Bob Hentzen and other Walk2gether participants walk through Costa Rica.

Update: This reflection is from Rafael “Rafa” Villalobos, San Jose project coordinator, written after Walk2gether passed through Costa Rica earlier this year. The walkers have entered Ecuador and expect to be there until Sept. 14.

“Peace is passing through Costa Rica”
A Costa Rican radio station gave this title to Walk2gether. We have been waiting for it with much faith, love and hope.

Day 1

At 6 a.m., 250 families, representing all sponsored families in Costa Rica, were waiting for Walk2gether’s arrival. As we waited, songs were heard: “Come, a new day is here and amidst challenges and happiness, CFCA is growing.” “My heart, your heart, become one when we walk.” School bands, flags from Latin America, big banners with messages, all awaited the moment.

The walkers crossed into Costa Rica three hours later to cheers, applause, songs, prayers and hugs. A sublime moment came when Bob (CFCA president and co-founder Bob Hentzen) and his wife, Cristina, knelt and kissed the land. This was a symbol of deep love for our country and our CFCA families. We are stepping on holy land, the land of the poor who are the face of God. This land is blessed.

Bob gave words of gratitude and reminded us of the meaning of Walk2gether: “I want to be close to the families. We walk for the most in need.” Cristina offered her love to the families and encouraged them to continue despite daily burdens. There were 15 other walkers from Guatemala and the Philippines.

We walked five kilometers from the border, Peñas Blancas, to the Las Vueltas River. In front of us a big banner said, “CFCA, 12,500 kilometers, bringing hope.”

Day 2

We began at 4 a.m. with a prayer asking for blessings upon our route. The heat intensified, and we rested often. This was a great opportunity for teachable moments with Bob, to share our experiences, difficulties and achievements.

Brother Jorge, CFCA Hermano Pedro project coordinator in Guatemala, shared the meaning of the CFCA logo. Later, we heard the testimony of Jafet, a scholarship student. He thanked CFCA for the outreach he received from the Costa Rica team.

Day 3

We walked from the community of Santa Rosa to the community of Liberia. Bob spoke with the youth walking with us. The teens commented on their worry of drugs, violence and lack of job opportunities. Marvis, a CFCA social worker, shared about the importance of strengthening family values.

Families from the community of Liberia came to greet the pilgrims, singing and showing beautiful banners with messages of hope and gratitude for CFCA, Bob and Cristina.

Day 4

The route planned was to walk 40 kilometers from Liberia to the Bagaces community. At kilometer 10, we had breakfast at the community of Pijije. This community has donated a piece of land for a CFCA office. Bob and Cristina inaugurated the construction of a CFCA center for sponsored members and their families. A few trees were planted as signs that we are called to offer life, love and strength.

Later, we arrived at the gym of the community of Bagaces. Some 400 people welcomed the pilgrims.

We also blessed the house built for one of the CFCA families. It was built by a group of North American students from the Saint Anselmo school (St Anselm’s College from New Hampshire) and members of the CFCA team.

March 5

We rested near the Miravalles Volcano, surrounded by spectacular views and thermal waters. Bob and Cristina’s family, Jake and Cesar, their wives and grandchildren, as well as one sponsor, joined us today.

One song has tried to gather the spirit of this pilgrimage.

Walking we make borders disappear,
We all become one on earth
One voice where hunger, cold and fear unite
And your burdens become mine
And your loneliness becomes my pain

They mix like the soil and our steps
Dignity, hope become one flag for Latin America

I have always aspired to work with the less privileged in society. I get a lot of inspiration from working with the beneficiaries and staff members.

I was very much excited to be coming on the walk. I always look forward to learning something new. In each and every project there are good practices, and I was able to learn so many new things to take back to Nairobi to make our project stronger.

It is so beautiful in Ecuador, and walking with these people and seeing how they live was a great experience for me. I grew up in a small village in Kenya and helped my father with our coffee plants from a very young age. We would wake up early to harvest coffee. I know the challenges that families living in the farming communities in Ecuador face.

There is so much potential in these families. It was a big lesson for me to see their energy and see how important they are in this movement. The sponsored members and their families helped us get through the miles by walking with us. It showed me how interdependent our mission is and that our community is growing even stronger each day with this walk.

On the walk, I started out well, but along the way things got very tough. I was only able to make it 20 kilometers out of the 35 kilometers my first day. It is a lesson, though, to see the families that came out to walk with us cover these distances, and we should not take their strength for granted.

It is an inspiration that these families are able to overcome so much. We just need to help them along their path. It is not easy work helping these families, and the walk is a symbol of this effort.

The walk is very challenging. We have to cover long distances. The pain in our legs and muscles can be translated to the pain these families experience. But like them, we just have to keep going and keep walking with them.

One of my favorite parts of the walk was interacting with the families. Singing and dancing is very integrated into society in Africa. Many of the youth walking with us were shy at first, but they were very eager to learn from me when I started a song or dance. And when you are having fun, the kilometers go by much faster.

Getting to spend time with Bob Hentzen (CFCA president and co-founder) on the walk was also a great experience. Bob is superhuman. Every time you are around Bob you get inspiration. When you see somebody that age (74) walking all that distance, and here I am a young energetic person who couldn’t walk the whole way for just one week. He is a great example of how we can focus our energy.

CFCA’s invitation for us to join the walk to help our brothers and sisters in South America is a good message. It was amazing to learn from one another and spend time with the people who have been on this journey.

People around the world need to know there are many people struggling and in need of help. I am proud to have been a part of this walk and to help spread the message that there is hope for these families.

Walk2gether has left Colombia and entered Ecuador, after covering a distance of 5,043 kilometers and walking through seven countries.

Judith Bautista, right, coordinator in CFCA’s Bogota project, and Bertha Duran, left, coordinator in the Cali project, both in Colombia, reflect on their experiences with Walk2gether in their country.

Judith Bautista: Walking with the flag of CFCA

After walking almost two months in the company of the sponsored members and their families, throughout all the CFCA projects and its communities, Walk2gether left Colombia to enter Ecuador. This has been a very special experience; it has represented great benefits for all of us staff members in Colombia, and it has helped to unify the teams and projects of CFCA in Colombia.

The unity that we have developed among staff members and sponsored families is stronger than before. We are called to work harder toward the empowerment of the families and mothers, which directly enhances the creation of communities of compassion in our projects.

We witness how people came out to greet us, to offer us their best wishes, to bless us, and for me, this is walking with the flag of CFCA, which is the flag of Hope for a Family.

Ending Walk2gether in Colombia is a bittersweet moment, full of mixed feelings, because we have been so happy and received so much inspiration in this walk. But we are sad because we are not going to continue physically walking.

