The Great American Journey

The Great American Journey is the story of three West Coast women who decided to make a difference in the world by walking and praying their way across the country after the devastating terrorist attacks of 9/11. From Washington State to the Florida Keys they passed through fifteen states, following country roads and made friends in countless towns and villages.

Be sure to check out the book. It’s written in short paragraphs and short chapters for easy reading.  The book will have you in its grip as you read the stories of different people across America. Sometimes you’ll cry over a story, and other times you’ll laugh. This book has humor, suspense, drama, and historical information. 

If you have yet to read this wonderful story we invite you to purchase a copy. The price is a bargain with the number of stories (over 350 pages) and pictures in this book (44 pages of full color pictures).

In 2008 Lyn walked the East Coast from Florida to Maine continuing to pray for the nation.  The opportunities to pray with people were numerous, and always accepted with grateful hearts.  She again met so many wonderful people, and had incredible experiences along the way.  See the daily journals from one year ago from now through October when the walk ended last year. These are being put up again every few days. Enjoy.

To Have Lyn speak - - -

If you are interested in having Lyn share with your group through slides, speaking, and music, call (805) 239-3262 or (805)610-0274; or e-mail  lynshfm@juno.com    Lyn has a variety of presentations - these are all patriotic in content, and can be geared to fit your particular group’s needs.  She tells  the stories of people and experiences along the way,  and of God’s love, protection, and miraculous provision. 

Prayer is at the center of each presentation - something that was accepted and welcomed by all she met in every part of the country.  She also challenges her audiences to pray, and to seek ways they can make a difference in their community.  Do you have a particular theme you’d like Lyn to speak to? She can fit almost any theme to her presentations. 

October 15, 2008 - Wednesday

Day 224 10.5 miles

Total Maryland miles - 78.9 Walking Days - 105

Washington D.C. miles - 4.6 Cumulative miles 1810.7

Three of us started out from Harri and Evelyn’s house this morning to pre-drive today’s route once again. We were trying to work our way backwards on it, but one turn just wasn’t working out. Finally we gave up, and decided to just get to the start and drive it that way to the point we were missing. That worked perfectly. The last thing I want to have is Bonny wandering around all over Maryland trying to find her way back to where Austin and I were walking.

Bonny really does great once she sees the route just before we walk it. And if she does get off course, she also finds her way back on course. She is very dependable.

Austin and I started walking finally. What a beautiful day! And our route - fantastic! For the first time in quite awhile I was off the busy highways. What a perfect day for Austin to start walking with me. In a way Austin and I are a perfect match for walking together. He is 6′7″ with very long legs. I’m not so tall, but I walk fast. So we’re a good pair.

Our walk took us through beautiful residential areas (houses must have been on one to five acres) along tree-lined streets. And autumn is definitely here. The trees are turning bright reds and golden. We had to stop to take a few pictures of the colors. And in one open field we just couldn’t resist singing, “The Hills Are Alive With the Sound of Music” as we twirled and danced around in the open field.

Back to the business of walking. Ten miles seems so short, but since we get a late start with the pre-driving, it’s probably a good thing.

After about six and a half miles of back roads, our route took us onto highway 29 - a much busier highway, but with wide shoulders. Our only problem was getting to the side facing traffic. In order to do this we had to walk through some thorny bushes and climb a low double fence. That fence was nothing for Austin - he just stepped over it. But for me it was quite a task - one I could not have accomplished without help. I ended up with a few “trail badges” - remember those, Marilyn? A trail badge is a scrape that draws blood while walking. This part was a challenge, but that’s part of the adventure.

On the highway we began waving to the cars. I heard Austin say, “This is fun!” And I quite agree with him. We both enjoyed looking at the faces of people as they waved - or not. Some people really get into it, and others just give us a ho-hum wave, and, of course, others ignore us completely. Some just don’t see us, but some we can tell are pretending not to see us.

We had only about two miles on this busy highway. Then we got off onto the Old Columbia Pike. This was a bit quieter. Finally we arrived at the car where Bonny was waiting. After getting out of our gear, we got in the car and drove across the street to Taco Bell/KFC for some lunch/dinner. It’s “Cook’s night off” at Harri and Evelyn’s, so we were on our own for dinner. As late as it was we just decided to combine them.

Then for dessert we went across the parking lot to Starbucks. Now another thing you need to know about Austin is that he is a Starbucks shift manager - that means discounts for us. How cool is that?

