Our new Friend of Barnabas, Steve Claxton, took a pit stop this week, and visited the Friends of Barnabas office in Midlothian! He spent the weekend with family in the Richmond, VA area, and then on Monday I had the pleasure of driving him back up interstate 64 to the top of Afton Mountain right at the Skyline Drive, to see him on his way up the trail.
Of course, I got to feed him a good steak meal (he showed me his bag of freeze-dried food for the next 2 weeks!) and made sure he had everything he needed to continue his journey. It was a pleasure to spend time with him and learn more about his story. He continues to update his Facebook page with pictures - take a look: https://www.facebook.com/steve.claxton.75
"...Back on the trail again this morning. SO MUCH OF GOD'S SPLENDOR & MAGIC WONDERS along the journey!!!"
Steve and I got to talk in the car and over lunch about Friends of Barnabas. He was eager to learn more about the program, and has been touched by the stories of our ministry. He enjoyed the pictures in our office, and surveying our big map of Honduras with the pins stuck in for the communities where our teams have had clinics.
I asked Steve how many people he meets on a regular day, and he says sometimes 5 or 10, sometimes more. When he started the trek in Georgia this past February, there were many more "through" hikers on the trail, intending to hike all the way to Maine. He says the going has thinned out by now, but he still comes across fellow hikers, and he tries to be as generous and helpful as he can be when he meets new friends. Thanks to Linwood Cook, we've furnished him with business cards that he can give out to people, that have his information on one side and Friends of Barnabas contact information on the other. Steve is spreading the word about our work in Honduras all the way up the Appalachian Trail.
To date we have raised over $31,000 for the children of Honduras! Thanks to Steve, and to Kyle, and to Ronnie Dillon and Linwood Cook who all keep track of Steve and encourage him on his way.