Bertha Duran: The beginning of a new vision

This walk has been exciting and rewarding. It has made all of us involved in CFCA proud that we were able to carry such a huge and strong mission. It is a great feeling to know that we were able to comply with the sacrifice made by staff, families and sponsored members while walking in Colombia.

This walk taught us very much about teamwork, solidarity, respect and hard work, but the most important thing that we learned is that in spite of feeling tired, hungry and thirsty, we need to continue with strong steps toward the completion of our hopes of a better world.

We had many teenagers, both sponsored youth and scholarship students, walking. This experience has helped them to restructure their own goals in life, realizing that it is worthwhile to fight for opportunities and their dreams.

This walk has offered our sponsored members and their families a sense of a new beginning, where there has been a before and after in their lives, a breath of hope and the call to live in solidarity, respect and unity as a family.

This is not the end of the walk; this is the beginning of a new vision that reminds the sponsored members and their families that we believe in them, that they are worthy and that we want to see them reaching their hopes and dreams out of poverty.

Veron Telar

It was 2:30 a.m., Philippine time, on June 20, 2010, when I finally arrived home from my 21-hour trip from Kansas City back to my country, the Philippines. Thanks be to God for a very pleasant trip. What an absolute feeling of excitement and happiness I had during my entire journey. I was reunited with my son, my whole family and my CFCA family in the project. Yes, everyone at home had been waiting for me.

It’s been about six months since I left the Philippines and joined CFCA’s Walk2gether in Latin America, and now I am back. Honestly, it was not even easy to leave the walk, the people and the CFCA family who took care of me, inspired me and loved me while I was away from my family. I am blessed to have had this very significant and life-changing experience as a member of the Walk2gether team for five months and 12 days. With Sir Bob and Ma’am Cristina (CFCA President Bob Hentzen and his wife, Cristina), I have walked 4,004 kilometers, slept in 61 beds and taken 6.6 million footsteps.

I have truly my innermost, overwhelming feeling being with Walk2gether. Being with the people each day and listening to the words of wisdom of the CFCA president are my greatest gift. I was completely at peace and content, traveling and staying in a foreign land, just keeping in mind that I belong to CFCA. True enough, CFCA is a worldwide family and community. There was no room for uncertainties, only assurances of love, belonging and protection when there are possible dangers. Along the road, we always tell the people that we offer hope and we share love with them. In return, we are receiving more than we gave, as they helped us realize the greatest value of life with simplicity and humility in words and in deeds.

I came home very happy, at peace and ready to face the day-to-day life with my family and the Manila project. I am much honored and perpetually grateful that I represented my country during my time with Walk2gether. I have a renewed spirit of hope, love, service and commitment to the CFCA work and mission. I truly appreciate the opportunity of knowing so many sponsored families and co-workers.

As CFCA offers hope for families in this challenging time, we in the Philippines are becoming more hopeful that changes for the better will take place in this beautiful world. May the Lord bless us as we work hard for this mission.

Indeed, my participation in Walk2gether provided me a renewed life and spirit of service and mission. Walk2gether is one of the best experiences that CFCA has given me, and I thank God for this blissful homecoming to my beloved Philippines.

July 24

It is 3:30 a.m. and I’ve just arrived at the Bolivia International Airport of Santa Cruz, on my way to Cochabamba, Bolivia. The CFCA’s Hope for a Family Program continues to build options for its members into their own and individual process to self-sustainability; this is why, during this week, staff members from different countries will get together in what we call ‘Encuentro’ — encounter — where we will learn and teach each other about the many initiatives and programs being implemented at the different projects.

It is very exciting to be part of this worldwide community of compassion, and I am looking forward to this week of learning, feeling excited about the many ideas, projects and programs that will be developed from here to all the families of CFCA around the world.

July 25

After a very good night of sleep to recover the energy for travelling more than 24 hours yesterday, this morning I met Peter, CFCA coordinator in Nairobi, and Teddy, project coordinator in Uganda. We had a wonderful conversation and learned from each other about the challenges that our countries, and especially women in each of them, have to face.

Teddy is a very young smart girl who, to my surprise, had been sponsored by CFCA and now she is the project coordinator. And Peter, a 40-year-old man, has been working very hard in creating opportunities for the mothers in his project to find a path to self-sufficiency.

I am always surprised by the potential that is unlocked by CFCA in each of its staff members. God has blessed us all to be part of this community.

Watch the following video to meet Cristina.

As Americans prepare to celebrate Independence Day, let us remember those around the world who struggle daily for another kind of freedom: economic freedom.

In CFCA communities around the world, individuals are making sacrifices every day to achieve economic freedom. They are hungry for opportunity and will make heroic efforts to improve life for their families instead of remaining imprisoned by poverty. They walk great distances, study long hours and engage in backbreaking work. They are living examples that the human spirit burns brightly, even in the bleakest of circumstances.

Please pray
Dear Lord, help us to see the blessings and freedoms we enjoy and not take them for granted. Keep ever present in our minds the pleas of our brothers and sisters struggling to break free from poverty. Send your Spirit to work through us to help others develop their talents and become self-reliant. Keep this fire of struggle alive in our hearts until all your people are free from poverty. Amen.

Blessings,

CFCA Prayer Team

Related post:
Celebrating freedom

Thank you for your hard work, Clare!

It all started when my teacher assigned our reading class to each do a service project. My family supports a little girl named Jarling through CFCA. I decided that I could help boys and girls like her. My mom and I decided I could sell flowers after church on Valentine’s Day. We earned at least $100, but that was just the beginning. Next, I worked with two seniors from Culver Academies to do a tie-dye workshop at my school. It was a huge success, and a whole lot of fun.

My overall total was at least $700. I enjoyed it a lot. I hope to continue helping others and I want to do the workshop again.

Thirteen years ago, there was a young girl in the Colombian town of Tarso with no clear goals or dreams. But one day some people came by her house asking what the needs of her family were, and suddenly a hope for her future awakened.

Thanks to the those social workers and two angels, her sponsors, the young girl, Yuli, started to feel motivated in her schooling and improving herself each day. God was granting her opportunities through the people Yuli considered her angels.

As the years went on, Yuli, the girl who previously didn’t have any aspirations, now had a defined path. She was attending high school as a result of the financial support and encouragement of her angels, and kept focused on the dream she wanted to accomplish, which was to graduate.

Yuli, with determination, kept telling herself, “I will keep on no matter what.” Her efforts were worth it as she reached that goal and after graduation started a career with CFCA’s Madre Paula project.

She experienced the love of her angels and is grateful to them for the many years of spiritual and financial help. Yuli also thanks God for allowing her journey to cross paths with her sponsors.