As we walked today I learned a lot of Austin’s story. I love listening to people tell about their lives as we walk, so this was great. He and I prayed as we walked and talked, and prayed with Bonny before starting and when we met her at stopping points.

Then we also prayed for granddaughter, Sam, a lot today as she was pretty busy giving birth to an adorable little girl - Lois Rose. Isn’t that a pretty name? I don’t have all the statistics yet, but I do have a picture sent to me via text message. That’s great-grandchild number three, and the first great-granddaughter.

Once we finished our lunch/dinner time, we drove tomorrow’s route. That didn’t take long to drive, and will be an easy walk. It will take us to the edge of Washington D.C. That will be saved for Saturday’s walk.

Our drive back to Evelyn and Harri’s went well, and we were soon getting showers and taking turns working on the computer. Now I’ll do my e-mail, then get to bed.

October 14, 2008 - Tuesday

Day 223 0.0 miles

Total Maryland miles - 68.4 Walking Days - 104

Washington D.C. miles - 4.6 Cumulative miles 1800.2

Today was a different sort-of day. We left this morning to go see about getting Bonny’s bus ticket home to Hackettstown. She is leaving us Friday after Dave comes in on Thursday night. The GPS took us to a different place than we were expecting, but it seems to be quite workable since it is right off of the Beltway around D.C.

When we arrived we had to wait for an hour for the ticket agent to return from lunch, or the bank, or ??? People kept assuring us he would be back. We had a nice place to wait inside where the train waiting room was. We bought some popcorn while we were waiting.

Finally the agent returned and Bonny purchased her ticket, and got all the information she needed. Then we went to get gas in the van - it was now 1 pm - much later than we had expected to have to be.

Not knowing how long it would take to get to Dulles airport, we decided we’d better just set “Lady G” for there and head on out. Well, it took us about forty minutes, so we were an hour and twenty minutes early. We sat for awhile in the cell-phone lot, then decided to drive back to the convenience store nearby to use restrooms and get snacks.

Back to the cell waiting area where we rested and worked on maps for tomorrow. Then a text message came from Austin saying that the plane had landed. I sent a text back telling him to let me know when he got through baggage, and which door he would be waiting at. Soon the text came saying that he was at door number 7. It sort of made me think of the old game show, “Let’s Make A Deal.” The older generation will probably remember that one.

We got Austin in and headed out to find a little something to eat since he hadn’t really eaten much today. How nice that we found a place with a Burger King, a grocery store, and a Starbucks (we needed all three). By the way, Austin works at Starbucks in MN!

We drove on back to Harri and Evelyn’s talking non-stop - sharing stories about the walk so far, and stories of Austin’s life. We only have four full days together, so we have a lot to get in during a very short time. Since Austin and I will be walking together, he and I will have more time to share. Today we wanted him to tell us the story of his becoming a follower of Jesus Christ last July 11, so we could both hear it. That was pretty cool.

We arrived at the house, and got stuff inside, introduced Austin to Evelyn and Harri - and Smokey, the cat - and showed him to his room in the basement. I went outside to help Harri move a planter. It was so nice outside. We stood out there and talked for a bit, then I went in to get started on my journal, so that I can hopefully get to bed a little earlier tonight. I am so tired.

Harri is getting dinner ready. By the way he prepares such good dinners, and serves them one course at a time. Dinner is a full evening affair, and allows for lots of good conversation.

Well, that’s it for tonight folks.

October 13, 2008 - Monday

Day 222 0.0 miles

Total Maryland miles - 68.4 Walking Days - 104

Washington D.C. miles - 4.6 Cumulative miles 1800.2

Bonny and I were up at 6 am and on our way by 7:30 am heading to Arlington National Cemetery. Lady G, our GPS, got us there with very little trouble - only one wrong turn easily fixed.

After parking in the Visitor’s Center parking lot, we sat and had our Bible times, then shared a little of what we had each read. My reading was from Isaiah 6 where Isaiah realizes he is in the presence of God, and he is fearful for his life being a sinful man in the presence of the holy God. After touching his mouth with a hot coal, the angel proclaims him clean. Then God asked who could He send to the people, and who would go for Him. Isaiah’s response was that he was there and willing for God to send him.

As I thought about this I was so thankful that we can enter the presence of the Living, Holy God because we have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus. How awesome is that?

