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 Three mates - Dave, Carnsey and Sav - are walking 2000 kilometres from Cairns to Stanthorpe from August to November this year, to raise awareness about the 2000 language groups comprising 350 million people that don't yet have the Bible. You can follow their progress here at Sight or visit www.the2000walk.com...
Week 12 (9th-11th November 2010)
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THE END: Celebrations commence as the walkers can finally put their feet up.
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The counter on our website is at zero - a wonderful number when you've been counting down from 2000km!
Our final walk day started at 9am. We watched the sky turn from a perfect blue when we started walking, to overcast and cool (a perfect walking day!) a couple of hours later.
Then, as the kilometres crunched underfoot, we watched the clouds become darker and heard the distant rumble of thunder. And by the end of the day, in perfect timing, the rain came down on us - plus the 100 friends who joined us - as we walked the last kilometre to the finish line.
The helium balloons lost some of their lift in the rain, but our spirits didn't as the piper led us in to the cheersquad waiting on the homestead verandah out of the rain.
All up, about 350 people joined in the celebrations - incredible!
Now we're tired. We're going to bed. No walking tomorrow. No meeting. And no more blogs!!
Thank you for joining us on The 2000 Walk, for the last 2000 Bible-less languages.
- Dave, Carnsey and Sav
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NICE RECEPTION: Cameras and schoolchildren await the walkers in Toowoomba. You can follow the walkers at www.the2000walk.com or on Facebook.
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Week 11 (2nd-8th November, 2010)
It's been 77 days since the beginning of The 2000 Walk. We've walked a total distance so far of 1,900 km. During this time, we've held almost 40 meetings. And now, at last, very tired, we are nearly there. We are just four days from the finish line! I don't know if you can imagine how much we are looking forward to that day - and being able to rest. The end is in sight!
Our welcome into Toowoomba was AMAZING:
• we stopped on the road by a newspaper reporter for an interview;
• we had a great ABC radio interview by phone;
• we were stopped 10 minutes later by a lady who heard it and invited us for lunch; and
• WIN TV gave us great coverage on their evening news
the kids from Toowoomba Christian College gave us a warm welcome.
WOW!
For the first time in the 73 days and 1,818 km since we started out, we've seen a road sign with the name of our town marked on it!! Can you imagine how exciting that is for us? We're almost home!
- Dave, Carnsey and Sav
Week 10 (26th October to 1st November, 2010)
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WILLIAM CAREY: A self-confessed plodder, missionary and Bible translator gives inspiration. (Source: Wikipedia). You can follow the walkers at www.the2000walk.com or on Facebook.
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There was a fire in a warehouse. Some irreplaceable things were destroyed, including a massive dictionary and whole versions of the Bible translated into different languages. Nothing was backed up. It was one of the most devastating setbacks that you could imagine.
The year was 1812. The person was William Carey. It was the worst loss he faced during his 40 uninterrupted years in India. Most of us would never recover. But he accepted the tragedy and began all over again. When asked how he was able to do this, he replied, "I can plod. I can persevere in any definite pursuit. To this I owe everything."
Plod is the word of the day for us, as we spend around seven hours a day on the roads, putting one foot after the other. At the end of a day's walk (34km yesterday), we're usually very tired and our feet are aching and hard. We often think of William Carey and find encouragement in his plodding.
You've seen our map? Every dot represents a Bible-less language group where there is no work in progress. Nothing is happening. But look at some of those dots - they're changing colour. When they turn green, that means that someone has 'adopted' that language and is committed to praying for that group until they receive God's Word in their language. Wow - that means that SOMETHING is happening: prayer!
PRAYER POINT: Dave, Carnsey, and Sav are on schedule to arrive at their destination of Stanthorpe, Queensland, on 11th November. Please continue to pray for The 2000 Walk during their final few days.
- Dave, Carnsey and Sav
Week 9 (19th-25th October, 2010)
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BYE-BYE BRUCE! The three walkers have finally left the Bruce Highway. You can follow the walkers at www.the2000walk.com or on Facebook.
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When we walk along the road, we find all sorts of things: loads of magnetic P-plates, lots of hats (found a nice straw one yesterday!), and dozens of pairs of sunnies.