Yuli’s words of wisdom:

“Life has great opportunities in store for the ones who assume challenges and take risks.

Sponsorship may change the course of a person’s life entirely if that person learns to take full advantage of it, but their work does not end there. They must become like a hummingbird that is so skillful in spreading seeds from branch to branch, from flower to flower. There are not limits but definite purposes for the ones that take the opportunity.

Dream, fly, share and never forget that there will be angels on your way.”

This reflection was written by Deisy Yuliana Betancur Cardenas, former sponsored child and now a CFCA staff member in the Madre Paula project in Colombia. Yuli shared her reflection with participants on a CFCA mission awareness trip in Colombia in May.

The Chinese proverb says: “A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song.” May you walk with a song in your heart.

Since the Word of God is always the same, but ever new to us, a quote from Psalms:
“I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.” Psalm 116

May our Brother be your strength and protection as you walk with his brothers and sisters. Live, Jesus, in our hearts!

May you walk in hope-filled witness, embodying the spirit and faith, the joys and struggles of all who have walked and prayed these paths.

May you walk with the assurance of a daily remembrance in my Mass and prayers that you be blessed with peace and safety as you walk with and for the poor, bringing hope for families.

May you walk … with the sun on your face, with the wind at your back, with peace of mind, and with all of us in your heart.

Que abunda el frijol
Que abunda el maíz
Y que seas muy feliz
Que abunda el frijol
Que abunda el arroz
Y que te bendiga Dios.

Que Dios te Bendiga! Yo espero que yo puedo unir su viaje siguio el camino. Su amigo tambien.

May the light of God illumine the heart of your soul.
May the flame of Christ kindle you to love.
May the fire of the Spirit free you to live and keep you well on your journey.

~ With Love,
2010 CFCA Board of Directors
Scott Wasserman, Chief Governing Officer
Ed Herman, Treasurer
Rev. Allan Weinert, C.Ss.R., Secretary
Catherine Crosby
Eileen Greenlay
Louis Guillou
Rev. Vince Haselhorst
Anne Ryder
Carolyn Zimmerman

Sunilde (left), Barquisimeto project coordinator in Venezuela at the border with Judith, Bogota, Colombia, project coordinator

With an emotional encounter between Colombian and Venezuelan colleagues in Paraguachon, Colombia, Walk2gether ended its time in Venezuela, leaving behind in each of us a process of profound reflection, inspired by shared moments and all the things we’ve seen during this long journey.

Also, this encounter between colleagues reaffirms that there are no borders when our unity comes from God. The most important thing is that with this experience, we understand a little more about the challenge set before us by CFCA to give hope to families.

Likewise, the walk allowed us to affirm our own reality in the context of strengths and weaknesses clearly evidenced on the route/trip.

Strengths

• Beautiful landscapes

• The presence of our CFCA families (parents, guardians, boys, girls, teenagers and the elderly), giving us their support and solidarity at all times.

• The support we received from people and families who aren’t a part of the sponsorship program.

• The logistical support on the part of the sponsored teenagers and scholarship students.

Weaknesses

• The large quantities of trash observed along the route of the walk.

• Dead animals, the majority of which were run over on the highways.

• Violence along the roads committed by the drivers of the vehicles.

Challenges raised by the Walk
We are called from this point forward to a series of very significant challenges in our community-level intervention and especially, in our work with CFCA families:

Social challenges

• Learn to live in community.

• Respect diversity in its different manifestations: ethnic, political, religious, cultural and others.

• Relationship with the environment of which we are a part.

• Emphasize a true culture of peace.

• Quality education for all.

Challenges to life

• Respect life. Encourage a culture of life to counter the culture of death that reveals itself to us in the form of violence and threatens individual security.

• Protection for the lives of animals.

• Respect for human rights.

Environmental challenges

• Elimination of trash, starting with the communities where we work.

• Beautifying the communities.

• Care and conservation of natural resources.

I say goodbye with sincere thanks for this experience, and for Bob and Cristina’s presence among us as symbols of peace and brotherhood among all people.

Sincerely,
Sunilde Pérez
Barquisimeto Project Coordinator, Venezuela

Rafa Villalobos, San Jose project coordinator, said that Jerlin means a lot to the project staff. They felt especially protective of her after her father died.

“In the midst of great difficulty, she has moved on, overcoming obstacles,” Rafa said. “When Don Roberto heard her testimony during a mission awareness trip, he said her story was a cathedral of hope.”

In the video below, Jerlin talks about how the CFCA scholarship program has helped her through many obstacles in life and how receiving a good education is allowing her to achieve her dreams.

We are resting today (Wednesday). We are doing fine here in Colombia. What a best time to rest: we are at the beach right now. So far we have walked 3,162 km since we began in Guatemala. I am looking forward to walking another 1,000 km until June.*

Normally we get up between 2:30 — 3:00 a.m., depending on the distance that we have to travel to get to the place where we ended the previous day. We basically end at 5 p.m., but the other day, we started at 3 a.m. and finished at 6:45 p.m.

The temperature here is getting hotter each day, as we are walking close to the ocean. We are now here in Magdalena leading to Cartagena. The last week we walked in La Guajira, and the heat was terrible. It seems that we walked in the desert — about 100 degrees F. But, we survived.

Tomorrow we will be on the road again. I am refueling myself with the fresh fish and rice that we are having these days. Sir Bob, Ma’am Cristina and the team are absolutely doing fine.

*Editor’s note: Veron will return to the Philippines in June.

How was the experience of Walk2gether entering Colombia?
It was very exciting. It was Saturday, and I was in company of Isabel, another CFCA-Colombia staff member. We did not expect the walk to arrive until the next day. We were at the border, reviewing some plans and, suddenly, we turned toward the Venezuelan side of the border and saw a group of people with traffic vests and flags, and Bob was leading them. I got really excited, they were singing and we started singing back. It was incredible, emotional. All of us from the CFCA team in Colombia, about 60 people, walked to meet them. We laughed, hugged each other. There was joy, smiles and tears, this was an unbelievable moment for me.

Did the Walk2gether group have any problem crossing the border?
They did not have any problem entering Colombia. One thing we were told by the border authorities is that they needed us to keep informing them of the location of the walk every other week so they could be alert.

How was it for you to work with the CFCA Venezuela team to organize the walk?
It has been great! They are a great team: hard-working women and very close to their communities. The project coordinator in Venezuela, Sunilde, and I have an excellent relationship, when we saw each other at the border we both cried, and it was hard to say goodbye.

Sunilde and I have a lot in common. We both share the same spirit for CFCA, the same values, and we both enjoy working with the sponsored members of CFCA. Our dream of finding options for our communities is something that unites us. She is a woman who has done much for the communities in Venezuela.

