Greetings Friends, Family and Fellow Hikers,
We have been held up these last few days due to the terrible
weather around our Nation. We call the no hiking days, Zero Days. We
have been truly BLESSED though, as we have had these days to be encouraged by the LORD and HIS followers. We have had a wonderful time here in W.V. still at the Brenneman's home. Yesterday, we were picked up and treated to lunch and then supper again by Mr. and Mrs. Hemlick. Dick and JoAnne have treated us like family. They had us for lunch and to meet their breakfast group and had us share our mission with them. It was wonderful to be able to share with others the love of our Lord.
Mr. Dick and Mrs. JoAnne, then took us out for supper at a nice Italian place to eat. Of course, this was after taking us around towns to resupply and to replace items that we needed. We had a blessed Jesus filled day with them. We then made it home to the Brenneman's again and fellowshipped with them again until late into the evening. I feel you can never get enough Christian, Godly fellowship. It is always a joy to be surrounded by fellow believers who have a hearts desire to share with one another.
Today; being Wednesday, we were loaned a truck to run back to Walmart to exchange some things by Mr. Lawrence Brenneman. This family too, has been such a wonderful blessing to us. They have opened their home up to us and treated as a family member. GOD is so good. While we were out in town we wanted to find a Mexican place to eat at for KatyDid. We could not get our phone to work or to pick up where we were so we knew where to find Mr. Dick and Mrs. JoAnne. What did we do? We went to ask them where we could go for Mexican and he said he knew the perfect place and he would even go with us. What a blessings it has been to be here. Well, KatyDid got her Mexican food ...first time since leaving Alabama. Thank you Mr. Dick and Mrs. JoAnne. Also Thank you to Mr. Lawrence and Mrs. Judy for the truck. We had a wonderful meal and more wonderful fellowship.
We will be going back to Pinto Mennonite church tonight for a meal and services and of course, good fellowship. Lord Willing, we will be hiking tomorrow. Continue to keep us in your prayers.
Many Blessings,
Backpacking Believers
Gentle Fir
West Virginia to Today......
Hello Again,
Greetings to Everyone! I will try to continue to catch you all up on where
we are today. From our last blog post from Paw Paw , W.V. to West Virginia, we have completed MD. another state finished and a new one began. West Virginia so far has not been an easy task.
The steep mountains so far have been very trying on our knees. We have been told by the people whom are ahead of us that it only gets harder from now on. Please continue to pray for Gentle Fir's knees, as they have been swelling and have bee really feeling these steep climbs. God is merciful though, Praise God!
We have had an interesting few days....! Since Pilgrim's leaving the trail, we continued our walk into Fort Ashby. Here we stopped into a little cafe' and had some good hot food. We then continued on our journey up more steep climbs through Baker Holler. while we were walking we were stopped along the road by two women who were sent out in search for our family. These two ladies said, we were sent by my husbands uncle to find you and to have you over to his house. She continued to say he was a Mennonite preacher and wanted to talk to us. We were shocked that people were out looking for us and had been waiting on us to be walking through there part of W.V. , it is a small world. The one lady told us to continue on our walk and they would find us and tell us where to go. So we continued on our journey and were wondering what might become of this part of our trip. We now know that the one lady was Jill Dayton and her husband is Brian Dayton. We walked on through beautiful farm lands and curvy steep roads and then the Uncle whom was looking for us came and stopped us. Mr. Phillip Dayton, had heard of our coming and of our walk and had been waiting on us since Harpers Ferry. He said he would like us to come to his farm, True Vine. He went on to town and bought us a pizza, hot wings , juice, milk and breakfast stuff for morning. We met Brian Baker and Mrs. Jill found us near True Vine Farms and they helped us up the steep climb to Mr. Dayton's farm. Mr. Phillip's son Buckle helped us as well to get up the mountain. Thank you to all of them for their help.
We were able to pitch our tent in his tractor barn for the night and stay out of the rain that was coming. The next morning was Sunday and we said we would like to go to church with them. We were up very early around 3:00 AM due to a whipper whill calling in the same tractor barn as us. We soon find out that they are nearly extinct and this happens to be one of the birds nesting areas. So, we had the pleasure of sleeping together with one of these extremely loud calling birds all night. It was funny though to hear the stories about the noisy creatures. When Mr. Phillip woke up he brought us coffee and the keys to a vehicle and gave us directions to Pinto Mennonite Church and told us what time to be there for services and that we were invited to stay for lunch. Our family got cleaned up and had the scripture readings and took the Lord's Supper in the tractor barn and then off to church we went.