But there are more interesting finds in the world - scientists find new species of animals, new plants, even new planets! But do you know what they've also just found? A new language!
We've been telling people in our meetings that, officially, there are 6,909 languages in the world...but with this new discovery, the official figure now stands at 6,910!
One day last week, while we were walking along the highway, I got a phone call from a mate who asked me to describe what I was seeing around me. My description went something like this: 'We've been walking along now for about six hours. We haven't seen a single house, or property entrance. We haven't even seen a cow or horse. There hasn't been a service station or rest area or even a bridge to cross. Just the black road, the white lines and a lot of cars.'
We didn't even see a billboard until right at the end.
What do we do on days like that? We just plod on: one foot after the other.
One piece of good news is that we've finally left the Bruce Highway!
Goodbye, Bruce. We've had enough. We don't ever want to see you again!
- Dave, Carnsey and Sav
Week 8 (12th-18th October, 2010)
What do the Chilean miners and Bible translation have in common?
How amazing it's been to watch the miners in Chile emerge after their underground ordeal! I don't think that many of us would like to be trapped for that long. Have you ever been trapped - in a lift? In a traffic jam? Stranded in a flood? It's not a nice feeling.
Those 33 miners are trapped no more - they've been released; they're free! But there are 350 million others who are still trapped. They're trapped behind the seemingly impenetrable walls of other languages - cut off from the rest of the world and from the life-giving words of the Bible. More than 2000 languages don't have these life-giving words in a language that they understand.
Someone once said that "An army marches on its stomach". Well, we're not an army, and we're not actually marching, but we wouldn't get far without food! During the past 50 days, we've had a lot of wonderful meals, and we'd like to honour and officially thank all of our great hosts. If you've prepared a meal for us, please accept our gratitude. Sometimes we've had to rush through and haven't had time to chat, which we've regretted. You've been wonderful, and so has your food!
- Dave, Carnsey and Sav
Week 7 (5th-11th October, 2010)
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WAITING FOR ADOPTION: Every dot represents a different language group that is without a Bible translation. You can follow the walkers at www.the2000walk.com or on Facebook.
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We're now ready to unveil the interactive language map on our website!
Under the menu item 'Bible Translation', you'll see 400 dots. Each dot represents a whole language group, numbering from only a few hundred speakers, to several million. These are the 400 language groups that are classified as having a 'High Priority' for Bible translation. When you click on a dot, a window will pop up with some information. These 'hidden' people speak languages that most of us have never even heard of.
At our local presentations, we hold up a series of lightweight plastic signs, giving statistics of languages and Bible translation. Inevitably someone asks why we're not walking 2,252km if there are that many languages without the Bible! It's easier to remember a round figure, and 'The 2,252 Walk' doesn't have quite the same ring, does it? Besides, that's 252km that we don't have to walk!
This week we crossed the Fitzroy River in Rockhampton via the Neville Hewitt bridge. Thirty years ago, a lot of people went to great effort and expense so that we could simply walk across. Not only us, of course, but thousands of people, every day!! Bridges are marvellous things. Bible translation is like a bridge for an entire language group.
- Dave, Carnsey and Sav
Week 6 (28th September-4th October, 2010)
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LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: One of the "three wise men" talking to local media. You can follow the walkers at www.the2000walk.com or on Facebook.
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Monday, 4th October, was 'Halfway Day' - 1000km down and 1000km to go! It's all downhill from here...
One day last week, the late afternoon air became increasingly heavy - a storm was brewing. The ever-darkening sky rumbled all around us, while occasional distant flashes of lightning crackled on the horizon. We pressed on, keen to reach the camping spot marked on our map, just minutes ahead. Would we make it before the clouds burst?
No. Down it came. Within seconds we were drenched by the torrential, blinding rain. It was almost painful, it beat down so hard. And can you believe it...a homestead. Right there. Lovely people who welcomed us in. A hot shower and a roof over our heads for the night. But another day, we weren't so blessed. As another storm hit, we ripped open the tent bag, getting wetter and wetter by the second, only to discover that someone had forgotten the tent pegs!
This week we escaped the highway, exchanging the putrid smells of roadkill for the more earthy odours of cow pats. On average we saw only four cars during six hours on the backroads - what a difference to one vehicle every 10 seconds on the highway!