Sunilde shared with me the rough moments they experienced in Venezuela while walking. In some places, people, in general, understood about the walk, but some who didn’t understand were rude to them.

So, working with the Venezuelan team gives me a sense of admiration because in spite of all their challenges, they are doing so much good for the students, families, communities, etc. Their sponsored children and elderly are people with brave hearts.

What is the feeling of the CFCA Colombian team of welcoming the walk?
Looking at the walkers crossing into Colombia is something that we were dreaming about for a long time. In Colombia, we are excited and happy, hearing our voices united in song with the voices of the Venezuelan team was beautiful.

Ending one section of the walk and beginning a new phase is admirable. The feeling is something hard to describe, it is something that you feel in your heart and soul.

Seeing both flags, Colombian and Venezuelan, waving in the middle of the border between both countries, was like being in limbo, where nothing else mattered. I remembered that borders can be drawn by the men but, in spite of them, CFCA reaches across, like a big family, and words are inadequate to describe this feeling.

The flag of unity of CFCA tells us that something very special is happening in the world and in all of the countries where Walk2gether visits.

CFCA President Bob Hentzen is now in Colombia, the sixth of 12 countries on his 8,000-mile trek through Latin America called Walk2gether. Besides building community and strengthening the bonds of unity between CFCA sponsored members, sponsors and staff, Walk2gether is promoting care of the environment.

To counter the serious problem of deforestation, and to motivate people to plant trees, sponsored members and scholarship students planted maya nut trees about every six miles along the Walk2gether route in Guatemala, said Luis CoCon of CFCA’s Hermano Pedro project.

The maya nut tree adapts easily to different weather conditions, requires little maintenance, and its fruit is rich in nutrients.

“A lot of our people use the forest for firewood,” said CoCon. “But I think the main problem is that the big plantation owners clear hundreds or thousands of trees every day to make room for sugarcane or corn fields.”

The Hermano Pedro project planted 100,000 trees in 2009 and hopes to plant 1 million between 2009 and 2011, CoCon said.

Photo courtesy of www.theequilibriumfund.org. These adaptable trees produce a highly nutritious fruit and can grow to 150 feet.	Brother Jorge Armas, Hermano Pedro project coordinator, plants a maya nut tree along the Walk2gether route in Guatemala.

Today, something very exciting happened on the Colombia/Venezuela border. The Cartagena project and I met together, finalizing details to receive Bob and the walk team from Venezuela tomorrow (Sunday), when suddenly I saw a multitude of reflective jackets, everyone was holding hands and in the front walked Bob. It was very exciting, beautiful, encouraging, emotional, totally inspiring … It was one of those moments. There were hugs and much emotion but above all, happiness of meeting and a celebration of life …

Today we are excited, we await the passing hours in order to meet each other again and begin walking together.

To all, a strong hug in Christ

The murals, each about 2 meters by 4 meters, were designed by a sponsored scholar and a CFCA volunteer from Spain. The majority of the work was completed by sponsored youth and scholar students, with some help from parents and CFCA staff.

It took one full weekend and nearly 40 gallons of paint to complete the murals. The mural team split into five groups and spent a Saturday sketching the murals and began painting (the surface was prepped the weekend before). They completed the painting the next day.

The murals symbolize scenes from the walk with a focus on nature and the importance of preserving our environment.

Sunilde Pérez, Barquisimeto project coordinator, said of the environmental theme in the murals, “We are all united as one community.”

The central theme of the walk is to remind families that they are not alone. The CFCA family—made up of sponsors, staff, volunteers and other sponsored members—is with them every step of the way.

“We are all in this together,” Sunilde said. “Everything that we do has an effect. When the walk passes through, it affects all of us, as well as our environment.”

We translated her poem to English for you but included the Spanish version, too. Happy Earth Day!

The Rain Forest
by Maria Alejandra Villalobos

There is not a sound nor is life visible,
Only a symphony of rain drops with a plic plac sound …

Many colors can’t be seen, only a deep natural green but, once in a while,
A little colorful flower gives life to the landscape …

There are different shades of leaves, large, small and coiled
Trees, with their chests held high, show their beauty …

The flora is striking in its natural green
And the moss offers a beautiful coat to the proud trees …

Far ahead a calf is grazing up in the mountain
A very straight pine tree firmly holds its acorns …

It is then when a soft wind can be felt,
The leaves wave from side to side …

The monkeys and squirrels are sleeping in the trees
Waiting for their reward in the form of a beautiful rainbow.

El Bosque Lluvioso
por Maria Alejandra Villalobos

No hay ruido ni tampoco se ve vida
Solo se oye la sinfonía de las gotas de lluvia que caen suavemente haciendo plic plac …

No se ven muchos colores, solo un verde natural, aunque, de vez en cuando,
Una florecilla colorada le da vida al lugar…

Hay distintas formas de hojas, grandes, cortas y enrolladas
Hay árboles que con su pecho en alto muestran su belleza …

La flora se resalta en su verde natural
Y los musgos verdes le dan un hermoso abrigo a los árboles grandes …

A lo lejos se ve una vaquita pastando en la montaña
Un pinito parado bien derechito mantiene con firmeza sus bellotas …

Cuando se viene una ráfaga de viento las hojas, amarradas de sus raíces,
Se ondulan de lado a lado

Los monos y las ardillas duermen en lo árboles
Esperando de recompensa un lindo arcoíris.

So we set up a page on our blog where everyone can leave messages of support and encouragement to Bob, the Walk2gether team and their sponsored friends. Many people have done just that. Some messages are in Spanish, some in English, some are from sponsors and some are from project staff members. The messages are personal, caring and inspirational, but this one left by Ted Dauphin especially caught our attention:

Talk about inspiring! Thanks for sharing, Ted.

Head on over to the Walk2gether tab, read what others have to say and leave your own message. We can’t wait to hear from you.

We, at the Barquisimeto project, welcomed with special affection our dear friends, Bob and Cristina Hentzen. Their presence among the Venezuelan sponsored members is a solid witness of faith and hope. This movement is being called Walk2gether: together in our joys, together in our sorrows, together in good times, together in bad times.

Therefore, to us, Walk2gether means:

Creating links of unity and brotherhood.

Walk2gether encourages us to see with kind eyes the needs of our people.

Walk2gether is an activity that holds up humanity at all times, above all else. It gives special meaning to CFCA’s statement that “to be more” is more important than “to have more.”