Pinto Mennonite Church is a very friendly, loving church. We were welcomed by everyone and treated like family. While there we were discussing the bad storms and flooding expected to be hitting and how to get to a hotel for safety and a family in the church asked us to hike to their home and stay with them. So, after a wonderful meal and fellowship with ALL of Mr. Phillip and Mrs. Nancy Dayton's family, we packed up and walked to the home of Lawrence and Judy Brenneman's.
The Lord has been protecting us this whole trip. The Brenneman's have a nice garage apartment and offered us to stay there to see what the weather was going to do. We walk to their home and Mr. Lawrence met us at the bottom of their steep drive way and offered to push one of our carts up his steep driveway. So, up we go again climbing these high hills. We had time to get settled in and refreshed before church again.
I do not believe in coincidence, but at the evening service they had a guest speaker who was sharing her testimony and as I listened to her speak, we had very similar testimonies. I feel that it had to be of the Lord that our paths crossed in this little town in W.V. This lady Rebecca Rust, had nearly the same testimony as myself and I was able to share and encourage her and to pray with her for her and her husbands mission. What a blessing. She and her husband have a trucking mission taking a tractor trailer church to truck stops. Please pray for their ministry called, Headlight in Trucking. After church we went shopping and the Brenneman family bought us groceries for our stay. While we were in the grocery store our check out girl happened to be the daughter of Kevin Howser, our last trail angel. It is truly a small world.
It was late when we all got home Sunday evening but Mrs. Judy fed us a great meal of grass fed sloppy joes from their farm and carrots and sun chips. We set up and fellowshipped into the early morning hours. God is amazing! Thank you to ALL of our trail angels in West Virginia so far. We are still at the Brenneman's home for now and watching the storms. When we are able to be back on our journey, we will be on a narrow, dangerously curvy, steep climbing road with no road shoulders , so please keep us in your constant prayers. We will be climbing and heading up into the Dolly Sods at over 4000 feet elevation so please pray for our knees.
I would like to Thank All of the Dayton family we met and to the Brennaman's for all of your hospitality and loving Christian fellowship. We have been truly blessed and continue to pray for God to direct our steps and to guide us where he wants us to go. God is so good to us.
Many Blessings and Prayers,
Backpacking Believers,
Gentle Fir
Greetings to Everyone! I will try to continue to catch you all up on where
we are today. From our last blog post from Paw Paw , W.V. to West Virginia, we have completed MD. another state finished and a new one began. West Virginia so far has not been an easy task.
The steep mountains so far have been very trying on our knees. We have been told by the people whom are ahead of us that it only gets harder from now on. Please continue to pray for Gentle Fir's knees, as they have been swelling and have bee really feeling these steep climbs. God is merciful though, Praise God!
We have had an interesting few days....! Since Pilgrim's leaving the trail, we continued our walk into Fort Ashby. Here we stopped into a little cafe' and had some good hot food. We then continued on our journey up more steep climbs through Baker Holler. while we were walking we were stopped along the road by two women who were sent out in search for our family. These two ladies said, we were sent by my husbands uncle to find you and to have you over to his house. She continued to say he was a Mennonite preacher and wanted to talk to us. We were shocked that people were out looking for us and had been waiting on us to be walking through there part of W.V. , it is a small world. The one lady told us to continue on our walk and they would find us and tell us where to go. So we continued on our journey and were wondering what might become of this part of our trip. We now know that the one lady was Jill Dayton and her husband is Brian Dayton. We walked on through beautiful farm lands and curvy steep roads and then the Uncle whom was looking for us came and stopped us. Mr. Phillip Dayton, had heard of our coming and of our walk and had been waiting on us since Harpers Ferry. He said he would like us to come to his farm, True Vine. He went on to town and bought us a pizza, hot wings , juice, milk and breakfast stuff for morning. We met Brian Baker and Mrs. Jill found us near True Vine Farms and they helped us up the steep climb to Mr. Dayton's farm. Mr. Phillip's son Buckle helped us as well to get up the mountain. Thank you to all of them for their help.
