Snake Attack & Meals with the locals (-8days)

Hello from Amarillo in north west Texas! I'm enjoying a rest day today for the 1st time in a long time & have met some great folks here already. My last blog entry was from a town called Snyder where I almost had a heart attack upon leaving. As I left the town I was walking along the edge of a quite little road & very diligently peeling back the lid of my blueberry yogurt... so diligently infact that I didn't see the 5ft bull snake curled up in front of me! The first I saw of it was a flash of brown & the flip top, 180degree open, fangs protruding mouth as it launched itself through the air at my left knee. With a reflex jump into the air I sort of hurdled the rocketing snake, spun in the air & landed facing it as it smacked down on the road beneath me. I quickly backed away & it recoiled & began to puff itself up & hiss loudly. It missed me by about 1 inch & I think that Jackie Chan would have been proud of my 'jump & spin', not necessarily because I avoided being bitten, but simply because I didn't spill any yogurt! Now that would have been a bad start to my morning :-) As you can see from the photo, they are pretty well comouflaged against the roads here so it can be difficult to spot them as they warm up on the edge of the road. I've seen a lot more since then but well before they were flying through the air. I even spotted a young rattle snake which didn't seem too bothered with me being there so I spent a some time watching it. I placed my walking pole in close to its head & it quickly recoiled into a striking position & began to rattle its tail. That was all I wanted to see - 1st time I've seen the rattle in action! I left it alone from there (btw, any children reading this, do not place a walking pole in front of snake to make it do something - very dumb). I've now reduced my 15days behind schedule in order to cross the border on time to just 8days. My body is very sore though due to the extra distances. I had the sniffles for a little while as well. I slept in my hammock outside a highway bar (Jesse Jane's) enroute between two towns a large distance apart & just as I set my hammock up & jumped in it began to rain. Everything was soaked (including me) & so I didn't sleep particularly well. Consequently I've sniffled a little since. I think it's almost passed now though. This is beautiful country up here (minus snakes) & I've seen some enormous 3km trains pushing across the northern Texas plains & it's quite a sight. I've been very blessed to share some meals with many different locals along the path & I must extend a very big thankyou to the Spanish community in Plainview who took up a collection for me while I was eating elsewhere at someone's house. They payed for my accomodation & the next day's meals. Thanks guys! I also shared a meal with Rick, a Church of Christ preacher, & his beautiful family in a town called Happy - the town without a frown! That's for real... that's its slogan :-) A few hours after leaving Happy a fellow called Max Stevenson pulled up beside me with an array of angora socks. He'd been talking with Rick & figured I'd need some new socks! They're very comfy & bright red!! Theyr'e great, so thanks to Max from 'Bar S'. Everyday as I walk I pray as I trundle along but I set aside 1hr specifially to simply pray & 'be' with the Lord. On the 44km walk from Floydada to Plainview I was about 30minutes into my 'Me & God' time when an army vetran pulled over to see if I needed a lift. He was a faith-filled man & after hearing of what I was doing he offered to not only pray for unity but to pray for the next half an hour with me as he continued in his car. It was great to know that for the next 30mins someone else was interceeding with me. It really lifted me. And then, just to top it off, an hour later he pulled up beside me again, opened his car door & invited me to take a small rest & enjoy a meal with him that he'd bought at the next town. So we ate & chatted for more than just a small rest & then eventually headed our seperate ways again. All up though, I've been very blessed with the company of so many hospitable Texans. On the down side, 2 nights ago I stayed in a small hotel & channel-surfed the cable tv through all the various Christian stations. I was amazed at the array of teachings & preachings of the different stations & it unfortunately drove home even further the division amongst Christians. Over 30mins, this is just a sample of what I heared; "The Baptist Church is run by a board & that is not in the bible!" Interdenominational Preacher. "Hell does not exist & the bible is not the exact word of God." Pentecostal Preacher. "Hell is very real & the bible, the word of God, desribes it vividly!" Pentecostal Preacher. "The Holy Spirit whispered to me, 'I can get you money anywhere in the world'." & "The Lord wants to bless you with financial security, so if you send a $1000 deposit right now to the address on your screen you too can allow the Lord to bless you." Preacher Wisdom Centre Church. "We need to make attonment for our sins! Send a minimum of $60 to the address below & begin to make your attonement with God." Unknown Preacher. "The Catholic Church seeks to control your life." Pentecostal Preacher. "The Pentecostal Chruch is so legalistic." Evangelical Preacher. And so on, and so on... It was incredibly sad to watch the 'Public Face' of Christianity to the oustside world. The truth is not relative & we sure aren't making much of Christ's prayer in John 17 - "May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me & have loved them even as you have loved me." If you are not already praying for unity, please join with the many thousands who are, particularly at 4:01pm each day. God bless & a big hello to everyone in Evelyn's history class! year 9.. That'd be all about the Middle Ages wouldn't it? I'll pray for you :-) See you next week! Sam.