Fraternally,
Sunilde Pérez
Project Coordinator
Barquisimeto, Venezuela

No matter where one travels, mothers have the same concerns, cares, thoughts, worries and desires for their children. While on my recent Walk2gether adventure in Costa Rica, I met Zaida, an extraordinary and simple mother. She resides in Bagaces, a town northwest of San Jose, Costa Rica.

She is a supporter of CFCA, which was evident by her 3:30 a.m. arrival time to the small and quaint town center for a long, tiring walk. Many are dedicated to CFCA in this town! Everyone proudly wore their blue CFCA T-shirts and baseball caps. The streets were filled with excitement, including the echoing of music from large speakers attached to the back of a car. Little did I know that this first day of walking would end up including some of the most memorable moments of my week!

I was more than ready for the walk, mentally, physically and spiritually. After completing my first 10K and enjoying a traditional Costa Rican breakfast, we began the second 10K of the day. The sun was up as we continued along the rocky, gravel-covered path through the extremely rural and poor areas of Bagaces. Out of nowhere, an arm was put around me, and I was swept into a conversation with Zaida that would last for hours.

At first there was a lot of small talk. The words that one would share when meeting a fellow mother for the first time, be it in small town U.S.A. or Bagaces, Costa Rica. What else would two moms start a conversation with besides, “How many children do you have?” and, “How old are they?”

We continued discovering more about our children. Isn’t this so typical of mothers? The common bond of our children allowed us to talk for an extended period of time. I was honored to meet her youngest child, and I could see that Zaida was proud to introduce her to me, just as I would have been proud to introduce my own daughters to my new friend. As time went on, we talked about other topics, but somehow the conversation always led back to our children.

Each day on our journey, Don Roberto (Bob Hentzen) would stop and compassionately and respectfully listen to the CFCA parents tell their personal stories and their perspectives on how CFCA is helping and can better help in each community. Each community is unique and Bob knows this. He knows that one of his biggest allies is the CFCA mothers.

Zaida respectfully and confidently sat down next to Don Roberto and shared her story, her desires, her concerns and her ideas regarding her own children and the children of Bagaces supported through CFCA. Zaida is like so many mothers. We do whatever we can to make a better life for the ones we love the most.

Our day continued, and we were extremely comfortable with each other. Our energy was never-ending, even though the songs blasting from the oversized speakers were the same ones we began listening to at 3:30 in the morning. We put our arms around each other and shouted the now so familiar words, “Mi corazon, tu Corazon.” — my heart, your heart — became our battle cry. Arm in arm, we knew we had forged a friendship, a friendship based on the love for one thing all mothers around the world have in common: the love for their children.

There are many reasons people walk. Some walk out of choice, others, out of necessity. Along the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:15-35), we meet two people who walked simply to get away. The one in whom they had placed their hopes had just been executed as a criminal, and now his friends – and theirs – were hiding in fear. Believing that nothing was left for them in Jerusalem but danger and disappointment, they decided to leave.

On the road, they met a stranger. The temptation to wrap themselves in fear and reject the stranger must have been strong, but instead they invited him along. And, as they continued walking, an amazing thing began to happen. Step by step and mile by mile, these two wounded travelers found restored hope in their encounter with this remarkable new companion.

The stranger was really the resurrected Jesus – a fact that the two disciples only discovered at the end of the day when they shared a meal. But once they did, they couldn’t get back to Jerusalem fast enough, for such was their desire to share the good news.

In life, sometimes we feel as if we are walking toward something, and sometimes we feel as if we are walking away. But when the dust settles, the reasons we walk aren’t nearly as important as the fact that we do, indeed, keep walking. For, like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, it is only in the journey that we continue to encounter Christ in traveling companions.

For the next two years, hundreds of sponsors will join CFCA President Bob Hentzen at points along the Walk2gether route from Guatemala to Chile. Like the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, they, too, are discovering a new and glorified face of Christ in the faces of the poor. And, again, like those disciples, they can’t wait to take that good news home with them.

As we enter into this beautiful season of Easter, may each of us be blessed with fresh legs and renewed spirits. May we walk as happy wanderers, intent on savoring the blessings of the journey. Whatever sorrows we may be leaving behind, and whatever dreams we may be moving toward, may we always hold onto the joy that comes from knowing that the one who defeated death is our constant traveling companion.

Some creative staff made a sign …

… decorated appropriately:

And, of course, in true CFCA style, there was music and singing:

Happy birthday, Bob!

~From the CFCA Kansas staff

We think Juan Antonio is cool, too. But don’t take our word for it. Watch on to meet this charming man.

Read more about the dance program.

The report also said that a day center where aging members ate breakfast and lunch and took handicraft and art workshops is uninhabitable. As a result, the sponsored elderly will receive their nutritional benefits at another location and all workshops have been postponed until a new location is identified.

And finally, Sara Leiva, the Valparaiso project coordinator, said that sponsors with friends in Chile should keep in mind that letters both in and out of the country will be delayed. Some letters may arrive late or coated with earthquake dust. For now, the staff’s top priority is to assess and respond to the current needs of the families.

For more information, read the full news story on our website.

Dear Henry,

Good afternoon. Thank you very much for sharing the worries and concerns of the CFCA community. We have power in some areas of Valparaiso, Chile, and I was able to send this email from my sister’s house.

It was 3:35 a.m., when the earthquake started. We are kind of used to this because Chile is an area with high possibilities of earthquakes; however, this earthquake kept going longer than usual. It was then when my husband, Luis, our son and I tried to secure ourselves in the safest section of our apartment.

The noise was terrible. In spite of having the lights off, they began turning on and off by themselves. Shortly after that, the power went off. From my home, you can usually see all of Valparaiso and Viña del Mar, but when I looked outside, everything was dark. The water was off, too. Everything was full of dust, and phones lines had collapsed.

Some time later, some of my CFCA colleagues started to phone me, because we could not call out. Praise God, they were fine. At this moment, I can say that my family is well, too. Praise God, the construction in Chile is strong and can withstand the full force of the earthquakes.

As soon as we had daylight, I went to the CFCA office. On my way to there, I saw some areas of Valparaiso. They are very affected because they are historical constructions and not as strong as present-day buildings. I saw houses collapsed and many destroyed walls. The CFCA office looks OK. When I entered, I saw everything on the floor, the walls have cracks and the place is full of dust.

One of the walls on the first floor have collapsed, and there was water coming out from somewhere. I contacted some firemen who were working in the area, and they helped me close it. The firemen told me that I needed to report the damages because some of the walls are loose and dangerous. They suggested that we evacuate the office building.

We immediately took the files and other important things to the houses of some of the staff members to keep them safe. We knew that in situations like this there is always a high risk of robbery. After that, I visited the house of some of the staff members: Luis Olivares, Olga and Mauricio. We need to contact a friend of ours who is an engineer to have him assess the damages we have in the office.