We were able to pitch our tent in his tractor barn for the night and stay out of the rain that was coming. The next morning was Sunday and we said we would like to go to church with them. We were up very early around 3:00 AM due to a whipper whill calling in the same tractor barn as us. We soon find out that they are nearly extinct and this happens to be one of the birds nesting areas. So, we had the pleasure of sleeping together with one of these extremely loud calling birds all night. It was funny though to hear the stories about the noisy creatures. When Mr. Phillip woke up he brought us coffee and the keys to a vehicle and gave us directions to Pinto Mennonite Church and told us what time to be there for services and that we were invited to stay for lunch. Our family got cleaned up and had the scripture readings and took the Lord's Supper in the tractor barn and then off to church we went.
Pinto Mennonite Church is a very friendly, loving church. We were welcomed by everyone and treated like family. While there we were discussing the bad storms and flooding expected to be hitting and how to get to a hotel for safety and a family in the church asked us to hike to their home and stay with them. So, after a wonderful meal and fellowship with ALL of Mr. Phillip and Mrs. Nancy Dayton's family, we packed up and walked to the home of Lawrence and Judy Brenneman's.
The Lord has been protecting us this whole trip. The Brenneman's have a nice garage apartment and offered us to stay there to see what the weather was going to do. We walk to their home and Mr. Lawrence met us at the bottom of their steep drive way and offered to push one of our carts up his steep driveway. So, up we go again climbing these high hills. We had time to get settled in and refreshed before church again.
I do not believe in coincidence, but at the evening service they had a guest speaker who was sharing her testimony and as I listened to her speak, we had very similar testimonies. I feel that it had to be of the Lord that our paths crossed in this little town in W.V. This lady Rebecca Rust, had nearly the same testimony as myself and I was able to share and encourage her and to pray with her for her and her husbands mission. What a blessing. She and her husband have a trucking mission taking a tractor trailer church to truck stops. Please pray for their ministry called, Headlight in Trucking. After church we went shopping and the Brenneman family bought us groceries for our stay. While we were in the grocery store our check out girl happened to be the daughter of Kevin Howser, our last trail angel. It is truly a small world.
It was late when we all got home Sunday evening but Mrs. Judy fed us a great meal of grass fed sloppy joes from their farm and carrots and sun chips. We set up and fellowshipped into the early morning hours. God is amazing! Thank you to ALL of our trail angels in West Virginia so far. We are still at the Brenneman's home for now and watching the storms. When we are able to be back on our journey, we will be on a narrow, dangerously curvy, steep climbing road with no road shoulders , so please keep us in your constant prayers. We will be climbing and heading up into the Dolly Sods at over 4000 feet elevation so please pray for our knees.
I would like to Thank All of the Dayton family we met and to the Brennaman's for all of your hospitality and loving Christian fellowship. We have been truly blessed and continue to pray for God to direct our steps and to guide us where he wants us to go. God is so good to us.
Many Blessings and Prayers,
Backpacking Believers,
Gentle Fir
Paw Paw Tunnel to Today
Hello to our Friends, Family and Fellow Hikers,
It has been a while since we have been able to blog
and to inform you all of what we have been doing and seeing
on our amazing mission journey across our nation.
I will do my best to catch you up to today.
On March 23,2014 we walk a short day with plans of taking a day off to rest and resupply. We walked through the Paw Paw Tunnel which is on the C & O Canal. This tunnel is amazing and one of the grand things to see on this trip. It was built in 1836- 1850 , some interesting information we learned about this tunnel is that on the inside it is layered in brick. It took around 6 million red bricks to construct the tunnel. What a engineering task that must have been back then. We walked through the tunnel using headlights to show our way. It was truly walking to the scripture, Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. When we were pushing our cart, we could not see where to place our feet at all, you had to walk by faith, not by sight.
This was truly a great test of faith for KatyDid.
We made it through to the other side and she was happy to be in the fresh air again. We walk on into the town of Paw Paw, W.V. to a little
convience store where we had some hot lunch. Here we met a man from PA.
Mr. Leo Eby, came over to talk to us and invited us and Pilgrim home to his place in PA. Here is where we took some nice rested time off and enjoyed their family hospitality very much. They are a Mennonite family and fed us well and KatyDid enjoyed playing with all of their daughters. You can see many photos on our face book of this family and our time there. We rode the horse drawn wagon up to the garden spot that evening while Leo plowed fresh ground with his team. This was truly a blessing to our family to meet others wanting to live for God and to give HIM all the Glory.
