¤ 00:20:04.37\00:20:06.84 ¤ where you are ¤ 00:20:06.84\00:20:09.60 ¤ Just above are clouded skies ¤ 00:20:10.47\00:20:12.61 ¤ that you may help to clear ¤ 00:20:12.61\00:20:15.48 ¤ Let not narrow ¤ 00:20:15.48\00:20:17.61 ¤ self your way debar ¤ 00:20:17.61\00:20:20.58 ¤ Though into one heart alone ¤ 00:20:20.58\00:20:22.72 ¤ may fall your song of cheer ¤ 00:20:22.72\00:20:26.15 ¤ Brighten the corner ¤ 00:20:26.15\00:20:28.52 ¤ where you are ¤ 00:20:28.52\00:20:30.96 ¤ Brighten the corner ¤ 00:20:30.96\00:20:33.46 ¤ Shine for Jesus ¤ 00:20:33.46\00:20:34.56 ¤ where you are ¤ 00:20:34.56\00:20:35.90 ¤ Brighten the corner ¤ 00:20:35.90\00:20:38.37 ¤ where you are ¤ 00:20:38.37\00:20:40.70 ¤ Someone far from harbour ¤ 00:20:40.70\00:20:42.24 ¤ you may guide across the bar ¤ 00:20:42.24\00:20:45.31 ¤ Brighten the corner ¤ 00:20:45.31\00:20:47.74 ¤ where you are ¤ 00:20:47.74\00:20:50.58 ¤ Here for all your talent ¤ 00:20:51.11\00:20:52.85 ¤ you may surely find a need ¤ 00:20:52.85\00:20:56.05 ¤ Here reflect ¤ 00:20:56.05\00:20:57.55 ¤ the bright and Morning Star ¤ 00:20:57.55\00:21:00.96 ¤ Even from your humble hand ¤ 00:21:00.96\00:21:03.12 ¤ the Bread of Life may feed ¤ 00:21:03.12\00:21:06.39 ¤ Brighten the corner ¤ 00:21:06.39\00:21:08.73 ¤ where you are ¤ 00:21:08.73\00:21:11.17 ¤ Brighten the corner ¤ 00:21:11.17\00:21:13.60 ¤ Shine for Jesus ¤ 00:21:13.60\00:21:14.77 ¤ where you are ¤ 00:21:14.77\00:21:15.94 ¤ Brighten the corner ¤ 00:21:15.94\00:21:18.41 ¤ where you are ¤ 00:21:18.41\00:21:20.74 ¤ Someone far from harbour ¤ 00:21:20.74\00:21:22.28 ¤ you may guide across the bar ¤ 00:21:22.28\00:21:25.41 ¤ Brighten the corner ¤ 00:21:25.41\00:21:27.82 ¤ where you are ¤ 00:21:27.82\00:21:31.59 >> So although these are 00:21:35.09\00:21:36.09 bikepacking races, as a 00:21:36.09\00:21:37.86 Christian, we have a different 00:21:37.86\00:21:40.50 philosophy towards competition. 00:21:40.50\00:21:42.50 I'm not here to beat anyone, 00:21:42.50\00:21:44.63 I'm here to just do the best 00:21:44.63\00:21:45.93 that I can. 00:21:45.93\00:21:46.94 And that influences how I race. 00:21:46.94\00:21:49.37 And one time I was racing across 00:21:49.37\00:21:51.87 Australia in the Indian Pacific 00:21:51.87\00:21:53.31 Wheel Race, which was a five and 00:21:53.31\00:21:54.54 a half thousand kilometre race 00:21:54.54\00:21:55.74 from Perth to Sydney. 00:21:55.74\00:21:57.31 And a friend of mine, Vasiliki, 00:21:57.31\00:21:59.75 from Greece, was racing as well, 00:21:59.75\00:22:01.72 and she developed what's called 00:22:01.72\00:22:03.25 Shermer's neck. 00:22:03.25\00:22:04.35 And this what happens when you 00:22:04.35\00:22:05.75 spend too much time on your 00:22:05.75\00:22:07.22 aerobars, and you lose the 00:22:07.22\00:22:08.36 ability to raise your neck. 00:22:08.36\00:22:10.23 And the thing was, she wouldn't 00:22:10.23\00:22:11.76 withdraw from the race. 00:22:11.76\00:22:13.63 And I got a call from the race 00:22:13.63\00:22:14.96 organizer saying, "She ran into 00:22:14.96\00:22:17.47 a parked car, I've heard from 00:22:17.47\00:22:19.47 the police, she's gonna hurt 00:22:19.47\00:22:20.90 herself, but she won't withdraw 00:22:20.90\00:22:22.77 from the race." 00:22:22.77\00:22:23.97 So I contacted Vasiliki and I 00:22:23.97\00:22:25.84 said, "Vasiliki, just stop. 00:22:25.84\00:22:27.54 I will ride with you 00:22:27.54\00:22:28.91 and make sure that you're safe." 00:22:28.91\00:22:30.71 So we got together and I then 00:22:30.71\00:22:32.91 spent, we then developed 00:22:32.91\00:22:34.48 a strategy. 