The other thought that came to my mind had to do with these prayer walks, and how God has so impressed on my heart that I am to go on these. My response has been, “Here am I, Lord, send me.” There have been times - especially on this particular walk - where I’ve wondered about my sanity in saying I would go. Yet, as I have gone through the hard times, the loneliness at times, and the setbacks, I have come through stronger and more ready than ever to continue. So, yes, I can still say with certainty, “Here I am, Lord, send me.”

Finally it was time to go inside to get our tour tickets. We were on the first tour group to go into Washington for today. As we waited t board the bus we got to talking with a couple. Somehow we found out they had friends living in Tennessee. When I asked them where in Tennessee, I was very surprised to hear them say, “Sweetwater.” Sweetwater is where our daughter lives.

Our guide was Dave (good name), and he did an excellent job. I decided to take notes this time. On previous tours I’ve taken lots of pictures, and I decided I would only take pictures this time if there was something really different. One of the first things Dave told us was while we crossed the Potomac - the word Potomac means “meeting place.” Now Bonny and I thought that was very interesting since right now there are economic leaders from many countries meeting in Washington D.C. These are very important meetings that can affect not just our country right now, but countries around the world for now and for some time to come.

Our purpose for coming to Washington D.C. today was to take the tour-mobile into D.C. to pray for our nation’s capital - and pray we did. We prayed for the world economic leaders as they meet to make plans and work on ideas that will help us all out of the mess we’ve gotten into.

Some interesting tidbits that we gleaned as we toured: the Herbert Hoover building was the largest office building in the world in 1934. - The Willard Hotel is where the Battle Hymn of the Republic was written in 1861. - The Ronald Reagan building is now the largest office building in Washington D.C. - Of the Smithsonian Museum offerings, the Air and Space Museum is the most popular. - The capitol building was built on Jenkins Hill. And the grounds were designed by the same man who designed Central Park in New York City.

In front of the capital building are statues of Peace, and of Grief. - Freedom stands on top of the Capital building. - Union Station has flags out front for each of the fifty states, and the territories. - The Hope Diamond was sent to the Smithsonian very simply in a small box, and was insured for one million dollars. - In front of the Holocaust Museum is a sculpture of a broken swastika. - The original mandate of the Secret Service was to guard against counterfeit money. Well that’s just a few of the things we learned, but I thought you might enjoy that bit of trivia.

We also took the tour of Arlington Cemetery, watched the changing of the guard , and enjoyed the view from Arlington House looking out over the city of Washington D.C. We sat on a low wall there and prayed for our nation, and especially the capitol city.

Back at our car we headed out for Evelyn and Harri’s place. Again Lady G did a great job, taking us on an incredibly scenic route.

Harri did an outstanding job on the dinner again tonight. I’m afraid I might put on a little weight if I’m here too long. But I’m sure enjoying it. He’s a great cook.

I spent time on the computer getting this journal ready, and checking my e-mail, and finally headed for bed.

October 12, 2008 - Sunday

Day 221 0.0 miles

Total Maryland miles - 68.4 Walking Days - 104

Washington D.C. miles - 4.6 Cumulative miles 1800.2

Here it is Sunday, and I’m hoping to get this onto the website tonight. Harri, my cousin’s husband, is going to see if we can get it connected somehow.

This morning Bonny and I went to the Potomac Presbyterian Church where we enjoyed a wonderful service. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to meet anyone beforehand, as we got there just as it was starting. We sang some good old hymns, listened to a wonderful children’s sermon, and then had a great adult sermon.

Pastor Kerry Stolzfus gave a message on Matthew 21:22-46 titled, “Tenants, Owner, and the Mercy of God.” about the vineyard owner who sent his servants to collect from the tenants. After sending two delegations to collect, and then his son, whom they killed, the owner of the vineyard had them destroyed and gave the vineyard to another to take care of it.

Pastor Kerry told this in a way Bonny and I had never heard before. But what he said made it twice as powerful, It showed how great God’s mercy really is, and how sinful man really is.

Following the service we joined the congregation for coffee and snacks. As we headed over we stopped to talk with the Pastor briefly. He introduced us to Roberta, today’s Lay Leader, and asked her to go with us to the coffee time and take care of us. We were also introduced to Leslianne, the Associate Pastor. It was such a blessing to talk with these two women and to see how God was using them. Women, don’t ever think you can’t do anything. God has a purpose for every one of you.

