Corn, Cows, And…Is That Salad?

Oh, Nebraska. You have taught me so much. For one thing, you’re not just flat corn fields. I’ve seen cattle ranches (that smell to high heaven), green meadows over small hills, and clouds that stretch out across the sky like pink frescos of the Sistine Chapel. Lovely orange sunsets sink before my eyes behind silhouetted trees.

(PC Lauren Mach)

(PC Lauren Mach)

Nebraska is also very wild. I’ve shot my first gun, seen a tractor rodeo and a beard growing contest, and jumped in a bin of corn. I’ve tried Runza (I wasn’t too impressed), rhubarb pie (again, not that impressive), Nebraskan beef (okay that was good), an old fashioned chocolate ice cream soda (yum!), and discovered that salad in Nebraska usually involves fruit, marshmallows, and Cool Whip!

(PC Angela Marino)

The people here are so friendly and generous. We’ve been taken out to breakfast nearly every day this week and last! More people have honked, waved, and given us thumbs up than anywhere else.One lady in North Platte gave us three huge pans of cookies saying, “You’re walking for Jesus? Then you get ALL the cookies.” 

Once after daily Mass, a couple parishioners took us out for breakfast. But when they went up to pay, we found out a an anonymous stranger had paid for our ticket! Last night, we headed to Applebees to celebrate an awesome day. A lady came over to our table and said, “Did I hear correctly that you’re walking across the country? And you all are pro-life? That’s so wonderful!” When we asked for the check later, the waitress told us this sweet lady had paid for us.

Keep it up, Nebraska. Your parishes are actively pro-life, your people are wonderful, and we are very blessed.

Making an Impact

When I first started walking, even when I applied for Crossroads, I had no clue what kind of impact we would have.

When I’ve walked precincts or done phone banking for pro-life political campaigns, lobbied or set up educational events, I’ve always had a vision for their effect. But with Crossroads, I only could envision the walking. Consequently, I expected to be a billboard and have lots of conversations with pro-choice folks.

Nope. I’ve only spoken with a couple pro-choice people. The heckling has been quite minimal. A few one finger salutes, a few nasty comments, a few yells.

Rather, our presence draws confused stares, puzzled looks, and wide eyes. At Wal-Mart, the grocery store, small shops, gas stations, burger joints and RV parks, people gape as we explain, “Oh yeah we’re walking across the country.” In one antique shop, the clerk’s eyes grew big as she asked, “Why on earth are you doing that?”

But then, this turns to admiration. For us, it’s not that amazing. We’re just walking. We believe in this mission with our whole hearts, but to walk does not take that much effort. But for those people, it brings hope.

I can’t tell you how many people see our shirts and say, “Pro-life? Me too! I admire what you guys are doing!” After Masses, so many people come up to us and say, “Thank you so much for what you’re doing! It’s so inspiring!”

They are inspired…by our feet moving. That’s it. That’s all we’re doing: moving one foot after the other. But that brings them hope. To us, it’s a small sacrifice. But to these wonderful people, it means the pro-life movement exists! They aren’t alone. If we’re willing to walk, and we’re from all over the country, there must be many more willing to stand up for the unborn, for the elderly, for human dignity.

The most wonderful part is when parishioners tell me, “I pray outside the abortion clinic,” or “I pray with 40 Days for Life every year.” Some even have said, “Our parish got an abortion clinic to close after we prayed there.” Their faithfulness to the cause is astounding.

We are a witness. But not in the way I expected. Crossroads reaches those in the trenches and those on the other side, but most importantly, we reach the apathetic majority, the people who are pro-life in name only. These are the folks we need to build a Culture of Life.