00:22:34.48\00:22:35.12 Because you couldn't raise her 00:22:35.12\00:22:36.02 head, she would ride along and I 00:22:36.02\00:22:38.02 would stay about 20 meters 00:22:38.02\00:22:39.65 behind her and when traffic 00:22:39.65\00:22:41.22 came, I'd yell, "Vasiliki, get 00:22:41.22\00:22:42.56 over, get over." 00:22:42.56\00:22:43.89 And so we rode from Adelaide 00:22:43.89\00:22:46.09 about a thousand kilometres that 00:22:46.09\00:22:47.93 way and I'd stopped my race 00:22:47.93\00:22:49.83 because to me it was no longer 00:22:49.83\00:22:51.13 about me doing the best I could 00:22:51.13\00:22:52.47 in the race, it was, my purpose 00:22:52.47\00:22:53.97 in that race was to make sure 00:22:53.97\00:22:55.14 Vasiliki didn't kill herself. 00:22:55.14\00:22:57.67 And I was totally okay with no 00:22:57.67\00:23:00.11 longer racing my race 00:23:00.11\00:23:02.34 because it was more important 00:23:02.34\00:23:03.38 that she was safe. 00:23:03.38\00:23:04.78 And this influences how we race. 00:23:04.78\00:23:07.55 Another time when I was racing 00:23:07.55\00:23:08.68 Norway to Spain, there were 00:23:08.68\00:23:10.92 three of us who were in 00:23:10.92\00:23:11.89 competition for eight, ninth, 00:23:11.89\00:23:13.05 and tenth place. 00:23:13.05\00:23:14.29 And we were in Spain, I was 00:23:14.29\00:23:16.02 going up this mountain and the 00:23:16.02\00:23:18.63 race, the rider who was going in 00:23:18.63\00:23:20.90 eighth place was coming down 00:23:20.90\00:23:22.43 and he was really, really sick 00:23:22.43\00:23:24.40 with a gastro problem. 00:23:24.40\00:23:26.30 And I had a chat with Mike, his 00:23:26.30\00:23:27.77 name was Mike and I said, "Mike, 00:23:27.77\00:23:28.84 what's going on?" 00:23:28.84\00:23:29.54 He goes, "Oh, I spent last 00:23:29.54\00:23:30.37 night-- I was really sick and I 00:23:30.37\00:23:31.81 don't know if I'm gonna finish." 00:23:31.81\00:23:33.27 Now, being an ex-World Banker, I 00:23:33.27\00:23:35.28 carry the ultimate medical kit 00:23:35.28\00:23:37.21 for things like that. 00:23:37.21\00:23:38.48 So I said, "Right!" 00:23:38.48\00:23:39.31 So I took my medical kit out and 00:23:39.31\00:23:40.82 I gave it to, I gave him 00:23:40.82\00:23:42.45 the medications and I said, "You 00:23:42.45\00:23:43.89 take these and they'll solve 00:23:43.89\00:23:45.69 your problem in a few hours and 00:23:45.69\00:23:47.86 you'll be able to keep racing." 00:23:47.86\00:23:49.42 Now, in a normal competitive 00:23:49.42\00:23:50.59 race, you wouldn't give the 00:23:50.59\00:23:52.26 person two spots ahead of you 00:23:52.26\00:23:53.60 the medicine to keep them 00:23:53.60\00:23:54.56 in the race. 00:23:54.56\00:23:55.53 But for me, it's far more 00:23:55.53\00:23:56.63 important that he finishes than 00:23:56.63\00:23:58.70 I come in ahead of him. 00:23:58.70\00:24:00.64 And once again, it's a 00:24:00.64\00:24:02.07 philosophy behind racing where 00:24:02.07\00:24:04.87 it's not about beating the 00:24:04.87\00:24:06.11 opposition, do the best you can, 00:24:06.11\00:24:08.28 and if anyone else that you come 00:24:08.28\00:24:09.68 across is in trouble, you don't 00:24:09.68\00:24:11.65 relish the fact you'll jump a 00:24:11.65\00:24:13.15 spot ahead of them, you help 00:24:13.15\00:24:14.48 them out. 