Thank you Leo and Judith and Family, you will forever be in our prayers. Your family truly blessed ours beyond our expectations. We left the Eby farm and got back on the trail. Mr. Leo sent one of his kind workers Gene to drive us back to the trail and he too, blessed us with his love and kindness, as well. Thank you Gene. Our family went on search for Pilgrim, he left the Eby farm the day before us and we wanted to catch up with him to make sure he was doing ok. We eventually caught up with Pilgrim on the side of a very steep incline. We were worried about his heart and the steep strenuous climbs before us. We found each other and it began to rain down buckets from heaven. We decided to work as a team to get up these mountains in West Virginia. GentleFir and Pilgrim took his cart together and pushed up and then rested and went some more and continued this way until we made it up and KatyDid and her Dad did the same.
We were soaking wet and getting kind of hypothermic when a trail angel drove up to rescue us from the steep, now muddy climbs and rain. Kevin Howser, invited us all back to his place for the night. Thank you Kevin and family for your hospitality and for breakfast. Here is where our journey splits from Pilgrim.
Pilgrim decided that W.V. may due him in and left the trail for the time being and hopefully will return to hike with us through Indiana. Pilgrim will be missed but not forgotten. Pilgrim left us his push cart for extra support for us to use and it has been a blessing. Thank you Pilgrim.
We have many more stories to come later and will continue to write more to catch you all up to where we are now. I hope you enjoyed this post of our journey.
May the Lord Bless you ALL and keep you. Thank you again to ALL of our trail angels. You are touching lives and making a difference.
Many Blessings,
Backpacking Believers
Gentle Fir
 |
| Fort Ashby |
Days on The C & O Canal to Harpers Ferry
Hello Everyone,
It has been a while since we were able to do a blog post. We have so much to catch you up on that it is impossible to say in one blog but I will try to narrow it down. We will have to continue to put small post on face book from the phone daily so please watch for those short post as well.
Starting with April 12 Th, We hiked 18.5 miles this day along the
C & O canal and ended at Calico Rocks camp ground on the canal. Along the canal we have met a variety of people biking, walking, hiking with their dogs, bird watching or just out for a stroll in the woods. We have seen some beautiful flowers along our walk , some of them we have never seen before like the Virginia blue bonnets, they are very dainty and pretty. We also have seen stinging nettle, blood root, trillium's, trout lilies, and columbines and much more. Along with the king snakes, alligator snapping turtles, geese, wood ducks, mallards, cranes, fox squirrels and much more. The wildlife has been plentiful.
While at the camp site we camp with Pilgrim another hiker on the ADT. We also camped with two cyclist named Ethan and David who were out enjoying the weather. We stayed up and shared our faith with them as well as theirs with us. It is such a blessing out here. Those two got up and off early to bike back for church this morning 35 to 40 miles away. They were of the Brethren in Christ and Plymouth Brethren belief . On this night , the trains and owls kept us up most of the night. The sounds coming from the owls in the camp site were amazing. We think there was three of them calling and nearly laughing at each other all night until sunup. We were not able to see them but we will never forget the sounds they made all night.
Starting a new day on the canal....April 13th , We hiked from our camp site to Harpers Ferry, W.V. for a total of 16.5 miles today. We have our first mail drop here to pick up, Thanks Anna Marie and Dr. Rush. We were in need of some things left at home.
On this day, is where the ADT crosses and intersects with the AT and we hiked on the AT for several miles here and it was tempting to turn on it and hike towards GA, then home. We are really not going to hike back towards home though. We have truly been blessed by the kindness of others we have met along our journey thus far. We started this day hiking with Pilgrim until breakfast, then we parted ways and met up again in town. We were able to spend several hours this morning sharing our faith with Waqar a Muslim man, what a blessing it was to be able to share our faith without strife or negativity. He was genuine and interested in what we believed and had to say. God is so good. We then hiked on the canal towards Harpers Ferry where we ended the day with much needed rest. At the end of our journey today, we were able to meet a trail angel and his family. Barry and his children were wonderful to us. They ordered us a pizza at the hotel and stay up and visited with us. We were able to end the day sharing our faith with him and his family, they are of the Jewish faith. What a blessing to be able to share and fellowship with so many people out here in the world. We have found that we have been able to let down the walls of pride and to truly humble ourselves and to openly share ourselves with so many people, it has truly been amazing. The people we have had in depth conversations with started out as complete strangers and in the end, have become friends. I feel that is what it is all about, to show love unconditionally and share faith and GOD with all we meet. God has truly been helping us along this journey.
