Update #44 - December 05th, 2002
Port St. Joe, FL - 8,390 miles

I'm four days into my third trip through Florida. I was last here in March. I've got around 500 miles to go before I get to the Orlando area for some possible and much needed time off the road. I will not be visiting any of the amusement parks.

The past week or so since the last update from Franklin, LA have been okay. There has been some ups and downs with regards to my response from ministers. When ever there was a case where one minister turned me away another one responded to me very well.

Thanksgiving was just such a day. I was riding between Long Beach and Pascagoula, MS. I saw some activity at a Lutheran Church in Spanish Fort. An interfaith hospitality group was making sure that some of the needy and homeless had a warm place to stay and a Thanksgiving meal. Well, that wasn't the case for me. I was turned away quite abruptly. A motel manager from India gave me a discount for a room at a motel in Pascagoula and my Thanksgiving meal was just some peanut butter sandwiches.

I did have better luck with ministers in Daphne and Foley, Alabama. Two Baptist ministers made sure that I had warm motel rooms to sleep in. Last Sunday night (Dec. 01), I got into Gulf Breeze, Florida before dark. I found my way over to the First Baptist Church for the evening service. I didn't stay for it since the minister turned me away just four minutes before the service started. He said that there would have been a liability issue if they would have helped me.

I walked back to U.S. 98 to see if there were any other churches. I saw some activity in the parking lot of the Methodist church. There was a young adults church called "The Bridge" and they were getting ready to have their evening service. The youth minister at the Methodist church was the pastor of the church. I was welcomed with open arms by the pastor and introduced to the congregation at the beginning of the service. He even used me in his sermon. After the service, one of the girls who happened to work at the Hampton Inns on Pensacola Beach called her boss. I was given a free room.

In Destin, I stayed at the Methodist Church in the youth room. A dorm room at the Laguna Beach Christian Retreat Center was my home for Tuesday night. Last night's stay was in a super fully-stocked cabin at a campgrounds in Mexico Beach. It had all the amentities like cable tv and a kitchenette with a microwave. The First Baptist Church where I had stopped for the prayer service and connected me with the campgrounds owner gave me some food from their food pantry so I had a hot supper and breakfast.

Today, I'm off to visit with the Methodist minister in Apalachicola. Tomorrow, I'll be in Sopchoppy and the next day I will be stopping in Perry. I hope to be in Orlando the latter half of next week.

As I've always stated maybe when I can take some time off the road in the future, I might be able to write or start to write that book that everybody wants me to write. We'll have to see. It's up to ADONAI now. As I have always said, each day and mile cycled will be with ADONAI's and Y'SHUA's comfort, help, and guidance.