The Great American Journey

GAP WALK JOURNALS - VIII

Thursday - October 9, 2008 Day 218 10.7 miles

Total Maryland miles - 57.6 Walking Days - 103

Washington D.C. miles - 4.6 Cumulative miles 1788.8

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.