No Food + No Water + No Room = No Worries (-11days)

This past week I've headed further north to the 'Pan Handle' of northern Texas where the land is flat & the roads are long & straight. There are cotton fields everywhere & they stretch for miles in every direction. This is also home to the world's largest rattle snake population though to date I'm yet to see one! Mind you, I did step within a foot of a 5ft bull snake... close enough. I left Junction City last Monday morning & walked up to Menard & then further afield to a town called Eden. In Eden I stopped at the town library & met a lovely elderly woman called Ivy who was very welcoming & invited me to stay with her & her husband on their small farm just out of town. It was just like staying with my grandparents! It was great. They fussed over me & didn't stop talking the whole time. I just wish they'd waited until the other had stopped talking before beginning a new conversation. I had to keep on my toes! After dinner we stepped outside & Ivy walked me through the northern hemisphere astronomy, star by star, & so now I actually know what I'm looking at as I trundle along in the twilight hours. They sent me on my way the next morning with freshly washed clothes, a bag full of food & a request for notification upon completing the walk. I headed on towards the town of Paint Rock & was filled with anticipation as a close friend from Australia was flying into Housten & driving up to visit me on the road for a couple of days. He was also bringing with him new socks (see the old pair in the photos to the right) & a new book to chew through. I spent the entire day looking over my shoulder wondering how much longer it would be until he pulled up alongside me but as it was, I arrived at Paint Rock well ahead of him. There was only one store so I bought a lot of food & waited... & waited. By night fall I was concerned as to where he was but with no phone in this small country town I had no way to contact him. A kind local allowed me to use their internet & at 9:30pm we finally made contact - after 6months of planning we'd stuffed up big time with our communication (where I was exactly) & he wasn't going to be able to make it. It was very disappointing. I trudged down through the darkness to the Paint Rock picnic ground to set up my hammock. The picnic area was spider infested & dark & because of my not-so-good mood I packed my bag up & hit the road to walk through to the next hotel some 30km away. I marched the whole way there without taking a single stop & roled into the hotel at 2am. Time to sleep. The next day I was still 'not pleased' with not having seen Damian but I at least had the rest of the day to slow down as I was already at 'todays' destination. Later that day I met Fr Wade & Fr Bob, two ex-servicemen who had given their lives to the church & their hospitality was extremely 'blokey' & relaxed but always Christ-centred. I loved it. Holy has never looked so real :-) I made my way further north from there to a town called Wingate. I'd only walked a kilometre though when a Sheriff's car pulled up behind me & I was asked to explain myself. Apparently someone had seen me (a stranger) walking down to the road & so... rang the police. I was free to continue but it wasn't the last I'd see of the sheriff's department for the day. 7miles out from Wingate I ran out of water & so stopped at a farm house alongside the road & rang the door bell. There was no answer so I continued on but 15min later another Sheriff's car was behind wanting to know why I was ringing someone's doorbell. I explained & the sheriff laughed. He then threw me a bottle of water. Thankyou! Wingate was a lot quieter than I had hoped for. In fact the grocery store, cafe, bank & post office had all closed down leaving only... a cotton storage shed. As it was already the evening twilight I decided to hitch a lift to a town some 20km away to get food & water & then return to put my hammock up, but after standing on the edge of the road for a minute I decided to swallow my pride & just knock on someone's door. I walked right to the edge of town until I saw the very last house, which looked 'welcoming'. I knocked & enquired of the elderly gentleman if it would be ok if I strung my hammock up in his front yard for the night. He was more than happy for me to do so & even helped me put it up. I was then invited inside the house of Mr & Mrs Poehls who shouted me a Dr Pepper & some smoked venison. I still had few muslie bars in my bag as well so they made up the rest of dinner. After a lengthy & animated chat with the Poehls I nestled into my hammock underneath the Texas stars. Their guard dog came over for a visit so I threw him some smoked venison that I still had & all of a sudden I was his new best friend. So much so that he slept beside me for the night & snored the whole way. Ocaisionally he'd wake up & poke his head up over my hammock, resting his head on my