The most affected area is located south from Valparaiso, and at this moment, we are in alert of tsunamis. The islands in front of Valparaiso are being affected by the high waves.

Henry, we strongly believe that our CFCA families are very scared, without running water, power or communications, but we are hopeful that they are well. As soon as we receive more news, we will notify you. We hope to have a steadier channel of communication, because we won’t be able to go back to our office for some time.

Thank you for your concern. I will be in touch.

Sara

Read the news story

I called down to Nicaragua and spoke with Adolfo, who is with the walkers. He’s driving one of the vehicles and is the technical expert. The tsunami warning covers an extensive area including Central America. Aldolfo said that they had heard the news earlier this morning when they started walking. They are only 15 or 20 kilometers from the coast so they are keeping an ear to the news stations. They aren’t overly concerned for their safety, but are aware of the warning. I let him know that the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center shows that a tsunami has been generated but doesn’t specify where in the Pacific. He sends greetings to all.

I arrived back in Honduras on Jan. 16, 2010, just in time to join up with the Santa Rosa project’s portion of Walk2gether. After volunteering with the Santa Rosa project for 10 months, I was reassigned to Hermano Pedro project in Guatemala in June for six months because of the political crisis that had erupted in Honduras. Thankfully, everything went smoothly with the elections, and I was able to return to Honduras.

I was greeted by the familiar faces of the Santa Rosa staff, members of the Guatemalan staff and many sponsored individuals and their families. One woman in particular stuck out to me, Olga. I have known Olga since I began volunteering in September 2008. Olga has been a part of the CFCA family for seven years and has three children who are sponsored. I came to know Olga because she was always in the office sweeping, washing dishes, making coffee: she wanted to do whatever she could to show her gratitude to CFCA.

I talked to Olga while we were walking, and I enjoyed having the opportunity to spend time chatting with her after my long absence. The participating walkers from the CFCA communities were walking a maximum of 10 kilometers, so I was surprised when Olga continued walking after the others had stopped. Yet, the next day, and the next, and everyday throughout the week, Olga was walking with us.

As the days passed, it became very clear how important this walk was to Olga. She began suffering greatly from the varicose veins in her legs. The veins became very swollen, and there was concern of them rupturing. However, Olga kept walking, limping along and overcoming her pain. Even when we were finally able to convince her to ride in the support vehicle for a bit, she would not stay in the car for more than 10 or 15 minutes. When I had the opportunity to ask her why she didn’t want ride, she shared with me that this walk was something she was doing as an offering for her children’s sponsors, whom she has never met.

The walk was something she wanted to do to thank the sponsors who have helped change her family’s life. Olga said that without CFCA and the sponsors, her children would be unable to go to school. She and her husband simply do not make enough money to pay for their children’s educational expenses. Olga herself did not have the chance to attend school because of similar circumstances. For this reason, Olga realizes the great opportunity her children have been given through CFCA to help them move forward in life.

Olga says, “Walk2gether is a walk of love.” It is not only a walk showing the love Bob Hentzen and CFCA have for the people being served in these countries … it is also a walk that sends its love all the way to the sponsors, wherever they may be.

The sponsored members and their families are walking to support Bob and to show their thanks and love to CFCA and their sponsors. Those who participate in the walk are saying CFCA has made a difference in their lives, and they will walk in the hot or cold, up mountains, with blisters and even painful varicose veins as their way of saying, “Thanks for your help” and, “I love you.” Just as Olga has shown us.

Feb. 6, 2010

Dear Ma’am Trisha,

Thank you for the very inspiring message and for sharing my journey with the CFCA. Thank you also for the appreciation, prayers and support of everyone in Kansas and in the projects.

We are now here in Nicaragua and have finished our first 40 kilometers here yesterday. So far, we have walked 1,051 kilometers after crossing the mountainous 575 kilometers of Honduras. It was a great time walking with the Honduran CFCA sponsored families and staff in the projects. I am privileged to meet my co-coordinators and the rest of each project team.

I deeply appreciate your support to the Manila project team as you are constantly communicating with my team.

We received a call from the Philippines last week during the mission awareness trip to Antipolo. It was really a great joy for me to talk with Ma’am Malou (Antipolo project coordinator) and share with them some of my journey and experiences on the Walk. Sir Bob also gave his message to the Philippines team. I believe they are having a wonderful mission awareness trip.

My prayer is that this year’s trip brings hope, joy and life-giving experiences to the sponsors, CFCA families and to all my co-workers in the Philippines. I am very proud to represent them in Walk2gether, and also all of our co-workers in Kansas and in projects around the world. It is very inspiring to walk, as every co-worker of each project that we have visited has requested me to continue walking for them. I am very thankful and will always be appreciative for this great opportunity provided by my CFCA family.

This is all for now. I will be in touch again in the next few days. I hope my emails do not take most of your time. I just want to tell my experiences in this beautiful journey. I would like to add that the Walk, to me, is a healing process of the many challenges in my personal and work experiences, and I am very hopeful that this will surely be a great success for me and for every CFCA community, co-worker and sponsors, as well.

Thank you very much. My best regards to everyone.

Sincerely,

Veron

Walk2gether continues and, step by step, we are overcoming the mountains of Santa Barbara and La Esperanza, walking at an altitude of approximately 9,000 feet above sea level.

Some of the walkers have begun to experience the wear and tear from their efforts, such as blisters and chapped lips; however, their spirit continues, strong and unbreakable.

On Jan. 24, we arrived at the area of La Paz. Because the difficulty of the altitude, mountainous terrain and roads limited our progress, we were unable to cover the full 40 kilometers planned per day. So during our rest day, on Jan. 25, we had to go back and cover the 16 unwalked kilometers accumulated from the prior days.

That very same day we decided to suspend Walk2gether for two days, returning to the road on Jan. 28. The reason for this is that the new president of Honduras will be inaugurated on Jan. 27, and many demonstrations are planned for that day. This is a risky situation for us, as any type of demonstration is viewed as political. The local authorities are mobilizing military troops and police to the same roads where we are walking to prevent protesters from entering Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras.

One little story during our walk: a few days ago, Bob fell while walking on a dirt road. I can report that he suffered no injuries whatsoever. On the contrary, he proved to be in great physical condition, and, at the same time, we discovered that Walk2gether will continue either walking, jogging, running or rolling down the road.

My best to all,

Manuel Pineda
CFCA Santa Barbara Project Coordinator

Jan. 11, 2010

Today the El Salvador mission awareness trip participants and I joined Walk2gether. We didn’t leave at 4 a.m. like the walk team and Bob did. We met them about 15 kilometers in, right around 8:35 a.m.

