Stories from the refugee crisis flood our newsfeeds. Just when you think the photos of young children trying to flee violence couldn’t be more heartbreaking … you see a new photo, and it proves you wrong.

Faced with so much suffering, it’s easy to feel powerless. This summer, three Seattle Pacific University students decided to do something.

Garrett Berkey, Barrett Estep, and Kelsey Lucido cycled 400 miles across Washington state — from Seattle to the Tri-Cities to Spokane — for World Relief’s SEA-TRI-KAN bike ride. The event raised $34,000 for refugees, helping them find housing and jobs, and equipping them to start new lives in the U.S.

All three students are members of the SPU Bike Club. We asked them to share about something powerful about their five-day cycling adventure to support refugee relief.