Day 45 / May 18, 2012

        On day 45 I woke up just south of Mendenhall MS. I slept good and woke up on the concrete in front of the baptist donation center I was at. It was up on a hill so the highway was down low and I was out of sight from it. When I woke up my eye was able to open. It felt way better and I was relieved.
        I got up and packed my bed up and got ready. I couldn't find a water spicket anywhere to fill my waters, so I was gonna have to find somewhere down the road. I packed some of my new stuff up and threw some of my old stuff out. I ate an MRE for breakfast and was ready to head out.
        I walked through the town of Mendenhall and there wasn't much right off the highway. I didn't see anywhere right off the road to fill my waters up or anything. So I passed through it and kept walking. Finally past the town a little, I came to a gas station. I stopped there and by that time was a little dehydrated so I got a cold drink there and a snack. I sat outside there in some shade and charged my devises while I relaxed for a little break. I filled my waters and after a good charge I took off.
       My route from there turned off of the 49 and onto a back country road heading north towards Brandon MS. It was a nice quiet walk and there were big shade trees growing over the road. I enjoyed the walk through there.
       I came to a couple of really nice houses where I noticed a guy walked towards me from his driveway and was asking if I was lost. I told him no, and that my gps was taking me through here to get to Brandon. He asked if I was thirsty and invited me to come to his brothers house (next door) for a cold water. 
       I walked to the house and both of the houses were really nice. They were brothers and worked on oil rigs around the world. They asked me some questions and gave me a few cold gatoraids for the road.
        I walked about 5 more miles when a cop pulled off. He was really friendly and just was curious where I was headed. I told him and he was amazed. He had a twitter and took my twitter name so he could follow me. He didn't check my ID or anything, just totally curious.
         I walked about another mile when a car passes me then turned around and came back. It was a guy around my age. He said he saw me the day before by mendenhall and asked if I needed a ride. I told him I couldn't and why. He said no problem and took off.
       About 5 minutes later he came back around. He asked me if I wanted to stay at his and his cousins house for the night. I asked where I was but I would have had to walk and extra 10 miles total to go there. Then he asked if I was looking for a spiritual trip I could go there and eat some mushrooms they had. I for sure was not wanting to go play with the sesame street crew, so I said no thanks.
           I walked another mile and came to a nice shade tree with grass under it. I pulled off for a break. As I sat there another cop passed me. Then he came back around and pulled off next to me. He asked if I was ok. I told him yes and why I was out there. He thought it was pretty amazing. He was real interested and he was a really cool guy. He asked where I was staying and I told him the church I was headed to. He said that my gps was wrong and that church was down another road a ways away. So he told me where to find the next church and said to stay there and I should be safe! He was so cool!
         Finally he had to go. Just as he pulled away a man pulled off next to me. It was him and his little daughter in the back seat. He was well dressed and driving a progressive (insurance) car. He said he saw me and wanted to make sure I was ok. I let him know I was good and where I'm headed. He said it was a blessing to meet me and be a witness to what I had experienced so far. He also said "it was funny I met you as he I've been trying to find someone to give this to".  He had a hundred dollar bill in his hand already. His arm was outside the window the whole time, so when he pulled up he already had it ready. I didn't even know how to react! It was pretty wild! He said he was lucky to meet me and it was meant to be by God's guidance. We talked a while longer and then he left. I couldn't believe it!
         I continued walking and about a mile down the road a car pulled off. It was a man who said his friend told him about me and he wanted to meet me. His friend was the man who have me the $100. He had some questions for me and told me a little about his life and how it has turned around with the help of god. It was pretty cool to hear.
          About an hour later a man and his wife pulled off and wanted to know of they could talk to me for a while. I let them know I had to try and get to the church 4 miles up before it was dark, but if they wanted to meet me there I was happy to meet and talk.
        So I walked the last 4 miles. My knees were really hurting me and my feet were in pain. It was a tough end of walking for the day. So when I got to the church, there was a gazebo next to it where I decided I would sleep. I made my bed and relaxed on it. I took my shoes off and let my feet stretch a bit. I sat there for about 20 minutes and then the old man and the guy who gave me the $100 showed up together. They were pleased to meet with me and I was happy to have the company.  They brought me some snacks for dinner and some drinks. I was starved and hadn't eat since breakfast so I was thankful.
       They brought a Bible and wanted to go through some Bible verses. We went though it for maybe an hour. I had many tough questions and picked their brains about their belief in truth. It was tough to understand the things they believe for me, and the fact that I am going to hell right now without Jesus in my heart is scary. I am not religious but I am very spiritual. I would live to know a truth and share it, but it needs to be evident to me and I need to know its real! So we prayed for me to experience something to show me what is real. And I was thankful to them for that. I had mixed feelings about some of the answers they gave to me about what they believe in. When they left at around 10 I was a little stressed out with the thoughts evoked from our discussion. I didnt sleep well that night as my mind was stressed over that.