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"Our tent sits in an icicle-shrouded forest, halfway across a vast glacial valley which stretches and winds its way westward to the plains of Yakutia. Every breath exhaled instantly crystallizes—beard, sleeping bag, tent roof—all is covered in ice. We stumble from the tent, gasping our way drunkenly through the bitter dawn to check the thermometer strapped to my handlebars. We are elated and awed to discover the temperature has now dropped down to minus 40 degrees (Centigrade and Fahrenheit converge at this point)."

Sounds like something from the movie Never Cry Wolf, doesn't it? More enjoyable to watch on the big screen than suffer through yourself. But British schoolteacher Rob Lilwall isn't opting for the armchair. He's in the midst of an ambitious cycling tour from Russia to China to Australia and all the way home to England—a journey that will take him thousands of miles and put him in touch with hundreds of people along the way.

That's exactly why Lilwall is making this extraordinary trek. He's not just going for adventure, though he's quick to admit that's part of it. At the heart of this trip are the children he loves back home—and the millions of children worldwide who are suffering from disease, war, abuse, and famine.

Wherever he travels, Lilwall speaks at schools and churches about the ministry and vision of Viva Network, an international coalition of Christian ministries working with children at risk. Based in Oxford, England, the network coordinates outreach to street children internationally, and organizes training conferences that attract workers from groups like Compassion International, World Vision, International Justice Mission, and many others. It also publishes a journal for those working with children at risk, and operates a job center matching Christians who want to help children with ministries seeking workers.

But Lilwall's not just promoting the ministry of Viva Network; he's also raising funds. Following his talks, schools and churches have donated money that he gives directly to Viva Network. (Lilwall pays for his travels out of his own savings.) To date he has raised more than $15,000.

Lilwall began his adventure in September 2004 in Magadan, Russia. Located on the northeastern coast of Siberia, Magadan is miserable, especially in the brutal temperatures of winter. Stalin used Magadan as a gulag—reportedly forcing more than 2 million prisoners to work in the gold mines. People understood that if Stalin sent you to Magadan, you were never coming back.

Magadan holds a special place in Lilwall's heart. "[A friend and I] were invited to stay by the local Catholic church," Lilwall recalls. "The man who runs it told us how people in his church had been sent to the gulag just because they were Christians. One of them, an 80-year old man, spent 10 years there and survived. Now he's serving in this little church."

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