DAY FIVE (d), September 8th! of Trey's Trek cont.....

After we passed the "House of Prayer" we were coming up on Clio Road.  The side walks had disappeared when we turned off of ML King and now we were walking on grass.  At West Carpenter and Clio, I think that we stopped and took a break.  Both Tony and I were weary but still encouraging each other in finishing this day strong!  

This is our destination for today!  

 Tony who is a "US Marine" is an amazing man!  His endurance is something else for a man that is in his mid 60's!  He was very much of an encouragement to me!   Every time I would ask him how he was doing he always said that he was fine or that he was going to make it or 'I am with you!'  

This is really random but there were some amazing sights on this Trek.  This unusual growth pictured below on the ground got my attention as we were walking along.  I don't quiet know what to make of it but seeing the pattern and colors just reminded me that Jesus is amazing in His artistic creative expressions!  

There are so many beautiful things that I have yet to see in this world.  But just knowing that there is a curse of sin which has hampered and diminished the original beauty of what Jesus created back in the beginning, because of us, just simply amazes me!  How can this still be so beautiful and diminished at the same time?  It just makes me wonder... what we see as 'beautiful'... would it really dazzle us if the 'sin issue' in our world was fully dealt with?  I am just glad that Jesus has dealt with that sin for those of us who have experienced His forgiveness!  But yet we wait for what the Earth groans for!  

God's creativity is Amazing!

After that short break we headed out again, going West.  The road just seemed to stretch on and on and on!  At this point, homes were less numerous and fields more abundant!   This means that the shoulders of the road were more defined and better for walking especially where there were no curbs or grassy yards.

Right at Judith Ann Drive and West Carpenter we turned North and jogged through this small neighborhood that dumped us out on North Jennings Road.   By now you could really tell that we were 'out of the Flint' area.  It was more rural in nature although we were just a few miles North of Town which we just walking through!  

Looking up the road from where we were, just kinda made you feel like this route would never end!  For at least the next three miles the road would not veer to the left or to the right!  It was definitely a straight shot!

When we did get close to I-475 there was a rise in the road because of the the bridge that crossed over the 'by-pass' around Flint that re-connects with I-75 just North of Town.  It was a neat experience to actually walk across an express way!  When you drive across in a car it takes only a few seconds but when you walk, you have a different perspective of where you are and the massive structure of the bridge that holds you up!  Bridges are just amazing structures that serve to join things together!  In many ways Jesus is our bride to Heaven!  That is an awesome thought!  

I have to tell you that after we reached the center of the bridge and we began to descend to the other side, I personally started to get excited, knowing that we were actually getting close to our destination!  We will be meeting Pastor Alverson there at the church!  He is a former Army Ranger and for me it is always good to see him!  

Here is a link to one of his Messages that is posted on the net!  

Pastor Larry Alverson

Now it was roughly a mile and a half to Mt. Morris Road where the Church was located!   My excitement of 'getting there' was causing my pace to increase.  I seemed to do that at the end of each day that we walked!  I would stiffen my pace and determine that I would finish strong.  Was I tired after that?  Are you kidding me? Yes!  But this day would be relatively short compared to what was coming tomorrow!  But for now, I was really not trying to think about the 31.9 miles that we were facing when the sun came up!  But for now!  The day was coming to a close and I could almost taste Supper!

When we reached Mt. Morris Road, it was a pretty wide intersection.  Tony and I turned left and started toward the Express way.  For the last few miles we could hear the cars on I-75 going by about a half  mile over to our left.   Now we could see the gas station and Burger King on the left just before you cross over the Express Way and to the Church.  

I have to tell you!  I was tired!  But the end was in sight!  Tony and I made our way toward the bridge over I-75 where we could see the entrance of the church driveway that lead to the church out in the field off to our left!  It was a welcomed sight!  

It was a very interesting journey today!  The most interesting to date!  Tomorrow would be the last Trek for this week!  I had walked 5 straight days without a single day's break!  In my training to get ready for this event, I would walk a certain distance (which was significant) but I always rested in between those days! Now I was tired but my endurance was building!  It felt good but exhausting!  Tomorrow would bring new challenges that would make for the end of an awesome week of walking from Dearborn to Saginaw!  

I felt like I had to pinch myself!  I could never have imagined that I really walked this far before in my entire life!  But I had!  I actually did it and with the help of some very faithful friends!  

With my feet on the Ground!

Simply Trey

DAY FIVE (c), September 8th! of Trey's Trek cont...

Walking through Flint...

As we walked North along Martin Luther King Avenue, we came to 180 West Van Wagner and ML King.  

There at that location is  St. George Beth El,   "Church of God in Christ".  Those people know Jesus!  This place seemed alive although we were just passing by!  I uttered a prayer that their ministry would be "long and strong!"  Lord, We pray for Pastor George who ministers there!  'Let the Holy Spirit work though these people at this Church!  Let the Flint area be the better for them being there!  In Jesus' Name!

