After praying in front of a statue of Saint Joseph and dedicating the “caravan” to him, we left the TFP headquarters in Spring Grove, Penn on August 26. He is the protector of the family and is now our special protector too.
Our morale is high. As we left in the van it seemed surreal to many that the date of the tour, or “caravan”, as we call it, had come so soon. Preparations and planning were lengthy and exhausting.
Our destination was Hudson, Ohio, a 332-mile trip. After one hour on the road, all were sleeping save the driver and navigator. Late that night we finally arrived in Hudson, where a family very kindly put us up for the night.
Next morning, the Saint Joseph Traditional Marriage Caravan continued west. Stopping only for fuel and food, we covered a flat and uneventful 694 miles to reach a fantastic campground overlooking a lake in Jester Park, Iowa. As daylight faded, the crew quickly divided into teams to set up camp. Under clear skies all feasted on steak, mashed potatoes, broccoli and the surrounding beauty.
After the last lanterns were put out one member remarked, “Strange. The stars seemed to have disappeared.” At about 2:00 AM, we awoke to the reason why: a stunning display of lighting from an incoming storm. Suddenly, the strong winds began blowing rain into the tent from unpredictable angles. As one sleepless resident tried to close a small flap, another current attacked the exposed side of the tent. “It’s going! Grab the tent!” a voice cried as many scrambled to free themselves from sleeping bags. One person grabbed a pole, but it separated from the now airborne tent. Only a nearby picnic table was able to stop it from flying into the lake.
Soon the runaway tent was anchored down and the once neglected wall was quickly added. After laughing at the comical timeline to disaster, we prayed to Saint Joseph for protection and returned to our wet cots. Soon we will be in California.
Saint Joseph, pray for us!
How to Support the Caravan
If you wish to support this vital endeavor with a gift, please click below.
If you would like to make your contribution by mail, please send a check payable to TFP Student Action and mail it to:
TFP Student Action
1358 Jefferson Rd
Spring Grove, PA 17362
We’ve already traveled over 3,000 miles for traditional marriage and it takes some $107.00 to fill our van’s gas tank. Thank you for considering a gift to this cause. God bless you!