00:24:14.48\00:24:15.45 And I think that's how it should 00:24:15.45\00:24:17.45 just be in life. 00:24:17.45\00:24:18.29 When you see someone in need, 00:24:18.29\00:24:19.09 you just help them. 00:24:19.09\00:24:20.22 After retiring from the World 00:24:20.22\00:24:21.39 Bank, I live in New Zealand in 00:24:21.39\00:24:22.82 this great place called Golden 00:24:22.82\00:24:24.19 Bay, and the retired people 00:24:24.19\00:24:26.66 asked me to give a talk about my 00:24:26.66\00:24:28.16 World Bank career to them. 00:24:28.16\00:24:30.20 So I discussed the work I was 00:24:30.20\00:24:31.63 doing, I built airports and 00:24:31.63\00:24:33.13 highways in China, and one of 00:24:33.13\00:24:34.87 the projects I did was I was 00:24:34.87\00:24:36.40 responsible to build 400 houses 00:24:36.40\00:24:38.31 in Tonga after cyclone. 00:24:38.31\00:24:40.28 So this guy, Frank, asked me a 00:24:40.28\00:24:41.41 question saying, "Chris, if you 00:24:41.41\00:24:43.08 can build 400 houses in Tonga 00:24:43.08\00:24:44.68 after a cyclone, can't you do 00:24:44.68\00:24:46.65 something about the housing 00:24:46.65\00:24:48.05 crisis here in Golden Bay?" 00:24:48.05\00:24:49.58 So God really put an impression 00:24:49.58\00:24:52.05 on me that I needed to do 00:24:52.05\00:24:52.92 something about this. 00:24:52.92\00:24:53.79 And as I prayed about it, 00:24:53.79\00:24:55.79 I realized that He wanted me 00:24:55.79\00:24:57.23 to do something. 00:24:57.23\00:24:58.26 So I started a project which we 00:24:58.26\00:24:59.66 call "The Golden Bay Affordable 00:24:59.66\00:25:01.00 Housing Project." 00:25:01.00\00:25:02.13 And what we've done is the 00:25:02.13\00:25:04.37 approach we used in Tonga was 00:25:04.37\00:25:06.90 quite unique. 00:25:06.90\00:25:08.24 By law, women can't own land in 00:25:08.24\00:25:09.87 Tonga, and after the cyclone 00:25:09.87\00:25:11.94 most of the beneficiaries for 00:25:11.94\00:25:13.44 housing were women and were 00:25:13.44\00:25:14.44 quite concerned they would lose 00:25:14.44\00:25:15.64 their houses that we built 00:25:15.64\00:25:16.58 for them. 00:25:16.58\00:25:17.38 So we found out that an approach 00:25:17.38\00:25:19.51 to use was to separate the house 00:25:19.51\00:25:21.15 from the land. 00:25:21.15\00:25:22.12 So we would sign a lease for the 00:25:22.12\00:25:23.45 land and then put the house on 00:25:23.45\00:25:25.35 the land. 00:25:25.35\00:25:26.32 And so by separating out land 00:25:26.32\00:25:27.99 from the house, it creates a 00:25:27.99\00:25:29.26 possibility of creating 00:25:29.26\00:25:30.59 affordable housing. 00:25:30.59\00:25:31.76 So I adopted that approach for 00:25:31.76\00:25:33.33 New Zealand and we've built four 00:25:33.33\00:25:35.90 houses so far and we have 00:25:35.90\00:25:37.77 another five under preparation. 00:25:37.77\00:25:40.47 And our goal is to 00:25:40.47\00:25:43.10 really make an impact on 00:25:43.10\00:25:44.64 the housing crisis. 00:25:44.64\00:25:46.21 And I've had a lot of support 00:25:46.21\00:25:47.41 from the Christians in Golden 00:25:47.41\00:25:48.44 Bay who are providing funding 00:25:48.44\00:25:49.71 for the houses. 00:25:49.71\00:25:50.98 One Christian couple provided 00:25:50.98\00:25:52.35 part of their land for free for 00:25:52.35\00:25:53.95 people to live on. 00:25:53.95\00:25:55.28 And so it's a really great 00:25:55.28\00:25:56.28 witness that you can help your 00:25:56.28\00:25:57.42 community to make a difference. 