So from St. George Church up to West Pierson Road it was a pretty much just a 'straight shot' North with good sidewalks to traverse on!  As we crossed  Pierson, the small mall that was on the North West corner of that intersection had a great neighborhood mural on the MLK side of the building.  It is great to see this kind of artwork (not graffiti) being displayed!  The neighborhood should be proud of those who are so talented!

After passing this place we seemed to pick up our pace a bit and pretty much held that constant speed for the next couple of hours.

I carried on my back a water bladder called a Camel Back and was able to drink when I needed it.  I kept pretty hydrated.  When I would begin to feel the slightest bit of 'cotton mouth', I would pull up the spout that came from the pack and drink my fill!  I am not sure how all of this works but if there was an ache in my legs or my muscles, the pain would disappear immediately after taking some water.  It was like 'a signal' was being sent from my head to my stomach that said...'hey, the stuff has been delivered so stop hurting!'  That may not be a real "technical or medical" explanation but it makes sense to me because this is what I would feel!  But that is how it worked for me on this Trek.  It is amazing how much water you go through just walking!

So up the road on the corner of Holbrook and MLK was a small white church on the South West corner of the Street.   It looked like a neat neighborhood church.  "Lord Jesus... make them a blessing where they are!"  In Jesus' Name!

As we made our way farther up, to East Carpenter on MLK, we turned West and started toward I-75 knowing that just over 2 miles from this intersection, we would turn North onto N Jennings Road.  On East Carpenter there were several churches.  They seemed to be one after the other but there was one that caught my eye!  It was...

A gathering place to talk to GOD...

I think that this one building of all the church houses that I saw along this route in the Flint area, for me, represented as a whole, a viable witness to the town!  That witness is that...talking to Jesus is important!

In fact, there is a Scripture that not only talks about communicating with God but that The LORD GOD has issued the initial invitation for us to come to Him; not only to be with Him but to converse with Him.  The passage goes like this...

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD.   “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. 

It is He who is saying "come now...!"  It is He who is saying "let us reason together!"  He is issuing the invitation!  And on top of that, He is saying..."let us reason together!"  What other god do you know that does this?  No other god!  Because there is no other...!  

Is this for real?  Is the King of the Universe really asking for us to converse with Him?  WOW!  This is mind boggling!  I have to stop and think to myself;  'if He is asking (me?) to reason with Him... then what does He really think of me as a person?  How do I respond to this?  

Some how we feel embarrassed to answer His invitation because of what we have done or how we have acted or what we are thinking...!  But the fact still remains!  He is actually asking us if we would "come" to Him and "reason" with Him!  He knows us!  There is nothing hidden from Him!  

So does that change the fact that we have sinned?  Not on your life!  In fact, it heightens that awareness!  Yet, He is still  inviting us to come to Him to, in effect, 'reason' this thing out!  He wants us to know that there is nothing hidden from Him and that He still issues the invitation!  He wants us to know that He loves us in spite of ourselves!  So does that mean that He is turning a 'blind eye' to our sin?  Don't kind yourself!  He knows everything about us and He still pursues us!  He knows us thoroughly!  Even what we have become... does not discourage Him in His invitation to us...to "come"!  

Look, He says "Though your sins are like scarlet...though they are red as crimson... ,"  does that sound to us like, He is unaware or 'stand-off-ish'... toward us because we are less than perfect?  NO!  It means that He has rightly assessed who we are and because of who He is and what He has done in and through Jesus... that He is offering us a release from our past mistakes and sins in providing for us to become what He has announced us to be "...white as snow..."!   Innocent as little lambs!  If we respond!

I don't know about you but this is more than humbling to me!  And even after we come to Him and blow it, as we are proned to do from time to time; our former nature still vi's for attention by raising it's ugly head and whispering... 'go ahead, it's ok....', do it!  (whatever it is...).  But the Scripture says...  

"My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.  He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."

"So, what cha' gonna do whey He comes for you, bad boy, bad boy!?"  

You gotta answer that question!  He is coming!  He is calling!  He is inviting... you!  What are you gonna do about what He thinks about you!?   How are you gonna respond when He comes for you?!

With my feet on the ground!

Simply Trey

DAY FIVE (b), September 8th! of Trey's Trek cont...

Day Five (b), September 8th! of Trey's Trek continued...

 

Tony Hall and I entering

downtown Flint...

 After Lunch at Halo Burger in Flint, MI, Tony and I started up the crowed street again.  We walked on the West side of the road that eventually veered off to the left and became ML King Road through town. 

 

Of all the places that we walked through on our Trek to Mackinaw; Flint seemed to be the most diverse!  It wasn't necessarily the scenery or the people but the 'feel' of the place.  