belly, & moan, presumably wanting more venison? Then he'd rest back on the ground & continue snoring. By 5:30am I was ready to hit the road again. The guard dog trotted down the road with me for a good distance but we finally parted company & I was going solo once more. With a full container of water but only a tiny amount of food it was an intersting walk to Sweetwater. I trusted God that he wouldn't leave me hanging & simply walked on. As the sun rose I found myself walking & praying through the largest wind generation tower array I've ever seen. Wind turbines filled the landscape from east to west & up to the north. I was in complete awe of these massive turbines & most likely walked for 20km with my mouth open. Apparently it's the world's largest array. I ran out of food & water at around 12pm & I was in the middle of nowhere. I stopped at an intersection & looked down the roads wondering where they led to. A fellow drove up beside me & asked me if I needed help. I explained my situation & he offered to drive me to a remote restaraunt set up for the wind turbine workers & then to return me to the intersection to continue walking. Mr Dale Finch drove me 4miles to an outpost town called Nolan where he bought me lunch, organised for someone to take me back to the intersection & then headed on his way. Lunch was great & then the owner came & gave me the money Dale had used to pay for the meal. I got to chat with all the locals there about what I was doing & Mary (the towns 'grandmother') was very passionate about praying for unity. A farmer drove me back to the road & I continued on into Sweetwater feeling very blessed from my unplanned trip to Nolan. Yesterday I moved on to a town called Hermleigh, where there was nowhere to sleep once again & so I perched myself up in the football stadium & slept there. It was uncomfortable. Oh, and I couldn't find the stadium in the dark to begin with so I asked a fellow who was sitting up on the back of his truck if he knew where it was. He just sat there & didn't reply. Turns out 'he' was a gas cylinder - no wonder he was tight lipped... Oh well, can't win them all. Today I am in Snyder & after arriving just in time for mass, I've been invited to spend the afternoon & evening with parishoners Scotty, Wendy & family. I am exceptinonally sore from pushing to make up for the extra 15 days (now at 11) but the hospitality of the Texans & constant prayer are keeping me motivated. The weather has been cooler than normal (high 20's) & with autumn setting in it's finally becoming a tadmore comfortable day in day out. Plese pray for me & particularly for Christian unity. 4:01. God bless, Sam.
"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me." John 14:1

Pushing the limits, toilet comfort & wilder beast (-13days)

Hello everyone & welcome to the weekly update! I'm in Junction City in central Texas after a limit pushing 166km in the past 3 days. The crossing from Uvalde to Junction was scheduled to take 5days but I pushed through in 3days in order to bring the 'days behind' back to 13 (in order to cross the USA/Canada broder on time - please see last blog entry). Trekking over 50kms each day hurt but the solitude & scenery was quite something else. I began in Uvalde after being hosted by 3 Terese of Avilla sisters whose hospitality & youthfullness was infectious. As I headed out of town I stopped into a grocery store to pick up my 24hrs worth of supplies & happened to run into a lady by the name of Betty Fitzgerald. Betty had seen me walking the day before & so enquired about the mission. As quick as a flash she was on the phone & within a few minutes the local newspaper was on the spot to report on the Aussie passing through. Betty was lovely & after the interview set me on my way with a first aid pack with lots of little goodies such as a new razor, deoderant, shaving cream & face washer. Once on the road I had a pleasant walk through green sprawling farms until I came to something that is a bit of a hidden jewel in the Texas landscape - The Hill Country. I couldn't believe it; the farms & ranches gave way very suddenly to an abrupt hill range that was covered in elms, oaks & silver birches. The rivers were flowing fast & clear & the air was crisp. By 9:30pm I finally made it to Garner State Park where I'd been told I could hire a cabin for the night. Unfortunately I arrived after closing time & so there was no one to be found anywhere. With a wild boar looking on from within the forest off to the side I wasn't too keen to set my hammock up & so I searched & found the only cabin with an ensuit... well, most people would call it the public toilet, but beggars can't be choosers! It sounds worse than it actually was. The State Park office had a disabled toilet ajoining it & it was spacious, very clean & air conditioned! I set my survival bag (glorified plastic bag) down on the floor, filled it with my clothes & placed my sleeping bag on top. I