Though, we are in pain now from many injuries that have come from our journey thus far, it has all been beyond worth it . We will rest and doctor our wounds, sprains, nerve damages, and others hurts and then proceed on our mission journey to the next adventure and see what God has in front of us. It is exciting to see whom we will meet and whom we will be able to share with or they with us. We have been truly blessed thus far. Thank you for your prayers.
Happy Hiking
God Bless,
Gentle Fir
Backpacking Believers
It has been a while since we were able to do a blog post. We have so much to catch you up on that it is impossible to say in one blog but I will try to narrow it down. We will have to continue to put small post on face book from the phone daily so please watch for those short post as well.
Starting with April 12 Th, We hiked 18.5 miles this day along the
C & O canal and ended at Calico Rocks camp ground on the canal. Along the canal we have met a variety of people biking, walking, hiking with their dogs, bird watching or just out for a stroll in the woods. We have seen some beautiful flowers along our walk , some of them we have never seen before like the Virginia blue bonnets, they are very dainty and pretty. We also have seen stinging nettle, blood root, trillium's, trout lilies, and columbines and much more. Along with the king snakes, alligator snapping turtles, geese, wood ducks, mallards, cranes, fox squirrels and much more. The wildlife has been plentiful.
While at the camp site we camp with Pilgrim another hiker on the ADT. We also camped with two cyclist named Ethan and David who were out enjoying the weather. We stayed up and shared our faith with them as well as theirs with us. It is such a blessing out here. Those two got up and off early to bike back for church this morning 35 to 40 miles away. They were of the Brethren in Christ and Plymouth Brethren belief . On this night , the trains and owls kept us up most of the night. The sounds coming from the owls in the camp site were amazing. We think there was three of them calling and nearly laughing at each other all night until sunup. We were not able to see them but we will never forget the sounds they made all night.
Starting a new day on the canal....April 13th , We hiked from our camp site to Harpers Ferry, W.V. for a total of 16.5 miles today. We have our first mail drop here to pick up, Thanks Anna Marie and Dr. Rush. We were in need of some things left at home.
On this day, is where the ADT crosses and intersects with the AT and we hiked on the AT for several miles here and it was tempting to turn on it and hike towards GA, then home. We are really not going to hike back towards home though. We have truly been blessed by the kindness of others we have met along our journey thus far. We started this day hiking with Pilgrim until breakfast, then we parted ways and met up again in town. We were able to spend several hours this morning sharing our faith with Waqar a Muslim man, what a blessing it was to be able to share our faith without strife or negativity. He was genuine and interested in what we believed and had to say. God is so good. We then hiked on the canal towards Harpers Ferry where we ended the day with much needed rest. At the end of our journey today, we were able to meet a trail angel and his family. Barry and his children were wonderful to us. They ordered us a pizza at the hotel and stay up and visited with us. We were able to end the day sharing our faith with him and his family, they are of the Jewish faith. What a blessing to be able to share and fellowship with so many people out here in the world. We have found that we have been able to let down the walls of pride and to truly humble ourselves and to openly share ourselves with so many people, it has truly been amazing. The people we have had in depth conversations with started out as complete strangers and in the end, have become friends. I feel that is what it is all about, to show love unconditionally and share faith and GOD with all we meet. God has truly been helping us along this journey.
Though, we are in pain now from many injuries that have come from our journey thus far, it has all been beyond worth it . We will rest and doctor our wounds, sprains, nerve damages, and others hurts and then proceed on our mission journey to the next adventure and see what God has in front of us. It is exciting to see whom we will meet and whom we will be able to share with or they with us. We have been truly blessed thus far. Thank you for your prayers.
Happy Hiking
God Bless,
Gentle Fir
Backpacking Believers
Washington D.C. Trip and National Harbor
We hiked from Bowie to Greenbelt 22 miles. It was our longest day yet very painful but yet very BLESSED. Our friends put us up at National Harbor for a few days and took us all over D.C. and were our personal tour guides. What a blessing they are.
