Hi Trail,

I have been following their progress on Instagram. Wish they were coming through my area. Their dog has quite a fan club.

Thanks for posting this, trail?.

I wish them well on their journey, for it will be a very long one.

From their hearts to yours. Posted on their FB page.

“After twelve years in the Senate, you’d think I would have people figured out. Truth is, I don’t. Folks want a hundred different things, and half the time we can’t even agree on where to eat supper. That’s just life on this red-clay front porch we all share.

And yes, we live in the Bible Belt. Mercy, I’ve heard that phrase more this week than in my whole political career. Ever since the Monks walked into South Carolina, suddenly everybody’s got something to say. Not the Monks down the street from me, either, though that always makes for good porch chatter.

Yesterday I sat with the Venerable Monk personally and listened to their story, and it worked me over in the best way.

These Monks are from everywhere. He is “stationed” in Fort Worth, Texas, and that is his word. Some are from New York, some from other states, some from India and Thailand. They communicated with one another, and whoever could make the journey came together and simply started walking. They range from young men in their twenties to elders in their seventies. Different vows. Different lives. One shared mission. They are not here to convert you. If that were the plan, they’d have turned left out of Texas instead of right.

Nobody paid them much mind until Georgia. Then the internet grabbed hold and suddenly the whole country was watching. But their hearts never changed. Ours did.

People ask about the shoes. Some wear them. Some don’t. Some go barefoot on asphalt hot enough to fry bacon. That’s their vow. Their choice. Their way of offering something that costs them.

I asked him about confrontations. He told me about a man who followed them yelling that they were going to hell. The Monk just kept saying, “Okay.”

The man finally said, “But I don’t want you to go to hell.”

The Monk said, “Okay.”

No fuss. No fire back. Just peace standing there like a stone wall.

That’s when it hit me. They aren’t walking to change your religion. They’re walking to change your heart.

And then I got to sit on the floor and cuddle sweet Aloka, their dog. You know how I love my animals. That little soul will need surgery when they get back to Texas, and some of the Monks have been hurt along the way too. So from one front porch to another, I’m asking you to say a prayer for them.

They came to South Carolina with peace in their pockets. Let’s not be the ones who send them away with anything less”.

These monks and the pooch journey reminds me of the epic Journey To The West - steadfast, be in the here and now.