HopeWalkers trek through Dodge City

     For Noah Myer, Matthew Priddle and Mike Warriner, the past two months have been full of unexpected blessings.
    Take the night that the three men — who call themselves "the HopeWalk Guys" — were dining in a restaurant near Springfield, Mo. They had talked to nearly everyone in the restaurant and were on their way out when they encountered the one woman who hadn't spoken to them yet.
    Out of the blue, that woman offered the three men a place to stay for the night.
    "That person had somehow been inspired by chatter in the place and opened up her home for us," Priddle said Friday. "It's just incredible."
    Moments like that have become commonplace for the three Southerners, who have spent the last two months trekking across the United States. They began their journey Aug. 4 in Franklin, N.C., and plan to end it in Seaside, Ore.
    Priddle and Myer are traveling on foot along U.S. Highway 400, while Warriner follows behind them in a van carrying food, extra clothing, water and camping supplies. They cover about 20 miles a day except on Sundays, when they take a break and visit local churches.
    The men are sharing the hope they have found in God with everyone they meet — especially people who are battling alcohol or drug addiction, Priddle said.
    "Not only sharing our stories and our trials and tribulations with people, letting people know that we've seen the bottom and there is a way back up," he said. "There is a top still. But also encouraging other people at the same time to do what we're doing."

Sharing stories and hope
    Both Myer and Priddle had lost nearly everything to drugs before turning to the Crossroads Christian Rehabilitation Center near Franklin for help. Warriner is the director of the center, which offers a 10-month rehabilitation program based on biblical principles.
    Myer and Priddle are now former clients of the center, and they decided to share their strength and hope with other Americans. That prompted them to start on their cross-country journey with Warriner, which has covered 1,140 miles so far.
    The men said the trip has been packed with new experiences. Among them: A communitywide religious revival in Van Buren, Mo., where the men met an evangelist who suffered from cerebral palsy.
    "When we came in and he found who we were, he sort of said, 'Isn't that just like God, bringing three guys walking across America to a guy who can't walk at all?' Warriner said. "And he's kept up with us now. He's become a guy that we talk with back and forth."
    The trio also met a man in Oswego, Kan., who told them about his efforts to help a drug addict who had gotten out of prison.
    "Other than just being a Christian brother, he had no ties to this guy whatsoever," Myer said. "And how deeply it affected him just made us both — especially Matt and I — just kind of sit back and think about how our decisions and the mistakes we've made in life, selfishly, impacted others around us."
    Besides sharing their personal stories, the three men are carrying a message of hope and inspiration in troubled times to ministers and lay people alike.
    Myer said for him, the journey is all about restoring his faith in God.
    "It's just made me more reliant on Him, to trust him to provide rather than trying to be a 'get all I can while I can get it' type of person," he said.
    Priddle added: "It's been one of those journeys where we're out here on complete faith. And you really can't help but grow in everything we've been through, because God has shown himself to us in so many mighty ways along the journey."
   
    Reach Eric Swanson at (620) 408-9917 or e-mail him at eric.swanson@dodgeglobe.com.