When Bonny and I left the church we drove back to Montgomery Mall to eat lunch at the food court. Then we stopped at the grocery store for a few things. As we drove in I spotted it - you know, Starbucks. So after Safeway I got my drink, then we went home to Evelyn and Harri’s. We got our stuff put away, then I picked up the portion of Harri’s manuscript that he had given me to read. He is writing a Historical novel, and I’m finding it very interesting. I do hope he will finish it. He said that he has been working on it a long time - or not working on it a long time. So hopefully he’ll get back to it.

Evelyn and Bonny went out to the yard to water the plants, while Harri and I sat inside and talked. He is a very interesting person to talk with, and I’m learning much about both him and Evelyn. Evelyn is my cousin, but since we’ve never lived close to each other we haven’t had a chance to really get to know each other. I think this week will be a good week to get to know each other.

Harri prepared a dinner of glazed chicken and a delicious rice dish, with a great salad. We also had a good appetizer. I guess I gave that menu a little backwards. Oh, well. The meal was served one course at a time. Afterwards Bonny and I helped Evelyn clean up. Oh, yes, we had Harri’s homemade lime pie for dessert.

Now I’m doing my journal before heading to bed. I’m talking with Dave on the phone with my headset while I’m doing this journal. Harri just came in and looked at me quizzically, so I stopped to explain to him that I was talking on my headset to Dave.

Now it’s time to get this onto the website so I can do e-mail and get to bed.

October 11, 2008 - Saturday

Day 220 0.0 miles

Total Maryland miles - 68.4 Walking Days - 104

Washington D.C. miles - 4.6 Cumulative miles 1800.2

Today was moving day, but also the day we drove the Beltway loop around Baltimore for two hours. What an experience! I’ll try to give you an inkling of what it was like.

We had to go to Wal-Mart after we got packed up and checked out, then we had some breakfast, and back to McDonald’s to say good-bye to Rob. What a delight he has been to us, and we are grateful that we can pray with him and for him.

Finally we headed for the Beltway. It was a little before 1 pm when we arrived, so we gave it an extra fifteen minutes. Earlier as I was having my Bible and prayer time back at the motel, I kept seeing things in the Scriptures I was reading that got me quite excited. They just seemed to fit so well the things we were seeing and hearing about in Baltimore. So I began to write things down, and one thing led to another until I had three pages of thoughts and Scriptures written down to pray over Baltimore.

As Bonny drove this big circle around the city we began to pray, and I would read the Scriptures we had, and others we thought of, and we would both pray. It was truly awesome. After driving for over an hour Bonny felt the need to get out and stretch for a bit, so we turned off to find a spot to get out for awhile.

Pulling into a cemetery we saw a pond with Canada geese all around. There were cars alongside a drive, and some people out feeding the geese. We drove down by them to turn around, and a woman and her daughter saw our magnetic sign on the car. I heard them talking about it, so we stopped to tell them about the journey.

Kelly has lived in Baltimore all her life, and when she heard that we were praying specifically for Baltimore today she shared how appreciative she was for that. Bonny asked her if she had any special requests either for herself, or for Baltimore. The things she shared confirmed so much of what we had heard, and we were just overwhelmed with the way God was working - even to bringing us together with Kelly and her daughter, Rachel. Rachel told us she is 6 ½. Her birthday is in February. We had a time of prayer with them, then we headed back out to the Beltway.

I need to put in here some other confirmations of what was going on as well. Last night (10/10) because I couldn’t get online, I had Dave read my e-mails for me. He gave me the names of some who agreed to be praying with us today from wherever they were, and read some of their comments.

One man had been impressed with the names of three cities to pray for several months ago, and Baltimore was one of those. He has been praying every day since then. Another told me that her husband has brothers living in Baltimore, and another used to come to Baltimore when she lived in the area, and agreed that it was in great need of a spiritual awakening.

I had still thought that Dave, and Austin, and I might come back to Baltimore on Friday to do some walking and praying, but this morning I had a real sense of peace about only doing the Beltway driving and praying in Baltimore. And I have sensed that the real need for Friday is to take the Metro into D.C. and walk the area around the Supreme Court, the Capitol building, and other places in that area to pray some more. We won’t be walking in that part on Saturday when we finish, so that will be good to do the day before.

When we finished driving the Beltway for the two hours, we headed down Hwy 1 (Washington Blvd.) to drive the route we’ll be walking on to the border of Washington D.C. Some of this is really beautiful. I still have to calculate the mileages that we wrote down today, but it will be finished on Saturday with no problem if all goes well. Pray it will. As I often tell Bonny, “Piece of cake.

