Mandatory

Stan and I walked along the edge of Interstate 40. I don't recall why we were on the interstate instead of an on-ramp. It was illegal to hitch on the interstate. We were specifically instructed not to.

We had left Emporia, Kansas, Monday morning at 5:00 AM. We had a time limit to arrive in Tinnie, New Mexico - 36 hours. If we were late, we'd have to turn around and thumb back to Emporia. It was now 1:00 AM, Tuesday. We were in Oklahoma.

As Way Corps, we were to believe God for rides to arrive at our assigned destinations within allotted time limits. I can't recall all the different time limits between the various Way properties. Indiana. Kansas. Ohio. New Mexico. Colorado. I never thumbed to Colorado, but did all the other places. Back and forth.

On one trip, my hitching partner and I were late arriving to the Rome City, Indiana, campus from the Emporia, Kansas, campus. But we didn't have to turn around and go back. We were simply reprimanded and had to jump into the schedule and get right to class.

All classes in The Way Corps were mandatory.

Hitching partners were assigned, usually in sets of two, usually a man and woman. Though on two assignments, I was part of a group of three, two women and one man.

There were rules. Never hitch alone. On interstates, hitch only on the ramps, never on the interstate. Never leave your gear. Never leave your partner. Don't sleep at the same time; one partner always stays awake during a ride.

Hitch hiking was mandatory in The Way Corps.

Everything we did in The Way Corps was mandatory.

But I knew that when I signed up as a Way Corps volunteer. It wasn't called "The Corps" for nothing. We were God's crack troops.

I wanted to serve. I loved God. I loved The Ministry. I loved the people. I loved the Corps program. There was no greater calling on earth than The Way Corps. God had called me; He would see me through.

But not the devil. He would try his tricks to keep me from standing, to keep me from being faithful, to trick me out of my calling. The devil was the god of this world, orchestrating spiritual darkness that kept people from the Truth of the Word. He was once God's right-hand angel, the angel of light. He tricked people that way, counterfeiting his movements as light. "Designer causes." That's what Craig called them. Feeding the poor. Sponsoring homeless children. Charities. The Peace Corps. All that stuff. "Designer causes." Distractions to keep a person from doing The Word. After all, Jesus said, "The poor you will always have with you."

The devil and his devil spirits were always after the Word and The Ministry, especially the leadership. I was leadership. He would use others, the environment, even ourselves to try to talk us out of our calling. Doctor said that as believers, especially Corps, our temptation was no longer between good and evil, but rather between good and best.

1:00 AM. End of November. Cold. Crystal clear starry sky. Dark. Blustery. Distant shadows. Sagebrush rolled across the empty plain. If I was a coyote, I would have howled to the wind. Instead I pulled my synthetic fiberfill jacket hood tightly around my face. After three hours of numbing cold, at 4:00 AM, Stan and I pulled up a spot of grass on the side of the hill to get a couple hours sleep.

It was a hard decision, whether to sleep or not. What if we missed a ride? What if we ended up late to Tinnie? Were we being slothful by sleeping? Was it the best thing to do?

My synthetic fiberfill mummy sleeping bag felt warm. It felt good to lay down.

Zip. Wind howling. Grassy hill above the plains. Sayre, Oklahoma. Interstate 40. Hitch hiking to LEAD. Thirteen hours left to get there. The Way Corps.

I silently spoke in tongues as I drifted into sleep.

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