A Texas man trudged though Warren County this week on journey to walk carrying a cross though all 50 states.
Terry Pollard left White Settlement, Texas, last year on his 42nd birthday to carry a cross across the country.
“I stepped out on my own in faith and walked out that door,” Pollard said Wednesday from a Vicksburg motel room where he stopped for the night. “The first five miles I balled like a baby. It was the scariest thing I’ve ever done.”
After numerous injuries and setbacks, Pollard has completed more than 344 miles to arrive in Vicksburg this week carrying an 11.5-pound cross and a 17-pound pack of gear.
“It’s a calling. I can’t explain it to people,” Pollard said. “All the ones who pass by, what do they see besides a nut carrying a cross?”
What Pollard hopes passers-by see is a man who has rejected materialism and is able to support himself though the Christian charity of others. Pollard does not solicit donations — money, food or water — nor does he push a message. He lets people come to him if they want to discuss his mission or give donations.
“If the church is the hands and the feet, our faith without works is dead,” Pollard said. “I’m living proof. I see them drive by every day.”
Pollard’s journey is mapped out by a 27-page itenerary, and through his website, http://walking50states.webstarts.com, Pollard keeps the public updated of his movements. Occasionally, such as when he crossed the Interstate 20 bridge over the Mississippi River, he has to catch a ride for legal reasons. The bridge is not open to pedestrian traffic, and pedestrians are not allowed along interstate highways. He’s followed U.S. 80 thus far on his journey.
The trek though Vicksburg took longer than he anticipated. Pollard arrived Wednesday and had planned to leave for Edwards via U.S. 80 on Thursday, but heat and stopping to talk to a number of people in town delayed him.
“God is going to put me where he needs me,” Pollard said. “All I’m doing is just obeying.”
After Edwards, Pollard plans to continue east to U.S. 49 where he will turn south and trek to the Gulf coast.