Next we found our way to my cousin’s home in Potomac. Evelyn and her husband, Harri have a comfortable place, and perfect for us. We had a neat visit tonight - with more to come. Harri is writing a historical novel that sounds really good. He gave me some of what he has written to read. I’m looking forward to it.

Bonny and I got some laundry started - one load tonight, and more tomorrow. Finally we got our stuff in and taken care of, then headed for bed. It’s late as usual. I really didn’t want to leave the journal for another day, for it is too hard to remember things then. Hopefully I’ll be able to stay awake in church tomorrow.

Tomorrow Harri is going to see if we can connect my computer up to their Internet service. Otherwise I’ll take the computer with me and find a place where we can pick up a Wi-Fi service.

October 10, 2008 - Friday

Day 219 10.8 miles

Total Maryland miles - 68.4 Walking Days - 104

Washington D.C. miles - 4.6 Cumulative miles 1800.2

There’s a lot we have to do before we leave here, then we’re going to be driving the Beltway around Baltimore before we go to Potomac, so it’s not going to be a real early day. Oh, yes, we’ll be pre-driving the route for the next three days of walking as well. This will allow us to pick our ending points for those days.

Would you believe that I only have four walking days left?! Wow! Three days in Maryland, then Washington D.C.

On our way to the walk I took some pictures of the trees along the highway. They are changing a little each day, and it’s beginning to look very pretty.

This morning started out with pre-driving today’s route on the southwest side of Baltimore. The pre-driving helps give Bonny peace of mind about not getting lost. Once we had done that, we stopped at the Burger King at our route’s end. There I sat in the car and talked with radio station KPXQ in Phoenix, AZ. Keith Schull was the host, and I loved talking with him. I think I was on for just under an hour (I had thought it was to be 30 minutes, but loved having longer).

Keith knew the book, Putting A Face On America, quite well, and he had also been onto the website enough that he knew the latest on what was happening. He gave me enough time to really speak my heart, and to tell quite a bit about the last walk, as well as the present GAP Walk. It was great.

It was about noon when we finished with the interview, so we ate some lunch before heading for the start of today’s walk. I got started at about 1 pm. The weather was warm and beautiful. My route looked a little uncertain from the car, but I’ve learned that when you actually get out there you can usually find a place to walk even if there is no shoulder. Only a few times did I have to just stop and wait so I could walk.

People were friendly, and doing a lot of waving and honking. Then a man stopped to ask what I was doing. I got to share with him a lot, and also prayed with him. I trust that God will use what was said in his life. John needs a lot of prayer.

A little later I was waiting at a signal light when I suddenly heard someone say, “Are you walking somewhere?” I jumped, not realizing that someone else was coming up behind me. His name was Mark, and he was heading back to Trenton, NJ. Now I wish I had asked him more questions, because I think he was walking also, and Trenton is a good way off. He said he would pray for me.

Still further on I met Dave - I’m pretty sure that was his name. Right after I left him I met another man asking directions - I couldn’t help him unfortunately.

Finally I came to the Burger King at the end of the route for today. It was good to finish and head for home. We stopped at a Wal-Mart on the way to get some things we needed.

Finally, back home in Aberdeen, I picked up some Taco Bell food for my dinner - Bonny had stuff at the motel. I ate first, and showered later. It wasn’t a real hard day - pretty straight-forward. I wrote my journal, but unfortunately it won’t get onto the website tonight. We have to purchase a card to get the WI-FI here, and mine ran out. It’s too expensive to purchase another 24-hour card.

Well, I’m falling asleep at the computer, so guess I better quit and get to bed. Good-night

October 9, 2008 - Thursday

Day 218 10.7 miles

Total Maryland miles - 57.6 Walking Days - 103

Washington D.C. miles - 4.6 Cumulative miles 1789.4

After breakfast Bonny and I headed out to pre-drive today’s route. After we did that I suggested we pre-drive tomorrow’s route through Baltimore as well. We did that, then it was time to find a quiet spot for a radio interview by phone that I was to do with a station in Ohio.

They were to call me at noon. I got set up, and Bonny and I prayed, then she decided to go inside of Wal-Mart while I talked. I waited until five after noon, and when they hadn’t called by then I knew something was wrong. The radio stations always call five or so minutes early.

