Walk Across America By Vanderkok , 2008

WILL I DO IT ? AND IF SO, WILL YOU HELP ME ?

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WALK ACROSS USA, 2008 ! WALK ACROSS AMERICA ! JUNE,2008 I’ve been thinking about it for years. I’ve even mentioned it briefly to a few people. If and when I do it I WON’T BE THE FIRST, NOR THE LAST. It’s been done before. In some cases, it’s done with an ABUNDANCE of preparation and caution, with somebody driving alongside the walker, providing water & food when needed, as well as any medical supplies. There was a man from the Crystal Cathedral who did the walk—albeit a north-south version, rather than an east-west. And he was an “altitude challenged “person (what we used to call a midget or dwarf). If I recall correctly his wife (also height-challenged) did it too, or at least accompanied him in a van.

But I DON’T WANT TO DO IT THAT WAY. I don’t want a LOT OF POMP-and-CIRCUMSTANCE. I want to do it WITH THE HELP OF THE COMMUNITY. I want to walk only as far as I comfortably can each day and then find a place to REST, either at a church or a 2

charitable person’s home, or a hotel that wants to donate to a WORTHY CAUSE , or possibly also with the help of www.couchsurfers.com (ALTHOUGH I’ve BEGUN TO HEAR BAD REPORTS ABOUT THIS ORGANIZATION, SO MAYBE NOT). .

And WHY WILL I WALK ? Not just to walk , but to promote the KINGDOM OF GOD and tell people the GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST OUR SAVIOR, as well as promote education, both public & private, but given my TEN (+) YEARS of PUBLIC SERVICE in PUBLIC EDUCATION, I am acutely aware of the needs of public education and your young people in public education. They need our help.

I am a MAN ON A MISSION for the Kingdom and for public education, as well as our Christian schools, which I grew up in (Seymour Christian Elementary, Millbrook Christian Junior High, Grand Rapids Christian High, and Calvin College—all in Grand Rapids, Michigan). And my late grandfather Rev Gareth Kok FOUNDED the Valley Christian Schools in Cerritos, CA, back in 1936 and it is STILL IN OPERATION today as a K-12 Christian school system.

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What it MEANS if and when I WALK ? First, I don’t think I will carry my laptop with me (so less blogging uploads or e-communication, albeit I will be keeping a careful journal of everything I see and all that happens. ) albeit I definitely will carry my cell phone. I DON’T know how much I will carry with me at all—even if I want to carry a backpack. HOW FAR will I go ? ONLY GOD KNOWS.

Obviously, I will be DEPENDENT UPON THE HOLY SPIRIT to PROPEL me as well as OPEN THE HEARTS of people to help me along the way. I will carry a little money, and a few credit cards, but nothing significant. I will maintain communication with “home base.” <My ministry headquarters is in Bellflower, CA— and I rely upon Jim & Linda Kok for clerical assistance from time to time (albeit they are in Alaska at the time being).

IT WILL REQUIRE most of all the GOOD WILL of the people of our country and it will be a TRUE TEST of the good will of FELLOW AMERICANS. I’ve driven THE DRIVE many times—across country, several times with my GOLDEN RETRIEVER LOLA who was with me 4

for fourteen years. In fact, I wanted to do THE WALK with LOLA but LOLA is no longer with me as of JUNE 2007. WE had our GREAT TIMES TOGETHER including MOUNT WHITNEY on JULY 19, 2006.

And I thought about WALKING ACROSS AMERICA with LOLA but at the same time I knew that it might be harder on her than on me, and also anticipated that there might be those who objected. Some people care more about animals than people. Maybe they are right. In any case it is a moot point now. Lola is gone but she LIVES in Spirit !

I’VE thought about alternative methods of crossing the USA. Driving is no longer that remarkable, and now it is VERY COSTLY given the high price of gasoline. I’ve considered RIDING A BICYCLE. I did a LONG bike trip FROM CENTRAL FLORIDA to KEY WEST many years ago. I even considered HORSEBACK OR MOTORCYCLE.