The 10 of us trickled into the line, meeting some CFCA staff and families for the first time. The morning weather was still slightly chilly from the unseasonably cold night, but the sun was quickly working the chill out of the air.

I didn’t know what to expect when we began the day. I was still trying to decide how to best cover the walk and share it with those who cannot experience it in person. In the end, I just decided to let the walk lead me, and a story would find me. And, a story did find me, many stories in fact.

Take Veron, for example. Veron is the project coordinator for CFCA’s Manila project in the Philippines. She is walking through Central America with Bob, both to represent her country in the walk and also her son, who is unable to walk. When she speaks about her 6-year-old, there’s a soft look on her face that tells me she is not entirely in El Salvador, but also 14 hours away at her home in the Philippines.

Veron overcame many obstacles to participate in the walk with “Sir Bob,” as she calls him, and now she adds a steady, soothing presence to the walk.

“Another 40 kilometers done,” she said at the end of the day.

Then there is Harry, a sponsor from Wisconsin. Harry has met Bob on several mission awareness trips. He is fully committed to CFCA and his sponsored children. I pulled out my audio recorder to document a sponsor’s view of the walk, but he was so choked with emotion before I finished my first question that he only managed to say this:

“This is the biggest thing I have ever done in my life, and Bob does this every day.”

Harry and I spoke several times during the walk and the rest stops, trading stretching tips and chatting about light topics. At the end of the walk, however, he smiled at me with tears in his eyes and said he might not be able to do that interview after all. That’s OK, Harry. Your eyes say it all, anyway.

At the 20-kilometer mark, I spoke briefly with Jose Francisco, a quiet man and the father of four sponsored children. “Which children?” I asked. He pointed at the two children I had just taken a picture of. They were giggling over my notepad, writing their names for me. I told Jose Francisco that I would like a picture of him with his family, meaning the two children. He sadly told me that only four of his 8 children were there. So I took a picture of him with his four children, and his wife and mother-in-law, who were also there, as it turns out. I took several photos of them but the one I like the best is the one in which I caught them laughing with each other. It isn’t perfect – the grandmother’s eyes are closed and Dina isn’t looking at the camera, but you can see the love they have for each other.

The final 10 kilometers of the walk were along a busy, noisy highway. We walked single-file, which gave us time for some internal reflection. I thought about all those I had spoken with through the day, and decided that Bob was right.

Walk2gether really is about the people.

If you’ve read the most recent Sacred Ground (our bi-annual magazine for all friends of CFCA), or looked around the Walk2gether website, you’ve heard about Sticker Sundays. But, just in case you haven’t, let’s re-cap:

On the second Sunday of each month, we encourage our sponsors to wear their Walk2gether sticker, found in the Fall 2009 edition of Sacred Ground. When people ask what the sticker represents, tell them about your sponsored friend and how you are “walking” with your friend through your sponsorship.

This is a great way that we can support the Walk2gether team, and find sponsors for the 789 children, youth and elderly waiting for sponsorship in El Salvador (where Bob is walking this week).

So, this Sunday, put on your sticker and watch for other CFCA supporters wherever you go. You may be able to make a new CFCA friend, and find a sponsor for a waiting child, all at the same time!

Your friends can sponsor through CFCA on our website, or by calling Sponsor Services at (800) 875-6564.

If you would like Walk2gether stickers, please call Sponsor Services at (800) 875-6564.

Upcoming Sticker Sundays
March 13, 2010
April 10, 2010

This is Dec. 31. The first 10k before dawn. Beautiful morning. Full moon. And the interesting thing is that the volcano called Pacaya is in eruption and we’re walking straight towards it. Our reflection: Even the Earth is changing. Even the Earth’s a pilgrim.

Henry Flores [CFCA-El Salvador communications director] is kind enough to bring this recorder and my Flip camera out on the road together with Judy-Anne [CFCA-Kansas communications staff] and Loretta [CFCA-Kansas communications director]. They are filming as we actually go down the road. Everybody’s doing OK. Suresh [Hyderabad, India, project coordinator] has been fighting a fever and is taking a little break in one of the vehicles.

It is amazing to look at this line of volcanoes from Fuego, Agua, Acatenango, Pacaya: the ring of fire. It is just amazing.

Our little poet from last night [Miguel] is now walking with me. And when we reach the first stop he is going to be declaiming another poem that he calls, “The Challenge.” I asked the father a little about the family. There are two other children. It’s an uncle and the dad who teach this little boy these poems and acting.

Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2010

We’re within 4.5 kilometers from the El Salvador border, as of yesterday evening. We will spend today and tomorrow with the community in Jalpatagua, Guatemala. Today was an all-region finalist talent event, and tomorrow a livelihood program showcase.

The walk is going well. A few bumps, but going well. Cristina (Bob’s wife) had three toenails removed, and the camper has a new clutch plate (we have lightened the load considerably)… Everyone’s spirits are very high.

We have had some very hot days and lots of climbs. Some of the walk days stretch from 3:30 a.m., when we board the vans, to 7 p.m., when we reach the 40 kilometer mark after dark. The third 10 kilometers of the day is the most difficult – “the wall,” and sometimes takes twice as long to get through. The enthusiasm is incredible along the road.

In Chiquimulilla we estimate there were 4,000-5,000 CFCA kids, moms, dads and staff on arrival. Yesterday, we had several hundred walkers. The moms, some dads, and children as young as 3, students and elderly are walking significant distances. They seem to understand the difficulty of the walk and its significance.

There are many, many individual stories we’re trying to absorb as we go. One story is that of Stephanie, who is sight impaired, walking 10 kilometers. At one point we were lagging behind the group quite a bit – probably 150 yards, so we decided we should run. I was amazed by her. Many stories like this.

We’ll sign off for tonight and get back on tomorrow. Hope everyone survives the storm up there. We’re having high winds.

Take care all. Greetings from many folks along the road. – Paul

At the end of a hot and dusty day, having reached the 40 km marker, CFCA President and Co-founder Bob Hentzen reflects on the heat, cooling techniques, and inspirational discussions along the route.

Artistic talent runs in Miguel´s family. Many of his relatives are painters, poets and songwriters. His Uncle Fernando, who wrote the poem Miguel recited for the walkers, has been a constant inspiration. Miguel has participated in poetry reading contests and has excelled and won prizes with the help of his Uncle Fernando.

Miguel is named after his father, a 30-year-old construction worker. His mother is Rosa, 27, who works weaving and making traditional Mayan blouses known locally as huipiles (wee-peels). Miguel has two brothers: Kevin, 7, and Luis Fernando, 5.

Interval workouts? Altitude training? Squats, lunges and sprints?