I decided I’d better call them. As soon as I mentioned my name to the producer, she gasped and apologized profoundly. It seems that the program host called in sick this morning with a high fever. She was going to call me right away, but thought I was in California, so she waited - and forgot. Oops. I explained that I was actually on the east coast on another walk (they were interviewing me about the walk across America and the book). She also assured me that they were planning to re-schedule me.

I called my agent after that to let him know what happened, and to let him know that they were planning to reschedule. At the same time I urged him to make sure that the radio stations always had the information about me being on the GAP Walk on the east coast.

Finally we headed back to the start point of today’s walk where I started walking at 1 pm. It’s a good thing I’m walking only about ten miles a day these days.

There were lots of hills today, but none of them too bad. Bonny met me several times. Most of the time I just waved to her to let her know I was continuing without stopping (that’s something we’ve agreed I would do if I didn’t need to stop).

At one place I saw a group of five people across the road. watching me and waving back when I waved to them. They just kept looking at me and smiling, and I decided I needed to go over relieve their curiosity. They were genuinely glad that I did. After asking lots of questions, Dan asked if they could pray me on. I gladly accepted their prayer. It was awesome, and I felt so encouraged. I got a picture of Shoni (that’s what it sounded like on the recording, I hope that’s right), Steve, Nicole, Brian, and Dan.

A little later I met Don, who was very curious as well. We talked for quite awhile, and when he found out what I was doing and that I was heading into Baltimore, he encouraged - no, urged me with the utmost urgency not to walk through Baltimore. Over and over he emphasized the danger of walking through this city.

As I walked away I found myself really confused. Was this man sent by God to warn me, or was it a deception of the enemy to get me to avoid Baltimore. Don had told me of the gangs that were throughout the city, and said that I would certainly lose everything I was carrying, and very likely lose my life. Now I’ve been in some danger before, but this warning was so strong I decided I needed to really pray about it (I always do pray about dangerous situations). I have seen God’s incredible protection many times, and have sensed so clearly at times that I was to walk through certain areas. At those times God has given me some awesome opportunities.

This was different, and I felt the need to call my greatest prayer partner, Marilyn. Her mission from God for this walk has been to pray especially for my safety. Someday I may tell you the story of what happened with Marilyn and me last January that brought about this special call to pray for my safety. If you’re real curious you can ask me about it.

I shared with Marilyn my dilemma and asked her to pray for wisdom for me. The one thing I have always been careful about on these walks is to make sure I pray about it if I am warned about potential danger. At times I (or we, when others were involved) have sensed God clearly telling us to walk through the situation, and other times it has been clear that we were not to go through. So now I needed wisdom from God about Baltimore.

I called Dave also, and we talked about the different possibilities, but ultimately the decision was mine to make. I am grateful for a husband that trusts me enough to know that I will weigh carefully all the pros and cons about a situation, and then make a wise choice.

Another concern I had was for Bonny, if we should decide to do Baltimore. If she were to get lost and stop to ask for directions, would she be safe? I certainly didn’t want to endanger her.

I continued to pray as I walked, leaning toward not walking through Baltimore - at least not now. Still I didn’t have a clear picture of what I should do, so I asked God to give me a real sign one way or another.

I wanted to get a good Baltimore map, so I stopped at three gas station convenience stores. One had the plasticized kind that were rainproof. These are twice as costly, and I didn’t want to spend that much. Finally I found a regular map of Baltimore and purchased it at a fair price.

But, interestingly enough, it was these convenience stores that helped me come to a decision about walking through Baltimore that gave me real peace. When I walked into the first one I noticed immediately that the attendant was behind glass (I suspected it was bullet-proof). I walked into the second one - same thing; and the third - same thing. I have not seen this at any other gas station on this walk. It was clear that there was cause for concern.

Later on I told Bonny of my concerns, and of all I had gone through this afternoon. I saw now that God had first brought about the divine encounter with the group that prayed with me as a way of preparation for the one who warned me. The meeting with Don, who warned me of danger, I do believe was another divine encounter.

This evening I called Marilyn to let her know of my decision. She was glad, and had pretty much felt the same thing. I still didn’t know just what I would do about getting around Baltimore, but as Marilyn and I talked I was looking at the map. She suggested that when I decided how I would get around it, and when, that maybe I could let a few people know who would be willing to pray especially for Baltimore as I did this.

