Sorry for the delay in blog updates, Josh has traveled through most of Tennessee now and is in the town of Camden, west of Nashville. On August 5th, his dad and Uncle David met with him to reunite him with his stroller. So no more backpacking which is a relief for him. Over the next few days I'm going to try and do a number of blog posts, to catch up from the past month. He does have his laptop, so depending on wi-fi, he'll begin posting videos and pictures again.
I would also be remiss not to mention his current fundraiser for Operation Underground Railroad. He has thus far raised $690 to save children from slavery, someone put him over $700!
July 18
So back when I last posted, Josh was in Cleveland Tennessee, the edge of the state next to North Carolina and Georgia. He has continually been blessed on this trip. He stopped at a Baptist Church and asked to pitch his tent, instead they paid to set him up in a motel for a night. He was able to do laundry and take a shower (Praise the Lord!). He gets pretty scruffy and smelly being on the road for too long. He was able to walk about 9 miles that day.
July 20
Josh is only walking about 8 to 10 miles without his buggy, too much pounding with the heavy pack on. He reached Birchwood. He said the hardest part is the loneliness. All his conversations are the same, Where are you going? Where are you from? Where do you sleep? Having real, down-to-earth conversations are a blessing now. That's the real blessing of staying in people's houses.
July 21
An interesting day, he stayed at a church without permission (happens a lot, just pitches his tent or sleeps on a bench. The Pastor's daughter calls him and the Pastor comes to check on Josh. They talk and the Pastor gives him permission to stay and some money. At about 10 PM Josh is trying to sleep, and he hears some sirens in the distance. He immediately thinks this can't be good, and sure enough, an ambulance pulls into the parking lot. Someone had called and said someone was unconscious in front of the church. A storm then blew in and Josh was unable to sleep.
July 22
Great morning at church, and he was again blessed by the congregation with around $60 for his trip. That night he reached Sumter City and couldn't find a place to sleep. So he went to the police station and asked, they said, "You can sleep anywhere you want as long as you're not seen!"
July 23
Josh went to a Mexican restaurant and enjoyed tacos and wings (weird combination). He said during this time the hiking was up a mountain one day, then down the mountain the next day. He did get stopped by a Police Officer, asking to see his ID. He told Josh he was doing a great thing and wished him well.