While we were almost done with our hike on Saturday we met a lady named Violet, from Russia, we were able to share the gospel with her. While we were talking with her another couple came up and we were able to share with them and they asked to pray with us. It was such a blessing to be in the middle of God's creation on a trail by the water and circle up in prayer with complete strangers all from different backgrounds and pray together. That is what this trip is all about, sharing God's Love. Mrs. Chris came to pick us up and took us to our room for the night and she would get us in the morning for D.C. touring.
We started the day off at the Nations Capital and from there we toured the mall, the National Botanical Gardens, History Museum, had a picnic in the park and then checked in at National Harbor Resorts. We had dinner with the Weaber Family and then walked down at the water front and toured Gaylord Resorts and shops. KatyDid walked the red carpet for the first time ever and she was a hit. Thanks Mr.Lee and Mrs. Chris!!
On Monday morning we started with omelets made to order for us by Mr. Lee and then off to D.C. again, this time in the rain. We all pulled on our rain gear and off we went walking and sloshing in the puddles to see the sites of our Nation. We started at Thomas Jefferson's Memorial, then walked around the tidal pool to FDR Memorial, then on to Martin Luther King's Memorial. All of these sites were amazing and saddening. We then continued on our journey to WW2 memorial, then the United States History Museum and this is where KatyDid saw all of the first ladies dresses and china. We then went to the National Art Museum and the Castle and original Smithsonian and the reflection pool. We then went back to the resort and went down to the waterfront for Pink Berry Yogurt and more shopping. WOW, what an adventure it has been for KatyDid so far.
Tuesday morning we checked out of the resort and had a rental car for all of our gear and drove around D.C. again for more sight seeing. We went to the National Cathedral and it was beautiful. We also drove to Virginia and all around down town and just took in the sights by car. We have ended our day at a hotel preparing for a long 20+ mile day in the morning. Our feet and knees and feeling a little better and I pray they continue to heal. Please keep our family in constant prayer as we need them.
The Lord is Merciful and Loving...
GentleFir
Backpacking Believers
While we were almost done with our hike on Saturday we met a lady named Violet, from Russia, we were able to share the gospel with her. While we were talking with her another couple came up and we were able to share with them and they asked to pray with us. It was such a blessing to be in the middle of God's creation on a trail by the water and circle up in prayer with complete strangers all from different backgrounds and pray together. That is what this trip is all about, sharing God's Love. Mrs. Chris came to pick us up and took us to our room for the night and she would get us in the morning for D.C. touring.
We started the day off at the Nations Capital and from there we toured the mall, the National Botanical Gardens, History Museum, had a picnic in the park and then checked in at National Harbor Resorts. We had dinner with the Weaber Family and then walked down at the water front and toured Gaylord Resorts and shops. KatyDid walked the red carpet for the first time ever and she was a hit. Thanks Mr.Lee and Mrs. Chris!!
On Monday morning we started with omelets made to order for us by Mr. Lee and then off to D.C. again, this time in the rain. We all pulled on our rain gear and off we went walking and sloshing in the puddles to see the sites of our Nation. We started at Thomas Jefferson's Memorial, then walked around the tidal pool to FDR Memorial, then on to Martin Luther King's Memorial. All of these sites were amazing and saddening. We then continued on our journey to WW2 memorial, then the United States History Museum and this is where KatyDid saw all of the first ladies dresses and china. We then went to the National Art Museum and the Castle and original Smithsonian and the reflection pool. We then went back to the resort and went down to the waterfront for Pink Berry Yogurt and more shopping. WOW, what an adventure it has been for KatyDid so far.
Tuesday morning we checked out of the resort and had a rental car for all of our gear and drove around D.C. again for more sight seeing. We went to the National Cathedral and it was beautiful. We also drove to Virginia and all around down town and just took in the sights by car. We have ended our day at a hotel preparing for a long 20+ mile day in the morning. Our feet and knees and feeling a little better and I pray they continue to heal. Please keep our family in constant prayer as we need them.
The Lord is Merciful and Loving...
GentleFir
Backpacking Believers
Crossing the Bay Bridge and into Annapolis...
Hello Friends and Family, we made it over 100 miles so far and we are still alive. Our feet are blistered and sore and our knees are hurting but our spirits are high. We have been so BLESSED out here in the unknown. We have been able to witness to many people and many people have been very receptive. We have been treated like family from our trail angel families. They are amazing christians.