Then we both got excited about having a whole group of people praying for Baltimore at the same time. One thing I’m thinking of doing is coming back to this area next Friday, October 17, when Dave will be back with me to drive, and Austin will be with me to walk and pray together. If we do that, we might walk in some parts where we know it is safe. But the thing that got me real excited is the Beltway highway that goes completely around the city. If Bonny and I drive that whole circle on Saturday when we leave here to move our base to Potomac, MD, we could be praying all around the city, and having a bunch of you folks out there praying at the same time. How about it? E-mail me or call me if you will be in agreement with us about this. Lynshfm@juno.com or (805)610-0274. It will be early Saturday afternoon when we do it. If you don’t know, and have wondered about the shfm in my e-mail address, it stands for Seek Him First Ministries.

Let’s say we’ll be doing that between 1 pm and 3 pm ET on Saturday, October 11. (That will be 10 am to 12noon P T; 11 am to 1 pm MT; and 12 noon to 2 pm CT.)

Someplace in the midst of all this I had a call from Paul Strand with CBN. He and a TV crew had spent a morning and into the early afternoon with me back in July in Washington D. C. He had a question for me about the West Coast Walk from years ago. Then he told me they are finally getting ready to do a three part showing of it next week - I believe he said Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, but he has to call me back with the exact time, so I’ll find out then. Anyway, I will probably put it in the journal when I know, but should you want to be notified via e-mail or phone (e-mail if possible, please) just let me know at the address or phone number in the above paragraph.

Okay, enough on that - back to today’s walk. I knew that when I reached the construction area on today’s walk that I was almost to the end where Bonny would be waiting. It had been a warm day with lots of humidity (I think Bonny said she heard it was 85% humidity today). The construction area was extremely dusty and I was “glowing” profusely, so I was pretty dirty when I finished.

We programed the GPS for Starbucks and headed out. After Starbucks, we stopped for gas at $3.19, then continued on to our “home” away from home.

I got showered, ate my dinner, did my computer work, called Dave, then headed for bed. Good-night all.

October 8, 2008 - Wednesday

Day 217 11.1 miles

Total Maryland miles - 46.9 Walking Days - 102

Washington D.C. miles - 4.6 Cumulative miles 1778.7

McDonald’s - our breakfast place here in Aberdeen where we’ve had some good talks with Rob (a McD’s employee). Today we had a brief time of prayer with him, then took his picture with each of us. After that we wished his manager, Sue, a happy birthday, and got her picture as well.

Now we were on our way out to pre-drive today’s and tomorrow’s routes. It was a very simple route with only two basic turns. I started on Business U.S. 1 and then went straight onto Hwy 147 when Hwy 1 went to the left. A little further down the road I turned onto Hwy 152. I was on this one most of the day then. There was lots of traffic here, no sidewalks, but very nice wide shoulders. I had no problem walking this road.

It was fun in many ways since there were quite a few truckers who loved honking when I waved to them. That started some of the drivers of cars honking, and every so often cars and trucks coming up from behind me honked. Much of my prayer time today was spent praying for all these people.

I stopped in at one convenience store for the restroom and a candy bar. The clerk noticed I was rather patriotic looking with my flag on the walking stick, and all the red, white, and blue that I wore. I explained what I was doing, and another clerk asked if the lady in the van outside was part of my group. I had been so pre-occupied with watching traffic to get across the road that I hadn’t even noticed that Bonny was out there. I turned around after making my purchase, and there she was. Bonny had seen me come across.

Soon after this I came to the junction with Hwy 7 where I would be turning for the rest of the day - only 2.4 more miles.

Throughout the day I had been receiving text messages from Sam (my granddaughter) or Alyce-Kay (her mom, & my daughter) with updates about Sam’s condition. It looked like her baby would be born today, but alas, it was not to be. She ended up going home from the hospital to wait a little longer. It should be soon though. Dave and I will get to see this new great-granddaughter and her older brother on our way back to California later on this month. I also spent a lot of time praying for Sam and the family there as I walked.

After turning off of Hwy 152 onto Hwy 7 the road was narrower, and the shoulders hardly there, but the traffic was a lot less. There was usually a grassy area where I could walk if cars were coming. As I entered Baltimore County I had to cross a bridge where the shoulder on my side was non-existent. On the other side it was next to non-existent, but at least there was some space, so I crossed over. I waited for a few cars to pass, then went across the bridge, and I think there were no cars at all while I was crossing. Thank you, Lord.

It wasn’t long after this that I came to the Dew Drop Inn where Bonny was waiting in the parking lot for me. The Dew Drop Inn seems to be closed down, so our parking there was certainly no problem.

