If you, like the majority of American Chirstians, think hitchhiking is a bad idea, feel free to read this article i wrote on my old blog, sometime ago.
It was a beautiful Thursday. Lena rolled in from ECU in the early afternoon. We had but one thing on our minds: hitchhiking. It would be my sister's first experience hitchhiking. I was a veteran. Backpacks filled, we set out from the Penderosa, Pfafftown, NC. Our goal: Boone by nightfall.
Walking the 1/2 mile to the stoplight, Jamie and Brad picked us up. They'd remembered us from grade school. Evidently we'd rode the bus together. I had no clue. Nevertheless, they got us to the 421-Lewisville Clemmons Rd. ramp. We figured we'd have more fortune at entrance ramps than on the open highway. Generally we did. There, cars are going slower, drivers have more time to think, and are more willing to stop.
I don't recall all the names of the people who picked us up. I wish i'd kept a better record. No matter. We were on our way, the highway moving under our feet. By Boone, i believe we'd managed 5-6 rides. Most people are just commuting to work. They'll drive you a few miles. I definately appreciate these people, though it's more difficult to engage a meaningful conversation, due to the short allotted time.
Leigh and her two toddlers, Archer and Alex, picked us up in their minivan. She has a sister in Ecuador who is a sort of missionary in Quito of the Epsicopal Church. She was an encouragement. It was obvious her fear was not in men, willing to pick us up. Her loved showed. I praise God for Leigh and her boys.
Sam, an agnostic did carry us up the final leg of the trek to Boone. He was an agnostic, formerly a Methodist, who decided that he had never really believed. We talked a little about how believing is seeing, not the other way around. Pray for Sam.
Getting dropped out on King St. in downtown Boone around 4:30, our mouths were craving some viddels. Murphy's Pub proved to hit the spot. We called up Ian Atwood, my best friend from middle school, and Christin Ziegler, a sister from another mother, to join us. Our waitress, Corey, brought another good conversation. She noticed my haircut and asked why there was a cross in the back of my head. "Are you religious?" I replied, "No. But i'm a follower of Jesus." Surprised, she inquired what i meant. A former Seventh-Day Adventist, she grew up in a strict religious home, forced to pray and read during her childhood. Needless to say, it was obvious that she'd turned the resentment she had for her parents toward God. She said religion was not for her. She was very skeptic. She even asked to see my ID when i told her my name. Pray for Corey.
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