locked the door & slept uncomfortably, but safely, for the night. I wasn't able to turn the air conditioner off but it was simply a matter of reaching up & tapping the hand dryer & I'd get a blast of warm air when needed... Anyway, I hit the road at 6am, making sure I was away before anyone discovered me. Under the very watchful eyes of that wild boar I left the State Park & headed north along I83 & past by a few more wild boar before sunrise. I arrived in Leakey in time for breakfast & discovered from the locals that in fact those hills contain more than just wild boar - mountain lions, black panthers, bears & squirrels. You really have to watch out for those squirrels. Nasty temper :-) So in the end I was happy to have only seen the wild boars. From there I headed into no man's land up even higher, following some magnificent mountain streams until I was walking along the plateau through ranches that are used for exoctic hunting. At 8:30pm I made it to the one & only shop on the 99km stretch between Leakey & Junction to find it closed. All I had was two muesli bars so dinner wasn't looking promising. I found a place to hang my hammock on the shop's verandah but thought I'd better ask for permission first. I found the owners home (the only house for 99km, wasn't difficult) & thank the Lord, he was a straight down the line, Texas gentleman with a beer in one hand & remote control in the other. "You want to sleep at the store? Sure! No worries. Hang on a minute & I'll grab my keys & open the sotre up for you. You must have a sure big appetite!?" So to Vince at the Galvin Store, thank you! I ate well & I slept well in my hammock. Yesterday morning I finished the crossing with another painful 55km haul. I saw about 10 different species of deer but the show stopping moment was when I realised I was being watched from the bushes by 3 wilder beast. There was a huge fence between us so no threat or anything but I stopped & looked at these animals & wondered why on earth I was looking at an icon of Africa on a Texas ranch. A rancher happened to stop by just to say hello & so I asked him if they were in fact wilder beast, "Yes sir" he said, "and they got Giraffe & Zebras as well." As I walked on down the road trying to spot a zebra it did cross my mind that perhaps the ranch was owned by Michael Jackson... You never know. Over 55km yesterday I saw about 40 ranches & only 5 cows. Times have changed. I've checked into a small hotel here in Junction City & will continue north towards the Oklahoma/Colorado border tomorrow morning. It's three & a half weeks away but I hope to be there sooner. The folks here have been very supportive in praying for unity & often comment on how difficult they believe it would be for all Christians to unite in theology, however, they are very happy & humbled to pray for complete unity for God's glory. Please join in praying each day (particularly at 4:01) & I'll hopefully 'see' you all next week from the city of Sweetwater. God bless, Sam.
"Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, & with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace." Ephesians 6:14-15

Farewell Nikki, Dislodged Hip, Border Security & the 15days

Sorry for the late entry! I normally have an entry up each Sunday however today is the 1st day since leaving Monterrey that I've found internet. To begin with, as the heading suggests, it is time to say farwell to Nikki Harris who is right now, comfortably sitting at home in Newcastle, Australia! Nikki had made the decision to head home a month ago due to financial reasons (no money) & the desire to further other missionary fields. I haven't said anything until now because Nikki wanted to suprise her family with her return & so we've kept it under wraps until now. It's incredible how fast those few months crossing Mexico went, even though it didn't feel fast at the time. I hope you've settled in well back home & are feeling rested Nik! Thankyou so much for your support, your prayers & for laughing at my jokes. It felt bizzare to walk that first day alone & I have to admit, a few times I did do a shoulder check to see how far back Nikki was... whoops. By the end of the day though I was back into the swing of making my own decisions & walking the beat solo. At the end of the 1st day I met 2 young guys who'd run out of petrol & after a long conversation they gave me a present - a Monterrey soccer shirt with it's major sponser, the local bread printed across the front - BIMBO! Straight to the pool room. I'd been having some back problems for the few days leading up & it wasn't until that night that I realised what the problem was. I checked out the sore part of my back in the mirror & found that my left hip was sticking out of my back by a good 2cm. I thought, "Oh, that's not good" & made plans to return to Monterrey to find a hospital. After 2 hospitals & many specialists they eventually concluded that an injury of this nature could