Day 107

I awoke at the Arena of Peace Cowboy Church in Round Mountain TX. Mitchell was already gathering his things. We packed up our gear and hung out on the porch.
Mitchell gave me a few extra things he had! A small pot to heat up food, a fire starter, sunscreen, and bug spray. 

Pastor Frank and Nancy picked us up! They wanted to show us their new church in Marble Falls. We loaded our gear and climbed in the pickup. 
We went to a Whataburger and they bought us breakfast! It was around 8 a.m., but Mitchell and I ordered burgers, haha. We needed the calories. 

We got the food to go and made it to the church. Pastor Frank led us in prayer and we ate! 

 After breakfast they gave us access to a shower and a tour of the building. The sound room in the sanctuary was really cool. Nancy handles all the sound and lights at the church. Turns out, Mitchell used to work the projector at his home church just outside Nashville. 

We met a few of Pastor Frank and Nancy’s friends. They wished us the best. We parted ways. 

Back at Round Mountain, we all said our goodbyes. Not just with Pastor Frank and Nancy, Mitchell and I would be parting ways too. He would be heading north west towards San Angelo, and I would be heading south towards San Antonio. 

Mitchell had expressed interest in traveling to Israel to carry his cross. I gave him a set of rosary beads that a friend named Jo had given me back in Napoleonville, LA. They are made of olive wood from Jerusalem. Mitchell gave me the donations we had received over the past couple of days! I felt so thankful. I gave him a hug. Just like that, he was gone.

I hit the road. Nancy had set up a place for me to stay! It was south of Blanco, and would be a good haul. It was late morning, I would have to up my pace.

I did. I had to stop a few times to try and fix the buggy. The front wheel was all wobbly. I tried heading to a hardware store in Johnson City, but they didnt have the parts I needed. 

I stopped and ate a tuna sandwich and finsihed off the rest of the chips John had given us for dinner the night before.

I doubled down. 

It was a good haul, with lots of hills, but I made Blanco right at sundown! There was some sort of Lavender festival going on in town. 

I found a creek and washed off my feet and face. 

Rene and Pat pulled over to greet me! They are friends of Pastor Frank and Nancy. They headed into town to pick up pizza, and I made my way to their house, just next door to the Cowboy Church in Blanco. 

I met Jerry Hendricks, a chainsaw sculptor and craftsman. He is married to Pat. Rene is a close friend of theirs and lives next door. They set me up to sleep in Jerry’s shop! 

They were all so nice! Rene bought me some canned goods and a really nice hat with a sun flap for my neck. Pat offered to do my laundry, and they all made a donation to the run. The pizza was great too! 

We hung out and Jerry, Pat, and Rene asked me questions. I did my best to answer them all. We chatted. It felt good to be among friends, even if I had just met them! 

It was getting late, and they left me for rest. I fell asleep in Jerry’s shop among his crafts and knick knacks. I slept great!