Very longtime readers of Route 66 News may remember Rick and Jane McKinney, an evangelical couple who walked across the United States — including much of Route 66 — in 2006 in an effort to share their Christian faith.
Seventeen years later, the McKinneys published a book “And … So We Walked” (Amazon link) about their experiences.
The McKinneys started from the Santa Monica Pier in southern California in January and made it to the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., about six months later. They took about 5 million steps and wore out dozens of shoes.
A news release about the book states:
Their journey to pray for America and share their faith with others allowed them to encounter
hundreds of people. Some needed encouragement, some a meal, and others just needed a hug and
a prayer. The impact on many lives has been long-lasting, including some who have since begun
their own ministries.However, Rick McKinney says, “The greatest impact was on our own lives. We were changed
with every step and every stop. Seeing others through the eyes of Jesus transformed our hearts.”
I confess to not remembering the McKinneys’ trek when they emailed me about their book. (It was 17 years ago, during the early days of Route 66 News.)
But a perusal through the website archives (now at 11,000 posts total) jolted my memory. They called their journey “A Walk to Reclaim America,” an effort to spark a national spiritual revival.
The trip opened their eyes in other ways. According to a story from the Washington Times at the end of their journey:
“More important than all the cool landmarks and the awards were the American people, who are so awesome,” Mrs. McKinney said, her eyes filling up with tears. “We made it a point along the walk to help as many people as possible.”
“It’s amazing what you can do with a smile, a kind word, a little help or a hug — when appropriate,” Mr. McKinney said.
The McKinneys uploaded a video that detailed a typical day on the road:
I asked Rick in an email what prompted the publication of the book after all this time:
It was really a combination of several things. Actually I wrote the basic story down in the first year after the walk. My wife had journaled during the walk and had written down every name of every person we met and all the mileages and landmarks as well. I converted her journaling into a narrative so that none of our memories would be lost. Over the years, I kept taking it out from time to time and refining it here and there. Everywhere we went we would tell the stories and so we got a feel for which stories were most meaningful to people, which ones made people smile, etc. And everywhere we went people kept asking us to write a book.
We’re both getting older (I’m 68 and my wife is 69) and we decided we didn’t want this story to get lost when we’re gone. And so the book. It’s been an interesting journey for sure.
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Amen!