In a stunning display of courage and faith, Elizabeth Woudsma visited with the Sea to Sea cyclists as they came through Kingston, Ontario, Aug. 19. Just three weeks earlier, Woudsma, 46, was hit by a truck while training to join the tour for the Atlantic portion from Guelph, Ontario, to Halifax, Nova Scotia. She lost the use of her legs as a result of the accident.
“What a woman,” said an emotional Martin Contant, a pastor and cyclist from Surrey, British Columbia. “Very radiant, very inspiring . . . this was a moving experience.”
Woudsma’s daughter Kelly, 17, reported in her blog (web log) that her mom had to be able to sit up for three hours in her wheelchair in order to go to the park to visit the cyclists--so that became her first training goal.
Woudsma visited with many of the cyclists, and at one point the cyclists gathered around her and prayed over her. Then they lined the sidewalk on both sides as she was pushed by her husband back to the van.
“She had a huge smile on her face,” Contant said, “and as she was lifted into the van, she held her hands out to us and then up to God.”
Woudsma and her family belong to First Christian Reformed Church in Kingston. She has moved from the hospital into a rehabilitation facility. Now she is in training to begin making visits home.
About the Author
Gayla Postma retired as news editor for The Banner in 2020.