Going by horseback would be UNIQUE and might capture the attention of AMERICA. I WOULD even consider buying a horse along the way if my legs give out on me, albeit I do NOT know what local laws might

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PREVENT me from getting very far. I would HOPE for the good grace of authorities in such regards.

As for a MOTORCYCLE, that would be interesting as well. However, like a car it is NOT ALL THAT CAPTIVATING to America or the world. And let me tell you—I have a PHYSICAL CONDITION---I have pain in my left arm & leg –CONSTANT PAIN, in the upper part it has been diagnosed as CERVICAL RADICULOPATHY; in the lower extremity it has NOT been diagnosed, AND at least one doctor has even questioned whether I am UNDULY sensitive to pain.

I don’t think I am overly sensitive. The PAIN IS REAL and the MORE I SIT the more I feel it, OR at least think about it. And so WALKING may be good for me. And it is now almost MID-SUMMER. I was considering a drive to ALASKA this summer—TO DO on-the-road EVANGELISM as well as possibly stay and work as an evangelist and maybe assist in education. But at the moment as of SUNDAY, JUNE 29, 2008 I am still in Los Angeles,

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Last night I went to an ANGELS-DODGERS baseball game at DODGER STADIUM and the Angels lost 1-0 DESPITE the fact that the DODGERS did NOT get any hits !! Only the 5th time in major league baseball history that a team has won without getting any hits. It would have been a NO-HITTER if the DODGERS had needed the bottom of the 9th to win the game (but they didn’t).

MEANWHILE, my ONLINE EVANGELISM continues as well as my WORLDWIDE WIFE SEARCH ! And after the disastrous brief online relationship with SOON JOO that never came to fruition I am NO LONGER engaging in extended online chats or “online relationships” (which is an OXYMORON for that matter—there is no such thing as an ONLINE RELATIONSHIP—it’s just a way of initially meeting).

And I’ve made it CLEAR ONLINE in my WORLDWIDE WIFE SEARCH as well as LAST WEEK’s MESSAGE that I don’t want to be teased. I NOW simply say that I am SEEKING A WOMAN READY TO BE A MOM. OBVIOUSLY, in order to be a MOM she must have EGGS, so she can’t be too old. I’m 41, and they say women can’t successfully have children at ages too much older than 44.

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REALISTICALLY SPEAKING, I need a woman younger than myself, with both the EGGS as well as the ENERGY to be a mom. And so that is in my mind as well.

TO BE HONEST with you all, a lot of WHO I AM has come from my initial identity growing up in the Christian schools and Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids. But I also know that persons nearby me—albeit older than me have WARILY observed my ways and attempted to block my successful integration in to the CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH as a leader. They know how to do SOCIAL ENGINEERING in the DUTCH REFORMED COMMUNITY.

And those who are brought into the CRC are also expected to pledge allegiance to the current leaders, no matter how old they are or how long they’ve been around. In fact, the older they get and the longer they’ve been around the MORE they use that as their rallying cry for respect. EVEN over at FULLER SEMINARY I couldn’t get away from the CRC stronghold and presence. Despite being 1500 miles away from Grand Rapids it was AS IF I was still there—because RICHARD

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MOUW & PETER HARKEMA had made the move before me from West Michigan to Pasadena.

And for those who don’t know by now, both of them also attended my same Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids (1st CRC), both worked at Calvin College (where I attended as a student), and Mouw was a social friend of my dad (many times spent at our house on Griswold with the ashtray placed out especially for Mouw who smoked a pipe back then).

So the STRONGHOLD they had back in Grand Rapids is still a STRONGHOLD today now in Pasadena. And although Harkema retired and is back in Byron Center (MI), MOUW remains and I don’t see any signs that he is near retirement.