00:25:57.42\00:26:00.59 And it's been really great for 00:26:00.59\00:26:01.59 me to be able to continue to use 00:26:01.59\00:26:02.82 my World Bank skills today 00:26:02.82\00:26:05.76 when I'm not riding my bicycle 00:26:05.76\00:26:06.90 across Canada 00:26:06.90\00:26:08.70 and help people 00:26:08.70\00:26:10.37 because really that's what 00:26:10.37\00:26:11.20 Christianity is all about, 00:26:11.20\00:26:11.87 making a difference. 00:26:11.87\00:26:13.00 [gentle guitar music] 00:26:13.00\00:26:15.10 >> Near the end of his journey, 00:26:15.10\00:26:16.30 the Apostle Paul sounded 00:26:16.30\00:26:17.57 somewhat like an ultra endurance 00:26:17.57\00:26:19.47 bikepacking racer when he 00:26:19.47\00:26:21.01 declared... 00:26:21.01\00:26:21.94 Helping people, 00:26:44.10\00:26:45.33 that is what 00:26:45.33\00:26:47.30 this Christian ultra endurance 00:26:47.30\00:26:49.74 race is all about. 00:26:49.74\00:26:51.64 Making a difference. 00:26:51.64\00:26:53.68 >> And what it creative way 00:26:54.74\00:26:56.54 Chris made a difference, 00:26:56.54\00:26:58.58 by helping his community build 00:26:58.58\00:27:01.08 affordable housing and by 00:27:01.08\00:27:03.22 helping his fellow ultra 00:27:03.22\00:27:04.89 endurance bikepackers 00:27:04.89\00:27:06.86 see the love of Jesus in action. 00:27:06.86\00:27:09.46 That is what Christianity is all 00:27:10.59\00:27:12.73 about, and that is what our free 00:27:12.73\00:27:15.20 offer today is all about, 00:27:15.20\00:27:18.00 showing how God Still Lives 00:27:18.00\00:27:20.77 Even When You Wonder. 00:27:20.77\00:27:22.77 >> Just like Chris, let the love 00:27:22.77\00:27:25.17 of the Lord shine through 00:27:25.17\00:27:26.54 his life, our free offer reveals 00:27:26.54\00:27:29.28 how God still lives today. 00:27:29.28\00:27:32.08 >> These true testimonies of 00:27:32.81\00:27:34.95 God's faithfulness will 00:27:34.95\00:27:36.58 encourage you to trust Him more 00:27:36.58\00:27:38.49 fully and also inspire you to 00:27:38.49\00:27:41.19 live by faith and not by 00:27:41.19\00:27:43.76 sight alone. 00:27:43.76\00:27:45.09 >> Before you go, we would like 00:27:47.40\00:27:49.36 to thank all of you who have 00:27:49.36\00:27:51.57 supported the Ministry of It Is 00:27:51.57\00:27:52.70 Written Canada with your prayers 00:27:52.70\00:27:54.57 and financial contributions. 00:27:54.57\00:27:56.14 Without your support, this 00:27:56.14\00:27:57.57 television ministry could not 00:27:57.57\00:27:59.27 have reached so many people 00:27:59.27\00:28:01.41 for so many decades. 00:28:01.41\00:28:03.85 >> Yes, thank you. 00:28:03.85\00:28:05.98 And we would also like to invite 00:28:05.98\00:28:07.58 you to follow us on Instagram 00:28:07.58\00:28:09.35 and Facebook and subscribe to 00:28:09.35\00:28:11.72 our YouTube channel and also 00:28:11.72\00:28:14.36 listen to our podcasts. 00:28:14.36\00:28:16.56 And if you go to our website, 00:28:16.56\00:28:18.73 you can see our latest programs. 00:28:18.73\00:28:20.96 >> You, too, can experience the 00:28:21.46\00:28:22.93 fullness of life that is found 00:28:22.93\00:28:24.80 in the words of Jesus 00:28:24.80\00:28:26.23 when He said... 00:28:26.23\00:28:27.17 [guitar music continues] 00:28:35.24\00:28:38.05 [sea gulls calling] 00:28:38.05\00:28:40.15 [guitar music continues] 00:28:40.15\00:28:42.95 ¤¤ 00:28:42.95\00:28:45.89