After we crossed the River there in town, we came to the intersection of ML King and Saginaw.   We took ML King and headed North.  I don't have any photos to share with you for the next couple of hours of walking simply because of the tension that we sensed while walking through the neighborhood.  

It was like no one noticed us but everyone knew we were there!  I haven't felt that sort of tension since the Islamic leadership organized a community protest at the Dearborn Public School Council Meeting where a notice was passed out to folks that were there to beware of Trey and Becky Hancock and Dearborn Assembly of God, back a few years ago !  

So my usual customary practice of greeting folks as we walked along... by waving at people that came by or drove by us, was something that I continued to do but the response was much different.  It was interesting to say the least!  So I did not take the phone out of my pocket to shoot any photos.  Sorry!  

The farther we walked out of downtown the larger the homes were becoming.  You could tell that at one time, this part of town was almost majestic!  Some of the homes are good sized but now are fallen into disrepair!  It is sad in some respects but in my heart I could sense some life was stirring!  There seemed to be some flickers of hope in certain areas and then some blocks held an attitude or spirit that seemed contrary to the light.   There were empty lots where houses used to be and older homes that just seemed to refuse to die!   

Then all of the sudden around the 1400 block of ML King there were new houses that seem to have been built in the last few years or so!   They were less than half the size than the ones closer to town but they were new and lively!  The yards were neat and kept!  Items around the homes seemed to have their designated places and you could tell the residence took pride in what they had! But all around them were empty lots and abandon houses.   In comparison, these homes were like stubborn shoots of grass pushing their way up through concrete toward the sun!  It was refreshing to see!  It was encouraging!

 

There was one place where Tony and I stopped and rested for about 15 minutes to catch our breath and eat some snacks!  This place was at West Baker Street and ML King.  We walked over in the parking lot of what seemed like a party store and sat down on the curb and rested our feet and took some nourishment.  We needed it at this point!  Even here, the feeling was that 'no one was paying us any mind to us but that we were being watched!'  So as soon as we caught our breath and rested our feet a bit, we were on our way again!  

When we started out, we looked North, up the street where the road just seemed to 'go off into infinity' with houses and trees just bunching together into a point somewhere 'out there!'  And as you walked along, it seemed to not move but that you were walking into some sort of traveler's hole that had no bottom or end to it!  This feeling would come back several times during this trek as the road in front of us and behind us would seem to just disappear into a point over the horizon with no turns or points of reference that you could gauge your progress by!  It would have been a sick feeling in our hearts, if not for knowing where we were on the map!  That is a critical lesson in 'orientation!'  Being able to read the map and track our progress was vital in maintaining our motivation to reach our destination!  Hmmm? I wonder if life is really like that too? Personally, I gotta know that there is some sort of lesson here!  

Following Jesus 'on the road of life' is probably the same sort of thing!  Sometimes "Life" can be like a dark hole or a road that seems to go no where in particular!   

But there is a destination and a purpose for traveling the road that we are all on!   That road is to take you somewhere!  It is to give you passage to the place that you are walking to.   The road that Jesus has paved for you to walk on!

The road that we walked on was a road that had been traveled on by so many people, so many time before... we had even set foot on it!  It seemed at times, that the road was chalked full of hope as we walked along and at other times it made us feel like we were walking through some murky swamp.  And this swamp had hidden sink holes where 'gators' and 'snakes' lurked!  Then there was those pesky mosquitoes that filled the air while 'gator/snakes' were lurking just under the surface, waiting for you to get close enough to them to latch on to you and pull you under!  

But what ever the road contained, you can know that Jesus knows were you are at any given moment in time on that road and is not just standing by, waiting for you to haphazardly 'fall in' or 'take a wrong step' just so He will have some sort of sadistic satisfaction in saying... "I told you so!"  

"I told you that you were a bad traveler!" 

 

"I told you that you were not going to make it!" 

 

"I told you that the devil was going to get you!" 

 

"I told you that you were no good!" 

 

"I told you that you were rebellious!"

  

"It told you that you would not make it!"

  

"I told you that you would fail!" 

 

"I told you!"  "I told you!"  "See what you have done!"  

NO!  A million times NO!  This is not Jesus' heart toward you at all!  Now granted,  this is how other so called 'gods' treat you!  But Not Jesus!  He says... "come to me... all of you who are weary and are heavy laden and I will give you rest for your souls."  

What a comparison!  He said that "He would lead you in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake!"   

Some of you need to hear that right now!  

Some of you are in 'the swamp';  in 'the murk' and you are there because of your own doing!  You have no one else to blame... but yourself!  But you don't have to stay stuck there or remain disoriented in your heart of hearts!  Jesus is ready to lead you out!  He was not kidding when He said..."come to me!"  I dare you!  Ask Him for help!  He will answer you!  That is His heart toward you!

With my feet on the ground... 

Simply Trey