We have seen 7 bald eagles and 10 osprey so far, what a blessing that has been. God is Amazing! We have walked along the coastal waterways and boardwalks, busy high traffic dangerous main roads, gravel country roads, city sidewalks, roads with out shoulders and everything in between. It has truly been an experience thus far for all of us. It has definitely been a walk of faith and a leaning on the LORD daily for strength. Today when it seemed that everything was going wrong, God put several people in our path to encourage us. We got started late today and had trouble with swollen knees and blisters. We had hills finally to climb and it was hard going, but God showed us mercy and gave us the strength to keep walking. When we walked across this really tall bridge against traffic it was wonderful to feel so free and high above the river and we could see the capitol of Annapolis and the Navy school and sail boats and birds, it was a freeing experience. We then walked through historic downtown and all of the buildings are from the early 1800s or before, such beautiful architecture and old churches.
We were able to talk to many people today about our trip and several blessed us. As I said earlier, we were feeling discouraged and then people started approaching us and we suddenly became encouraged. God is truly Great! HE knows our needs and is gracious to meet them. We walked pass the Annapolis cemetery and it was so sad to see all of those white head stones and to think of all the lives that were lost. It was a reminder of how short life really is. We then continued along the city sidewalks and tried to talk to people as they passed, just a nice hello can change a persons day. We know this from first hand experience. Then we were trying to get to our hotel tonight and rain was coming and it was rough along these busy roads. KatyDid and myself had to walk up on a high concrete divider along a road under an over pass because it was yucky under there and not safe to walk and that was scary to us. Just ask KatyDid about it.....
We are going to try to start hiking in the morning by 6:30. We have many miles to cover before Washington D.C. It is also suppose to be raining, so please pray for us. We are being treated to a resort in D.C. at National Harbor on Sunday so we want to hike a lot before then. Our trail angel family will be in D.C. and we will be seeing the town with them. We can not wait to see them again. We miss them already.
We hope you are enjoying our post and our photos along our walk across America. Please remember us in your prayers.
Photos already posted on facebook
Happy Hiking and God Bless You,
GentleFir
Backpacking Believers
We have seen 7 bald eagles and 10 osprey so far, what a blessing that has been. God is Amazing! We have walked along the coastal waterways and boardwalks, busy high traffic dangerous main roads, gravel country roads, city sidewalks, roads with out shoulders and everything in between. It has truly been an experience thus far for all of us. It has definitely been a walk of faith and a leaning on the LORD daily for strength. Today when it seemed that everything was going wrong, God put several people in our path to encourage us. We got started late today and had trouble with swollen knees and blisters. We had hills finally to climb and it was hard going, but God showed us mercy and gave us the strength to keep walking. When we walked across this really tall bridge against traffic it was wonderful to feel so free and high above the river and we could see the capitol of Annapolis and the Navy school and sail boats and birds, it was a freeing experience. We then walked through historic downtown and all of the buildings are from the early 1800s or before, such beautiful architecture and old churches.
We were able to talk to many people today about our trip and several blessed us. As I said earlier, we were feeling discouraged and then people started approaching us and we suddenly became encouraged. God is truly Great! HE knows our needs and is gracious to meet them. We walked pass the Annapolis cemetery and it was so sad to see all of those white head stones and to think of all the lives that were lost. It was a reminder of how short life really is. We then continued along the city sidewalks and tried to talk to people as they passed, just a nice hello can change a persons day. We know this from first hand experience. Then we were trying to get to our hotel tonight and rain was coming and it was rough along these busy roads. KatyDid and myself had to walk up on a high concrete divider along a road under an over pass because it was yucky under there and not safe to walk and that was scary to us. Just ask KatyDid about it.....
We are going to try to start hiking in the morning by 6:30. We have many miles to cover before Washington D.C. It is also suppose to be raining, so please pray for us. We are being treated to a resort in D.C. at National Harbor on Sunday so we want to hike a lot before then. Our trail angel family will be in D.C. and we will be seeing the town with them. We can not wait to see them again. We miss them already.
We hope you are enjoying our post and our photos along our walk across America. Please remember us in your prayers.
Photos already posted on facebook
Happy Hiking and God Bless You,
GentleFir
Backpacking Believers
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