Meanwhile, over at the Crystal Cathedral, when I arrived there were SUDDEN POWER MOVES—with Robert A. Schuller quickly taking on the position of senior pastor. Robert V. Schuller also arrived and started his own ministry. I used the 10th floor office space for a while to start my

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own ministry but NEVER gained a strong foothold at the Cathedral and NOW I dismiss it as a possible ministry stronghold.

In Education, I played my hand FIRST as a regular teacher at Coachella Valley High in the east end of the valley for a few years—but that ALSO ended with a lot of politics that I didn’t understand until later. And that also COMPELLED me back into seminary (a year at Calvin Seminary and the rest at Fuller Seminary).

While at Fuller Seminary I substitute taught for the LAUSD –willingly giving of myself for ten years and still on the roster—but I ALSO SENSED power moves made (with awareness of my presence) upon my arrival, and find it DIFFICULT to maintain a sense of BIBLICAL MANHOOD and INTEGRITY in relationship to the SUB UNIT which is like BIG MAMA’s KITCHEN (men need not apply apparently—the SUB UNIT itself in downtown Los Angeles is staffed, as best as I can tell ENTIRELY by women, some of whom have favorites, and I’m not one of them).

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So I don’t have a STRONGHOLD at the LAUSD either. The TIME I did at FULLER SEMINARY didn’t open any doors either. In fact, my DISTRESSING EXPERIENCE at the hands of the Pasadena P.D. left a sour taste in my mouth re Pasadena. And their FAILURE to do their job and support me as a CITIZEN of the USA when I opened my ministry office next to the seminary also left me in a difficult position. The Pasadena Police were more concerned about “protecting” the illegal immigrants than me. And that’s ANOTHER STORY—the fact that I receive less protection by the police than some illegal immigrants.

Meanwhile, there are AGING “STARS” at Fuller Seminary who felt insecure in my presence, including DAVID AUGSBERGER and NANCEY MURPHY , both of whom abandoned any sense of ETHICS when it came to interacting with me while there.

In fact, MY PRESENCE seems to make a LOT OF PEOPLE PANIC and act UNETHICALLY. Even in my cross country trip last summer— when I arrived in MICHIGAN I was reminded that I have an ENEMY in Traverse City WHO does not mind acting without morals when it comes to harassing me (and she is in a position of legal power). This

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same TRAVERSE CITY person ALSO managed to harass me from afar when I was still using the 10th floor office space at the Crystal Cathedral.

And so MY FRIENDS, I have NO STRONGHOLDS, for better or for worse. I am TOTALLY DEPENDENT upon the GOOD WILL of YOU, the community. And the GOOD WILL of the community sometimes makes the BAD WILL of a few BAD ACTORS shrivel up. There are SLEAZY people who are aware of publicity and if YOU speak up or show GOOD WILL on my behalf they will SHY AWAY and leave me alone. And so I am dependent upon YOU.

MY MISSION IS SIMPLE . I have done NO WRONG to anybody. I bring the GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST OUR SAVIOR to people. I believe in the POWER OF THE WORD, both SPOKEN and WRITTEN. I believe in the POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. And I believe in EDUCATION—both public & private, for helping our young people.

This is what I am PROMOTING and will CONTINUE TO PROMOTE and if WALKING ACROSS AMERICA helps me do so I will do it,

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according to GOD’s WILL. I have no strongholds to maintain. In fact I have been deliberately and intentionally , slowly but surely, placing all unnecessary items in storage so that I will be ready, when called upon, to “GO !” and TELL IT ON THE MOUNTAIN (and in the city, on the highway, in big towns and small towns and anywhere else).

MY LAST BIG STEP before making the WALK will be giving my car away to charity. And then IT IS ALL UP TO YOU, ME, and GOD for the BIG WALK, according to GOD’s will. The TIME MAY BE SOON.

vanderKOK CHIEF BIG FAITH Pastor Kok III TAGS: WALK, ACROSS, AMERICA, USA, COUCHSURFERS, TRAVERSE

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