Hitchhiking

To be an official dirtbag you must hitchhike at least once in your lifetime. Despite modern myths and folklore, hitchhiking is a safe and free method of travel and a way to encounter new people. People hitchhike for many different reasons which include saving money, lack of a vehicle to travel, to meet new people, to experience something new or to get home after a one way backpacking trip. The reason I hitchhiked was to spread the Gospel.

Hitchhiking isn't always easy and it isn't always hard. I've heard a lot of hitchhiking stories myself and it is safe to say that over time you will encounter something out of the ordinary. For me this was Alexa, the male born hermaphrodite transgender who made many not so subtle passes that he/she would like to "be" with me as soon as possible.

Alexa picked me up on route 10 East outside of Sand Bernardino. This was a difficult road to hitchhike on because it was a freeway with many exit only lanes. What this means is when the right hand lane opens up as exit only for the next mile I will not be picked up for the next mile. This is because I am trying to get a ride with the non-exit traffic which is now driving in the left lanes. I was grateful for any ride I got but most of them were for no more than five miles at a time.

Immediately upon entering Alexa's car he (to avoid confusion let's just call Alexa his born gender which is male) asked the usual hitchhiking questions about me and I picked up a little flamboyancy and assumed he may be homosexual. I mentioned that I was a missionary to rock climbers and one of the reasons I was hitchhiking was to tell people about Jesus. Seemingly ignoring anything I had just said Alexa quickly mentioned that he was born a hermaphrodite, dresses as a female routinely and would begin hormone therapy soon to convert himself into herself. Following this he showed me pictures on his phone of what he looks like as a female.

Since I mentioned God and Jesus he asked me why God made him both male and female. I mentioned that whether we are born with or without defect we are made to glorify God and God alone. Everything we are is a resource to boast in the Lord. My answer went right over his head because he immediately went into a story about how a Christian pastor or preacher had some sort of sexual relation with him. I soon realized that nothing I said was getting through. He was merely using my words to transition into something sex related. He began asking over and over if I would ever "do anything" with someone I just met. Or, "If I thought someone was really sexy wouldn't I just want to be with them?"

I had mentioned previously that I was married with four kids but that didn't stop him. His lust and desire was controlling everything about him. He would try and try to convince me that "being" with strangers was a common thing to do. Every time he posed the question, "If I thought someone was really sexy wouldn't I just want to be with them?" I would say no with a straight face. He would rephrase it in some way or form and resubmit his query to me, but I would simply say no and point him to God's law. He asked me why and I would tell him that I follow God's moral code and we should all do the same.

In the end he could only drive me a few miles before he had to get off of the highway. When he stopped to let me out he pitched one last effort to indulge in his sinful desires. He decided to lay it on the line, "Do you know why I picked you up? It's because I think you're super sexy and I want to be with you. Do you know what I'm saying?" This was followed by his hand gently falling on my arm. With a straight face I picked up his hand and moved it back on his side of the car. He pulled the upset card next, "Aww no, I can't believe you did that. That hurts my feelings. Are you serious? I find you very sexy." Followed again with another hand strategically placed on my arm, and again I politely picked it up and moved it away. I continued with great speed to say goodbye, get my bag and get out of there. My next ride came a few minutes later and it took me all the way to Idyllwild.

So, I now have a crazy hitchhiking story to tell for generations. Though, regardless of said company, doing the work of the Lord was successful. I encountered five fresh souls to pour out the words of God into.

Next stop? Possibly hitchhiking to Lander, Wy for the International Climbers festival. We'll see what God has planned.