No Debating This
by Don Vermilyea
It was dark with thunderstorm chances at fifty percent after midnight. I'd already walked twenty two miles and was really whupped. All afternoon a dry safe place hadn't appeared no matter how much I looked and prayed for one.

Finally there was a bridge over the four lane highway I'd been walking. Would it be a good one with a flat ledge underneath, or would it be the type that was ledgeless? Climbing up the steep incline to reach my resting place for the night was difficult as usual with fatigue and seventy pounds on my back.

Yes!! A two foot wide ledge appeared. The only thing left to do was take my little flashlight and check it out to see if the bridge expansion joint allowed water to flow onto the ledge from above or was it the dry type.

Bummer!! The ledge was as clean as your dinner table before setting it. Experience has taught me clean means much water action happens during storms.

It was time to head into a little Missouri town off the highway to beg for a place to stay as darkness makes it almost impossible to find a suitable sleeping place.

I don't like begging. Never have and might not ever change. I've only begged for a place to stay about ten times on this walk with mixed results. Being directly rejected by a Christian church or a pastor is quite painful, thus I have to be in a difficult situation to beg.

About a half mile from the bridge were the outskirts of town, and there was a convenience store conveniently there. Upon entering the store, I asked to fill some of my water bottles and also asked if there were any churches in town.

To my surprise, the store employees were polite, showed me where I could get cold drinking water from the soda fountain, and cheerfully said there were three churches in town.

Teresa and Shannon showed interest as I told them about the walk for Jesus Christ, and showed them a newspaper article about the walk. I asked if any of the church pastors lived in town hoping that one of them would give me a place to stay while the storms rolled through later on. Teresa told me she was a member of one of the churches and thought sure her pastor would help me and thus called him. After a few minutes she informed me her pastor would take care of me. " Praise God!" were my words of joy.

After thanking them it was time to hit the road. I had to walk another half mile through town to reach his home and immediately noticed many presidential campaign signs on his front lawn. Either he was a sign collector or there was no doubt who the residents were voting for cause the signs all had the same names on them.

The Christian denomination isn't important. I've had both positive and negative experiences with all of them including my own Church of the Brethren. The names on the campaign signs aren't important either.

After knocking on the door it was quickly answered, and the pastor came outside. I asked for a place to stay in the church building. He seemed to be busy, and I was grateful for his time with me. A ride was offered with the town's Chief of Police twelve miles to the next town where there is a ministerial association plan in place to put people like me up in a motel.

I again stated I was walking across America and couldn't accept rides unless it was an absolute emergency and thanked him for his offer, but I had to refuse it. Besides I said, "When we ship people to a motel, there isn't any relationship going on." Again I asked to stay in the church building. Even with the newspaper article and my card with the 800 number and web site information he said no because of insurance reasons.

Even letting him know I'd stayed in another church building of his exact denomination nine days earlier because of impending storms had no effect. I offered to get the pastor's phone number out of my journal so he could find out we spent hours chit chatting and having a good old time.

He informed me he was very busy and couldn't give me any more of his time. Also, none of the other churches could put me up either.

Dejected, it was time to leave. I stopped at the pay phone in town to make a couple of calls and there next to my journal was a brochure from the church nine days earlier. Praise God, and I headed back to show I'd been there.

No one answered the door even though the occupants knew I was there, so I left the brochure in the door. While glancing in the window from the steps to see if anyone saw me (they did) I noticed the probable reason for the pastor being busy. It was September 30, 2004, and their big television had the first Bush/Kerry debates on.

Again I left, and it seemed to a dumb old man like me if someone is advertising which politician they are for, the debates probably wouldn't change anything. I figured there was no debating that he put the debates over time with me.

It was time to head back to the convenience store and fill a few more water bottles up and head to the bridge as that was my only viable alternative.

Entering the store, I was about to let Teresa and Shannon know what had happened, but they apologized to me before I could say a word. The Chief of Police had already called them, told them what had happened, and asked them if they were being harassed too.

They apologized many times for me being treated in an un-Christian-like way. A minute or two later the Police Chief came in and wanted to talk to me. I said "OK", and he said "Outside". I asked "Why not in here?", and he said "Outside where we'd be alone."

After thirty minutes of harassment by a Christian of another denomination Police Chief it was obvious the time was right for my leaving town. He had every reason in the book for a low life like me to move on. People like me weren't wanted in his town. They'd worked hard to clean it up and I had two options, take the ride to the next town or get walking. He even told me he called the 800 number and left a message for Don informing Don I'd been harassing a local pastor. Don was to call the Police Chief back. I informed him I was Don and would listen to his message when I got to the next pay phone.

Although he didn't quote chapter and verse, the lawman said "Even Jesus said if you're not wanted, knock the dust off your sandals and move on." Truly he quoted Matthew 10:14 which states: "If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town."

I hate it when us Christians start pulling verses out of the Bible to prove something. If the Police Chief had quoted the next verse (Matthew 10:15) also, he might have had to say whoops, as it says "I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment for that town."

I said goodbye to the Police Chief, Shannon, and Teresa and hit the road praying hard for those two twenty something year old Christian women. I prayed they wouldn't succumb to all the logic of the older Christian Police Chief and pastor.

As I got to the exit ramp that led to the four lane I noticed the Police Chief was coming in his cruiser. He drove by slowly checking me out and I faked going down the ramp. After he crossed the bridge I stood and watched in the darkness as he drove a mile beyond, then turned around and came back. I went down the ramp and he spotlighted me as he drove on by back into town. I took his spotlighting as "I'm watching you, boy".

After five minutes I headed under the bridge, laid my sleeping bag out and went to bed. I continued to pray every time I awoke for Teresa and Shannon's strength to keep the faith.

Praise God, the bridge didn't get the fifty percent thunderstorms, and the next morning I headed south to the town with the motel.

Praise God, Teresa's mom, Mary Ellen, stopped and offered her apologies that morning. And in the afternoon Teresa and her family stopped by with apologies, God's love, and all kinds of goodies to eat.

There is no debating this. Sometimes the sheep are way more in touch with the Lord than the shepherds. Matthew 10:16 and 17 state "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and innocent as doves. Be on your guard against men, they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues."

Till the next time,
In Christ's love,
        Don
Miles to date: 12,665
Money picked up along road: $831.50
Unsolicited money given by motorists: $1,967.38

Of 1053 nights:
434 nights cared for by God
619 nights cared for by humanity