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Women walking across nation
By KERRI REMPP
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| Photo by Kerri Rempp Sam
Hanush-Garrett, her grandmother Lyn Hanush and friend Joni
Balog, pictured from left, are walking across America from
Blaine, Wash., to Key West, Fla. They crossed Custer County
earlier this week. |
CHIEF managing editor
MERNA -- Standing along Highway 2 between Merna
and Broken Bow, Sam Hanush-Garrett, Lyn Hanush and Joni Balog wave
at cars that drive by and send up a prayer for the travelers'
safety.
The three women are on a journey - a Great American
Journey to be precise. The Californians are walking from Blaine,
Wash., to Key West, Fla.
They began their trip May 12 and
went through Custer County earlier this week.
"Nebraska has
been wonderful," Hanush said. "We have decided that Nebraska is the
friendliest place so far."
And in Nebraska, Broken Bow is
their favorite town. Everyone was welcoming, and Georgia Finney of
Broken Bow showed them around the area, introducing them to
practically everyone. Finney saw the women walking near Thedford and
offered them a ride, at which point they explained their
journey.
They are walking and praying for the nation, Hanush
said. It had always been their goal to help the nation, and it
became more important to them after 9-11.
It took two years
of preparation to plan their route and the logistics of the trip.
Hanush had previously walked from Mexico to Canada along the West
Coast and ended in Blaine, Wash. She knew she wanted the trip to
begin from there and decided to cross the country from corner to
corner instead of straight across.
She put a yard stick on a
map and drew a line from Blaine, Wash., to Key West, Fla., and
planned the route around that. Letters were sent to Chambers of
Commerce along the route, many of which, including Broken Bow, sent
information back to Hanush.
The original plan called for
Hanush making the trip alone and people could join her if they
wanted. She truly expected to be alone for the entire walk. Then her
friend of 20 years, Balog, was discussing the journey with her and,
after praying about it, decided to make the trip as
well.
Hanush's granddaughter, Sam, had intended to go to
Zambia this summer but felt like it wasn't what God really wanted
her to do. In listening to her grandmother describe her upcoming
journey, she believed God wanted her to make that trip
instead.
The journey has turned into something they hadn't
expected, Hanush explained. They intended to pray for a nation, and
while they are doing that, they are praying for individual towns and
communities more than they expected.
They stop on the
outskirts of every town they come to and pray for its people,
churches and schools. Then they write the date on a memorial rock
and place it at the entrance of the town. They also offer up prayers
for travelers who go by and for each person they meet along the
way.
They've met Crow Indians at a reservation in Montana,
where they were advised against going. They talked with the Crows
for a long time and listened to the needs of the
reservation.
"God was leading us through there," Hanush
said.
The women were warned to watch out for grizzly bears
and rattle snakes, which they have been fortunate not to run
into.
They brought Balog's dog, Cassie, along as their mascot
and have adopted another, Owashta Bishke Waliluke, who they found
tied to a fence between the Crow Indian Reservation and Billings,
Mont. The name is a Crow name and means Traveling Dog
Walking.
He will go home with Sam at the end of the journey.
Even going home will be a journey for Sam, 16. Her family is moving
from California to Tennessee while she is trekking across the
nation.
Sam, who is home-schooled, does her studies on the
road and hopes to gain valuable experiences to add to
them.
The women strive for 20 miles a day, especially now
because they want to get farther south before bad weather hits. They
are generally on the road by 9 a.m. each morning, though this summer
they started walking much earlier and quit by noon so they weren't
walking in the heat of the day.
They have a van and a motor
home to haul supplies and provide shelter. They station the motor
home at certain points along the route and then drive back to where
they quit walking in the van. Balog drives the van a few miles ahead
and parks it, while Hanush and Sam start walking toward it. Balog
then walks back to meet her two companions. Once they reach the van,
the cycle starts all over.
They carry snacks with them and
stop and eat an actual meal after approximately 10 miles of
walking.
Balog, Hanush and Sam do not walk on Sundays.
Instead, they find a church in whatever town they are in and attend
services.
Each of them keeps a journal about the day, and
they take pictures and record the names of every person they meet.
They hope to one day write a book about their experiences, which
include speaking at schools in Montana and Wyoming when they were
asked to share their story.
"We just told (the students) if
they have a dream, hold onto it," Balog said.
The students
were excited to hear their idea and went home and told their parents
about it. In turn, the parents stopped them on the roadside and
asked if they were the ones walking to Key West.
When asked
what they will consider success, Hanush replied, "to reach our goal
and to say they've played a part in blessing America."
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