After we got all our statistics written down we headed back to our motel via Route 7 which takes us right to Aberdeen and with a couple of turns we end up at our motel. Bonny needed to stop at a couple of stores first. Then we went home to clean up and eat our dinners.

It was a good day. Tomorrow will be on Hwy 7 all day.

October 7, 2008 - Tuesday

Day 216 11.5 miles

Total Maryland miles - 35.8 Walking Days - 101

Washington D.C. miles - 4.6 Cumulative miles 1767.6

What a day we had. I know, I say that or something similar a lot, but it’s true. What can I say??

After pre-driving some of our route last Thursday I was a bit concerned about certain portions of it with absolutely no place to walk - no shoulders right up against hillsides, and heavy traffic. At first I saw no way around it without going a very round-about route.

After much thought and prayer, as well as prayers by some of you, I began looking at the wonderful Maryland map we have. On the Baltimore inset I noticed it included the area I was concerned about - at least a portion of it. It was enough to give me some different roads to start with.

So this morning when Bonny and I headed out to review the route for today, we took time to change the last couple of miles so they would meet up with the portion I was looking at. Of course, we needed to pre-drive enough of the next day’s route to be sure it would all work together well. The first couple of choices didn’t work too well, so Bonny and I were both praying as I looked at the map, and suddenly I saw it.

Off we went to drive this route, and it worked! It may add a little bit, but I don’t think it will be too much. Now I needed to get busy with today’s walk - oh, dear, almost noon. Soon I would realize that, as usual when I get a late start, God had some divine encounters for us.

Bonny met me first at WaWa for a short break. Soon after I started walking again Bonny stopped because she was trying to get her new trac-phone working with the headset so she could talk to me while she’s driving if needed. As we stood by the side of the road trying to figure out why she couldn’t hear me with her phone, a man walked up and asked if we needed directions to someplace. We explained what we were doing, both with the walk and with the phone.

Dwayne told us he walks all over, and shared with us some of the places he has walked. Many of them we had never heard of since they are places in Maryland, and neither of us are from here. Dwayne has a lot of medical problems, and we were able to pray with him before we said our good-byes.

I headed on down the road, up and down hills at this point. Soon I came to a cute little house where a lady was standing outside. She saw me and we greeted each other. Then Joyce asked where I was walking from. I explained my journey, and she called her niece, Becky, out. As I explained it more fully to them, Eva also came out. Eva is Becky’s mom and Joyce’s sister. Then there was Hunter, Becky’s darling little boy.

I talked with these ladies for quite awhile. They got their camera and took a picture of me, and I took a picture of them. I got a separate picture of Hunter as well. They were so delightful. We had a time of prayer together, praying especially for some medical needs of one of the women. We parted with hugs - even Hunter gave me a hug.

As I walked on through a forested area with a few leaves beginning to turn color, I felt free as a bird. My legs were moving swiftly, and I was enjoying the blessing of God and the privilege of being out there walking and praying for our country.

After awhile I came to the second WaWa on our route. I stopped for a restroom, then we filled the van with gas at WaWa’s low price. The next section was a new section that we had routed out this morning. For the comfort of both of us we decided to drive this short section once again. Actually we drove it two more times, then went back so I could start walking it. Bonny drove on to meet me at our third WaWa of the day.

This portion of the walk was another beautiful section. It ended with walking through the historical town of Bel Air with it’s unique beauty. A Castle-like building was home to the Army National Guard. It was a pleasure to walk Main Street through this town. Finally I turned my final turn and saw the WaWa where I would end the day.

I spotted Bonny, and went to the van to get my gear off before going inside the WaWa to get a snack of crackers, grapes and white cheddar cheese in one of their great packets. WaWa sells a variety of foods, some at the deli, and some pre-packaged and displayed for purchase.

Next we headed off to drive back to the motel via a Starbucks that Bonny spotted this morning - boy do I have my drivers trained. We also stopped by a grocery store to pick up bananas and peanut butter, then home (our motel) to get cleaned up, eat dinner, do our computer work, and watch the presidential debate - with a lot of prayer.

I do hope each of you are praying about the upcoming elections. Pray for the candidates; pray for the voters (including yourself); pray that God will clearly show us who to vote for. Don’t come to God with your candidate and ask God to agree with you. Rather, come to God with an open mind and an open heart, and agree with God to vote for the person of His choice.

May God bless each one of you.