During The 2000 Walk, we've had a lot of media interviews - mainly for radio, but also some for newspapers and television. The media have referred to the Walk as 'a pilgrimage' and 'a religious walk', and to the three of us as 'the three wise men'! For television, typically they record several minutes of footage and then edit it down to a few seconds. It's always interesting to see which bits are edited out!!
- Dave, Carnsey and Sav
Week 5 (21st-27th September, 2010)
At the end of a day's walk, our backpacks are bulging with all sorts of interesting things, sticking out, tied onto the sides, and tucked into the pockets.
Today, Carnsey emptied his backpack onto the kitchen floor and revealed what was inside: hammer, bungee strap, magnetic L-plates, corn chips, tow rope, mobile phone, wallet, elastoplast, iPod, notepad, towel, watch, fluoro jacket, dry shorts and jocks, socks, jacket, and water. We're prepared for ANYTHING!
One of the questions we get asked most about is our shoes. We all have four or five pairs nicely worn in, but for the moment we tend to just be using our favourite couple of pairs - or in Dave's case, just ONE pair.
Apparently, when Dave bought them, he asked how many kilometres he could expect to get out of them, and was told between 1,000 and 1,200km. So he's putting them to the test, and wearing just that one pair. Every now and then, he'll turn them over and scrutinise the underside of the rapidly wearing down grip and mumble, 'These are so not going to make it to 1000km!!' And if they don't, he's threatening to take them back and complain!!
- Dave, Carnsey and Sav
Week 4 (14th-20th September, 2010)
When Sharon and her husband adopted a gorgeous little girl from Ethiopia a few years ago, little did she know that one day she would actually be co-ordinating her own adoption agency - with a difference!!
Sharon is Carnsey's sister and when she heard that her brother was doing The 2000 Walk, she wanted to be involved. When the idea came up of linking specific Bible-less language groups with people who would be interested in 'adopting' and praying for them, Sharon jumped into the role with amazing energy.
Sharon knows all about adoption - the process, the commitment, the pains, and the joys. She is passionate about Bible translation and has all the information about the language groups that are still without God's Word. If you are interested in learning about 'adopting' one of these Bible-less language groups, Sharon would love to hear from you: adopt@the2000walk.com
In our meetings, when people hear about the 2000 language groups that don't have any part of the Bible, they often ask where these languages are found. One man in Innisfail asked if there was actually a map somewhere that showed the locations of these Bible-less languages in the world. The answer to that question, as of today, is a resounding YES: visit www.the2000walk.com/blogs/10-walkers-thoughts/86-by-popular-request.
Dave, Carnsey and Sav
Week 3 (7th-13th September, 2010)
Channel 7 gave us a good rap on their local news last week, calling us the 'three wise men'. According to the report, we 'needed more than spiritual guidance' for the walk, referring to the 8km we walked up the wrong road some days back. We'll never live that one down!!
As we trudge along the highway for six or seven hours every day, a lot of car horns toot at us and people that wave. They've obviously seen us on TV or in the newspaper. But surprising few people actually stop. Yesterday, however, a French woman stopped and came over for a chat, and then today another friendly lady surprised us by stopping, winding down her car window and thrusting a banknote at us.
As we walked through the quiet main street of Home Hill, a lady rushed out of her fruit shop and urged us to come in and take any fruit we wanted - free of charge!! She'd read about us in the paper and wanted to do something to help. Dave took a gala apple, Carnsey took a handful of beans and I took a tamarillo. We have met many warm and friendly people like this woman. Even the ticks are friendly here - Dave happened to spy one sucking onto my armpit. That could explain why I was starting to feel a bit seedy!!
Today as we walked to the 500km mark, we dropped in to a roadside fruit stall and mobilised everyone there to help us write the number 500...with fruit. We also had two near accidents. Firstly, walking along the railway line (trying to keep away from dangerous trucks), I was deep in conversation on the phone and 'heard' but didn't 'register' the first blast of a train whistle. But I sure heard the second and dived off the rails!! Then less than an hour later, an oncoming truck hit the brakes behind a slower vehicle and slid sideways a bit for a few metres in a cloud of white smoke, sending us jumping off the road. Thanks for those who are praying for our safety.