only be caused by a serious accident & thus couldn't have been caused by me jarring my back those 3 or 4 days earlier. I tried to explain that my back as never had a hip bone sticking out of it but they discharged me none the less. That was 7days ago & it's still giving me a lot of pain but I'm walking so... I'll just learn to live with a 'hippy' back. I spent two days resting my hip in Monterrey with a group of young Missionaries before catching the bus to catch up on the lost days. Before I left though, not impressed with my new socer shirt, they gave me 2 more shirts of their favourite teams!! Anyone want to buy an authentic Mexican soccer shirt? I crossed the Mexican/USA border on Thursday but getting through Border Security was a lot more difficult than I had anticipated. After a long wait at the counter they asked me to please come through to the back where they walked me into an interrigation room, conducted a body search & then proceeded to ask over an hour's worth of questions with 2 armed soldiers standing over me. At one point the interviewer left the room & waked back in fitting on blue rubber gloves. He gave the final glove a bit of flick on his wrist as he walked in & I didn't mean to, but I very loudly blurted out, "Oh no!" The guy looked at me a little confused & then said, "No, no, I need to search your bags." Wow, I don't know if I've ever been so releaved. In my bag I carry a note book & for those who don't know me, I write film scripts in my spare time & wouldn't you know it, I'd written notes in my notebook on a script I'd headed, "The Shot" & right next to it I'd penned some notes for another script, which involves people such as, let's say, George Bush... Now that took some explaining!! By the way, "The Shot" is a camera shot not a gun shot. Thankfully they believed me & eventually I had my passport stamped & I was free to pass. It was a confusing 90minutes. While getting my passport though something dawned on me that had not entered my often ditracted mind until that point - I have budgeted for 105 days to cross the USA & my visa is only for 90 days. So... the story now is that I have 90 days to cover 105days worth of walking. And I was looking forward to the USA! As a consequence I'm currently sitting 15days behind schedule & will need to rapidly make up those days before it's out of reach. My walk to here, Uvalde, 218km north of the border has been at a frantic pace but very blessed. My first night I walked into the night trying to make up lost time & at 10pm said to the Lord that, if it was ok, I'd walk up to 'that sign' about 1km ahead on a deserted country road & then need to rest. The sign wasn't anything special but at the base of it was a smaller sign with an arrow pointing down into a paddock. It read, "RV Park". I wondered what on earth an RV Park was but upon peering through the trees spotted some caravans & thought, "Oh! An RV Park... of course." (for those not from Australia, we call them caravan parks) So down I went, met the owners as they were locking up & secured some hanging space for my hammock plus the shower facilities. Apart from the howling coyotes during the night & the red ants that made a nest in my backpack for their 100,000 strong community, I was off again the next morning for a huge 55km day to... a picnic area where I once again slept in my hammock to the sound of howling coyotes. I've met some of the most wonderful people here in Texas & I'm really enjoying meeting & praying with them. I have plenty of time for prayer these days with me being alone once more & with the extended length of the days. It has rained the whole time I've been here. In fact they've just finished their wettest summer ever. Due to the constant rain my feet are not looking great. They have turned black from the black tanning agent in my leather boots & the constant water has caused the skin to litterally wear off one of my toes. It doesn't look good at all. Quite disgusting actually. Never-the-less, I walk & I pray & I am blown away each day by the generous hearts who live here. Yesterday was a sad day though. I arrived in a very small town just as they were gathering to remember a 14yr old girl, Marina, who had been accidently shot & killed by her 18yr old brother. It was horriffic for the family & community to deal with & after a memorial service at the school we all gathered in the church to pray. Please keep the family, particularly Marina & her brother, in prayer. That's about it for now - oh, thanks to Tanner (an oil exploration & legalities officer) who shouted me a night in a great hotel & bought me a Texas Long-Horns cap! The cap fits... So, as I was sayign, that's about it for now. Please keep praying for unity - that all those who have faith would be united in truth & in love, & please say one for me as well as I head north, now 15days behind schedule. God bless, Sam.
"Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God." Isiah 50:10