None of the above for CFCA President Bob Hentzen, who plans to walk 20-25 miles a day for 16 months.

Consistency and perseverance are more important than sudden high-intensity, high-repetition workouts.

“My style and training is to calmly and tranquilly be prepared,” Hentzen said. “It’s kind of like in school. You can’t just cram for a test. You’ve got to be studying all along.”





For years, Hentzen has risen early every day to jog or walk, do Tai Chi and stretch. His weight training consists of exercising with the same weight he will carry on the road – about 10 to 15 pounds.





Hentzen is familiar with the physical demands he will face. He walked 4,000 miles from Kansas City to Guatemala in 1996. That was 13 years ago, when he was 60. Though this walk is twice the distance, Hentzen isn’t daunted.





“I feel very good, very energized by the solidarity of the staff and CFCA families,” he said.


About two years ago, Bob Hentzen, CFCA president and co-founder, announced his desire to walk from Guatemala to Chile. Dreams, plans, logistics, organization, hope and physical training started to be in the minds, souls and bodies of thousands of staff members and families around the world.

Time has gone fast and, yesterday, we began Walk2gether, a pilgrimage of 8,000 miles through 12 countries in Central and South America. At 2:30 a.m., hundreds of people were walking around the halls of the CFCA center in San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala, excited for the pilgrimage to start.

Waking up to the sound of the marimba, traditional music of Guatemala, was fantastic, the vibes of the music touched my heart. As Bob took his first step into the walk, fireworks, firecrackers, flowers, smiles and tears were merging all together into a sense of deep spirituality as sponsors, staff members and CFCA families were connecting to the road, connecting to Mother Nature.

What an inspirational message it was for me to see how the families were coming out of their homes or gathering along the highway to greet Bob and the pilgrims, some other ones were walking for miles and miles with us, and when I was looking at the road ahead of us, I only thought of how much more we need to do, of how many more people we need to reach out to.

The first 25 miles of the walk are finished. There are 7,975 more to go, lots of challenges to be faced on the road, thousands of families to meet, and the promise of the Hope for a Family sponsorship program is carrying us and calling all of us involved in CFCA to continue our mission to help create a path to out of poverty and self-sufficiency for our sponsored families, with dignity and love.

Approximately 60 employees met in the community room at 9 a.m. to hear a report about the launch of Walk2gether, pray for the safety of the walkers and then make a short walk of solidarity.

Because a pre-Christmas blizzard left high snow drifts and dangerous ice on sidewalks, the walk was held inside instead of outdoors as originally planned. The Kansas City walkers followed a mile-long route marked by yellow boot prints inside the warehouse that is part of the CFCA headquarters.

The walk in Kansas City occurred at about the time the Guatemala walkers, led by CFCA President Bob Hentzen, were scheduled to make their first stop for breakfast. They began at about 4 a.m. and were due to walk 24 miles on the first day of the journey.

Other CFCA projects and employees held their own symbolic events for the Walk2gether kick-off.

At the Monrovia project in Liberia, staff and sponsored members spent the day volunteering at community hospitals.

In Ecuador, the Guayaquil project hosted solidarity walks 10 kilometers in length in areas where they have sponsored members.

The Bluefields subprojects in the northeast corner of Nicaragua will have a night vigil, where families, sponsored members and staff will join together in prayer. Throughout the duration of the walk, they will hold morning prayers and ask God to give both physical and spiritual strength to the walkers and to all of the families who will accompany them on this journey.

One employee, Jerry Gladbach of the Child Services department in Kansas City, made his own show of support for Walk2gether. He strapped cleats onto winter boots and walked 1-1/2 miles to work over snow and ice.

“I’m trying to be in solidarity with the walkers,” Gladbach said.

During the community meeting in Kansas City, CEO Paco Wertin led a prayer of blessing for the walk and its participants.

“Bob’s walk of unity unites all cultures, genders and creeds,” Wertin said. “It’s a way that helps us hear the cry of those living in poverty. He is carrying a message that you are not alone. Because they walk, we walk.”

Visit Walk2gether.org to learn more about why Bob is walking.

You can also send messages of support and encouragement that Bob will share with the families of sponsored members and the CFCA staff in the communities he visits.

On Dec. 29, CFCA President Bob Hentzen will embark on Walk2gether, an 8,000-mile, 16-month journey through 12 countries in Latin America.

Excitement and anticipation are building as families and CFCA staff in Guatemala prepare to bid Bob and his fellow travelers “Buen Viaje.” More than 65 sponsors participating in the mission awareness trip will also be on hand for the launch.

Meanwhile, CFCA staff in Kansas gave Bob an official send-off when he visited the headquarters in late November. Read more here.

Check out the new Walk2gether website, where you can follow Bob on an interactive map, and explore links to his electronic journals and to videos, slideshows and stories about the realities, people and activities in the countries he visits. You can also send messages of support and encouragement that Bob will share with the families of sponsored members and the CFCA staff in the communities he visits.

Walk2gether is a way to help counterbalance the isolation of people living in poverty, and show them that someone cares. The walk will help build community and strengthen the bonds of unity between CFCA’s sponsored members, sponsors and staff. It will also symbolize and promote the unity of countries, races, languages, genders and creeds. Visit Walk2gether.org to learn more.

Read more about the the solidarity walk.

Bob receives the wooden walking stick he used on the 4,000-mile walk in 1996 from Kansas City to Guatemala. The walking stick has been on display in the CFCA headquarters.

CFCA staff give Bob a blessing of safety and support.

More than 60 CFCA employees accompanied Bob in a walk along Southwest Boulevard in Kansas City, Mo.

Guatemalan staff members and CFCA families organized the solidarity walk as a way to kick off preparations for Bob’s walk to Chile, which is set to begin Dec. 29, 2009. The route Bob will travel will weave through 12 countries (see below for a list) in Central and South America and is scheduled to conclude in April 2011.

During the solidarity walk, the 12 countries were represented by their national flag along the three-mile trek.

We hope you’ll enjoy this video clip of the solidarity walk.

Bob will be walking through Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela and Chile, although not necessarily in that order. The official route is still being finalized.

The purpose of the walk is to facilitate the building of community and strengthening of the bonds of solidarity among our CFCA families, sponsors and co-workers. Bob will use this walk to thank the families for the inspiring example of their daily walk, and tell them that we love them. He hopes to help counterbalance some of the isolation of poverty and offer the poor a sense of identity with the CFCA community.

“On my journeys, I find that CFCA truly walks with the poor and enables many people of good will to do the same,” Bob said.

In 1996, Bob walked more than 4,000 miles from Kansas City, Kan., to Guatemala. His upcoming walk will continue that trek.