Dave, Carnsey and Sav
Week 2 (31st August-6th September, 2010)
As we walked out of Ingham, the unthinkable happened! Deep in conversation, we simply followed the main street as it swung around to the right, and we kept on walking.
1km. 2km. 3km. 4km. Dave commented how quiet it was on the road - not as many trucks as other days - and we were really enjoying it. But still the penny didn't drop.
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FOOTSLOGGERS: (left to right) Carsney (Andrew Carnell), Sav (Andrew Sav), and Dave (Dave Carnell). You can follow them at www.the2000walk.com or on Facebook. PICTURE: Trent Rouillon
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5km. 6km. 7km. 8km. And then there was a road sign...but it wasn't the sign we were hoping for. After taking a few minutes to crash out on the grass by the side of the road, we got a lift back into town and started all over again - on the right road. We had walked 8km for NOTHING.
Our first day of walking had been sunny and hot, but since then, we've walked under cloud cover with a cool breeze and refreshing drizzle. Everyone's told us that this is untypical for this time of year - it's usually hot and humid.
Walking an average of 30km a day, you can imagine how thankful we are for the unusually cool weather. Sav's mum phoned from Cairns and said she was thinking of us in the hot weather. Hot weather? Apparently in Cairns it was hot and sunny. But, 268km south, we were as cool as cucumbers under heavy cloud cover and with a cool breeze! We loooove clouds!!
Yesterday it took us a full THREE hours to walk just the first 10km.
That's our slowest pace to date. Normally it would take us less than two hours to walk 10km. Can you guess why it took us so long?
a) we were distracted by an ice-cream shop
b) we had radio interviews
c) we were attacked by unfriendly farm dogs
d) we got our shoes wet crossing a creek
Two of the above are true. Firstly, we were enticed into the famous Frosty Mango ice cream shop, and then Carnsey had a couple of radio interviews. The latter can be quite a challenge right beside the noisy highway and with limited mobile phone coverage.
- Dave, Sav and Carnsey
Week 1 (24th-30th August 2010)
A strange feeling. Totally weird. After talking about this day for three years, it is so surreal to be finally walking. This morning at 9am, we stepped out with our camel-baks, sunscreen, well worn-in shoes and first aid kit. It was an awesome launch and send-off from these students at Freshwater College here in Cairns - a couple of hundred of them walked the first kilometre with us - helium balloons bobbing along on strings above them and then released into the wide blue yonder. Good on you kids...you're an awesome bunch.
After 27km in the tropical North Queensland heat, our intrepid trio could be recognised, not only by their trademark shirts, but also by their six red legs. The damage was not only external, either. After complaining of a headache and eating mango and ice cream for dessert, Carnsey beat an early retreat to bed. A little later in the evening, Sav and Dave heard the toilet flush and Carnsey return to the room saying, 'what a waste of good ice-cream and mango.'
No, it wasn't food-poisoning. Carnsey had been affected by heat. Throughout the first day of walking, Carnsey had been sweating much more than he had been in training, and had not drunk enough fluid to counteract the losses. As a result, after the presentation at Gordonvale Presbyterian Church, the contents of Carnsey's stomach ended up in the toilet bowl, including the delicious dessert the boys had been given by their generous 'Day 1' hosts. But it could have been much worse. After a good night's sleep and copious amounts of water, there have been no further ill effects and Carnsey is back on the road again today, walking towards Babinda, a little wiser and a little more aware of the challenges and dangers this walk could bring.
Imagine this...You are walking along the hot bitumen road. Hour after hour. 36km. Getting blasts of hot air from every passing truck. The sun burning your calves. And then you come to a shady little creek. Before you think what you are doing, your shoes are off and you are dipping your hot, sore, feet in that cool water. Sooooo good! In hindsight, I can’t believe I did that – talking with people last night about crocodiles, they told us to NEVER get down near any of those creeks!
We'll often be up and walking well before the crack of dawn, cutting short our night's sleep, so that we can finish our day's walk before the worst of the midday heat. Night walking is a new experience for me - and is particularly 'interesting' with the steady stream of head-lights of oncoming trucks and cars. Reflective vests and blinking lights help keep us visible to these night drivers.
- Dave, Sav and Carnsey with Karyn Markwell.
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