Sat Sept 2^nd : Last night when I came into Larned the librarian told me of two Dominican sisters in town whom I could stay with.  I walked over to their home, they welcomed me in and let me stay in their spare room.  This morning I woke early and walked to Great Bend .  Billie and Kerry drove by me on their way to watch a football game and visit their daughter at K-state and offered to take me with them. A nice offer but I need to continue walking.  My pace has been slower than walking speed lately! Ten minutes later they came back and handed me some hot chocolate.  Just what I wanted, it is cold and drizzly and I do not have any gloves so I am wearing my socks on my hands to stay warm. Good thing they are clean. A couple people pulled over to see if I needed anything, I am constantly amazed at peoples concern for me.  When I got into town I walked to the Dominican sisters mother house and was warmly welcomed.  I was shown around and included in prayer time, dinner and sharing stories.  I feel so lucky that out of al the times to be here I happened to walk in when they are celebrating their 50^th anniversary of serving in Nigeria .  Many of the sisters have returned to celebrate and share stories.  It was so enjoyable to listen as they passed the microphone around, what an incredible group of women! They are so beautiful, filled with so much love and compassion.  And they are good story tellers, especially after having a bit of wine!

Sun Sept 3^rd : Enjoyed a beautiful mass and spent the rest of the day meeting more sisters and sharing stories.  I admire their strong community, incredible faith and their relationships with one another.

Mon Sept 4^th : After mass and brunch I began walking to Ellinwood.  Three isiters joined in walking a couple of blocks with me.  Outside of town Paula, from Kinsley, and her girls plled over and gave me some Taco Bell.  Then a couple minutes later a car drove by just as I threw a bananna peel into the grass, the driver yelled out “litterbug” and pulled over. As I formulated an explanation in my head to calmly deliver, the car pulled up and I laghed out loud with happiness and relief to see it was Billie and Kerry.  They were driving back from their weekend at K-state. Once into Ellinwood I went to the church, Father was not there so I waited outside on the steps. Within 10 minutes a car pulled up,  the man had seen me walking earlier and asked what I was doing. His last name sounded familiar, the sisters had mentioned his name to me as someone they knew in Ellinwood. God works in marvelous ways! Robert invited me home to meet his wifeand I will stay with them while I give talks in town.

Tue Sept 5^th : “If I have no love for others, no desire to serve others, I should question whether Christ is really in my life.” – Rick Warren

Wed Sept 6^th : Took a tour of the underground tunnels and shops that were created when the German immigrants settled this town. It is neat to learn history of towns I walk thru, somehow it had never interested me in school. The world is an excellent teacher!  Robert is enthusiastic and friendly, his sidekick, Scarlett, a southern Belle from Georgia , is entertaining and is opening my mind to understanding transvestites and transgender people. Have had some great conversations that I wish could’ve lasted longer.  People are so unique and interesting, thank goodness we are not all the same!  Marcella is plain nice, I had a feeling she wasn’t thrilled when Robert appeared at the door with me, well, it was because she had not gotten to finish her housecleaning. They are kindly welcoming me to stay with them as long as I am in town, even offering to be another set of parents for me. J

Thur Sept 7^th : I’ve been busy while in town! I spoke to 4 service clubs, both grade schools, the high school, two newspapers and spoke to AWANA last night. AWANA is a program for children of various Christian faiths to come together, play, and memorize scripture. I like to encourage people that God is always with us, we are never alone and that when we ask for help to do the Lords will, He will help us and provide for our needs – exceeding what we can do ourselves. Later on I went to a prayer group, it is so wonderful to be able to pray with others and share faith. I cannot imagine what it would be like to live in a country where you have to hide your faith and be afraid to meet with others and pray. How blessed we are in our country.

Fri Sept 8^th : I hiked to Lyons and walked straight to Marcella’s nephews home, Tim and his family, where I will stay this weekend.

Sat Sept 9^th : Spent the day riding Tim’s bike around town and then played with Ryan. I forgot how much energy a five year old has! I feel old as I want to sit and read and he wants to play by running and jumping. It is refreshing to get to play, stayed up late playing dominoes with Tim and Donetta.

Sun Sept 10^th : After mass I continued walking until dusk and camped in a group of trees. There are more and more trees as I walk East, this is the first time in a long time that as I lay down to sleep and look up I see leaves overhead. I have also seen some sumac for the first time on this hike. It is fascinating to watch the land slowly change. I heard a really neat sounding owl, almost scary sounding, some owls have very interesting hoots.

Mon Sept 11^th : I woke to rolly-polly bugs totally covering my shoes and around my tent. I have never seen so many in one area before. I shook off my shos and they rolled out all over the ground.  Walked into McPherson and asked the police if I could tent in the park. They said no, it is getting to be a challenge in bigger towns…much different than out west where I could sleep just about anywhere and wouldn’t even see lights at night. A man invited me to sleep in his yard, let me shower and use the phone. It is nice because their yard has some tall decorative grasses to hide my tent and add privacy.

Tue Sept 12^th : I slept well despite the town noises, woke at 6 to get to the restaurant to speak to the optimist club. When I got to the restaurant I discovered that they now meet at a different place across town. Unfortunately this happens once in awhile where I get inaccurate info. I went to the paper and the radio station as well as the typical town stops, chamber of commerce, grocery store, post office and library. At a coffee shop met two guys who invited me to their Bible study tonight, but it became canceled because of conflicting student activities. I have been down today and yesterday, I think because I have been so busy I’ve been focusing on myself more than others. When I shift my focus to praying for others, to doing something nice for others and being aware of how I portray myself, with a smile, then I feel like myself again. In the library I read in the paper about refugees in Sudan and their living conditions. I felt the passion in my heart rise up, I want to learn how to help improve circumstances for the long term for people in extreme poverty. There must be a way we can share our resources so people do not die from preventable causes. My heart is crying. It cannot be as impossible as people think. I want to devote my life to making this a more just world. Of course, I say this as I am preparing to eat supper with a family who has invited me in to dine on grilled steak and chicken. Am I a hypocrite?

Wed Sept 13^th : This morning as I walked to a grade school to speak to students I passed by a gym with country music playing and people dancing. My curiosity got the better of me and I stepped in, smiled and took off my pack. They were a group of seniors line dancing, they invited me to have coffee with them afterwards down the street at the senior center. I shared my mission and Donna, one of the ladies, carted me around to the high school and grade school to speak to students. It is nice to get driven around town, it is much quicker than walking, plus when I have a day off the trail it is nice not to have to be walking all around town anyway. In the evening I went back to Steve and Jennifer’s and ate delicious homemade lasagna while enjoying the family atmosphere of teenagers and the energy that brings. Jennifer was dying her daughters hair, placing tinfoil around the brushed strands of hair while a friend was playing with two cell phones, transferring all the old numbers into the new one. A couple friends popped in and chatted away, it is times like these that I feel so lucky to have people welcome me into their everyday life. Often I miss this when I hike, the comaderie of family and friends. May people know how richly blessed they are and how much I appreciate those who take an interest in me, they have no idea how much they help me on my journey. We all need each other so much, we are so interconnected.