Now that they’ve reached America’s heartland, Josh Acosta and Kerri Hegarty hope to continue reaching the hearts of folks they meet on their cross-country journey this summer.
Acosta and Hegarty are en route to San Francisco from Delaware as part of Josh Walks America effort.
Their mission is simple — to go from town to town to spread the word of Christ.
The couple arrived in Iola Saturday afternoon from Moran. Their plan was to stay overnight before departing to Yates Center and points west. Instead, they met up with several locals who convinced Acosta and Hegarty to stay a while longer.
Acosta and Hegarty joined parishioners at Harvest Baptist Church for Sunday morning services and a Neosho River baptism.
The couple helped another woman plant flowers around her home. And a group of Moran walkers then asked to join them as they traveled from Iola to Yates Center.
“That’s what’s so great about this journey,” Acosta said Saturday night as he participated in a fundraiser for the Allen County Animal Rescue Facility. “You never know who you’re going to reach.”
The trip will take at least three years to complete. The duo began last May from Delaware, making it to Sedalia, Mo., before stopping so they could return to college classes in Indiana, Pa.
They resumed their trek in May and will walk until the end of July, when Hegarty reports for a teaching job in Nevada.
“We’re not affiliated with a certain church or organization,” Acosta said. “This is just our personal journey to reach people who wouldn’t normally be reached.”
A conversation with a bus driver as part of a church youth group trip about four years ago convinced Acosta to take on his cross-country adventure.
“I originally thought I was going to do a hitchhiking ministry from truck stop to truck stop,” he said. “But God had bigger plans.”
One Bible verse, Genesis 13:17, stood out — “Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you.”
He convinced Hegarty, whom he had met in college about three years ago, to join him. They’re accompanied by Skitch, their dog, a dachshund-Yorkie cross.
“We call him our ‘Dorky,’” Acosta joked.
Acosta and Hegarty have a tent for overnight camping, although they’re frequently invited by townsfolk to stay in guest rooms. Some churches also open up space for them.
“We don’t plan any of it,” Hegarty said.
“We just take what God provides,” Acosta added.
While they’re not seeking financial gain, Acosta and Hegarty have a website — www.joshwalksamerica.com — and their Josh Walks America Facebook page, through which donors may support their efforts.
“We don’t have a specific goal in mind to how far we’ll get this year,” Acosta said. “Our goal last year was to reach Wichita, but we didn’t get that far. We say we’ll make it to Utah, but Colorado may be more realistic.”
And with extended stays in places such as Iola, going a shorter distance this year in exchange for meeting locals is a tradeoff he is eager to make.
Cross country for Christ
