Day 77
I slept in. I woke up around 9 a.m. and made waffles at the continental breakfast. I repacked the buggy. I showered and changed into clean clothes. 
I had been contemplating whether or not to take Fr. Hampton Davis up on the game hauler. I decided not to. I was not sure how it would handle faster paces. It was also big, and I would not have been able to navigate towns and cities as easy as the buggy. Something like the game hauler would be great for the open road desert.

I hit the road and made it to St. John the Evangelist Cathedral.

I met Tim! We connected through Fr. Jayson’s Facebook post. We hung out in front of the Holy Door together and chatted. He is a photographer from Lafayette. He left an envelope for me at the cathedral center.

I attended noon Mass and picked up the envelope. It was a donation! I felt so thankful. 

I did some exploring and met up with Mimi and her staff at the office! We also connected through Fr. Jayson’s Facebook post. They were so nice to me! The GFMS crew: Mimi, Chris, Leeanne, Kisten, Ashly, and a few others. 

They fed me lunch. I had a Shrimp Po Boy and these weird things called cracklins. The Po boy was great! 

We hung out there in the office and talked about the journey. They sent me off with all kinds of things, a card, a donation, prayer cards, a nalgene filled with cold water, GMFS seasoning (haha) a bumper sticker, and a cinnamon pretzel! 

I doubled back to the cathedral hoping to speak with the pastor or deacon. Turns out they were in a meeting. I met Christie, Catherine, and Terry. Christie is the secretary. She gave me a cold bottle of water! Catherine and her husband Terry made a donation! I felt very thankful.

I headed into town to explore Lafayette. 

I met Eli outside the library. I offered him some cookies and crackers and he accepted! He is from Lafayette. His father owned a seafood market when he was a child, and we talked about all different kinds of creole food. Eli asked me questions about the journey, and I showed him some pictures on my phone. He was a really nice guy. He was on his way to the park hoping to catch some sleep.

A few minutes later Kelly picked me up. She is a friend of Hassie’s, who I met through Fr. Jayson’s Facebook post. We loaded up the buggy and headed to St. Martinsville to visit a community called Our Lady of Sorrows. It was a beautiful drive, through farmlands and sugar cane fields. Kelly was a great host, and told me all different kinds of things about the area and community.

Hassie, Kelly, and Mary took me out to dinner! It was a great time! We went to St. John’s, a restaurant in town. It was packed! I had crab cakes and a baked potato, everything was delicious! 

We headed over to the Community of Christ Crucified for vespers, evening prayer. 

I met Fr. Champagne. 

He converted an ambulance into a mobile confessional unit. He even wrote a letter to Rome and there is now a plenary indulgence associated with it. He brings it to all different kinds of events, and people line up. Inside, thousands of confessions have been heard. Wish I got pictures, it was so cool! (Update: got some pictures!)

After vespers I grabbed a few belongings from the buggy in the back of Kelly’s car. Kelly also gave me a few bottles of water and some grapes! Hassie offered to put me up for the night! 
Back at her house I met her son Baron who is around my age. It felt really good to be in a home. I was very thankful and looked forward to another night of rest.