Wrapping up: An end to an epic and long journey

Going from where I left of last, we were on the road for the last part of our journey. We parked the camper right opposite the shrine of St. Anne. What a privledge! Getting to visit such a beautiful church with such a large relic of st. Anne's (her arm) was such a treat! I volunteered to do the night shift for the very last week of the walk. We set out to walk one side of the St. Lawrence, only to realize that it would be better to walk the other side of it . We counted our kilometeres and set out on the side that had the shrine of St. Anne. We really pushed it. One of the hills was what seemed to be a 70 degree incline. It took me 20 minutes to cross that short stretch, which would have normally taken me 5 minutes on a straight road! The hills in Quebec have really sharp inclines but they don't go up for very far, unlike the rockies which don't have so much of an incline but go on for many many kilometers. Quebec also seemed to have some great city and lake views, ski runs and mountains. It was starting to look a whole lot like BC again.

The next day felt miserable after being up all night. I kept looking for an opportunity to sleep. We went for mass at the shrine of St. Anne's again. Just when I thought I was going to catch a wink, I was told that we were set to do the day walk too. Since this would be our very last walk, I accepted the offer. I reached a point where I did not sleep for so long (over 30 hours) that I almost did not feel sleepy again. We did one 6 man relay and because we aimed to catch the evening ferry from St. Simione to Rivere de loop, we did not do any more. So, we officially ended our walk in Bay St Paul in Quebec (about 100 km east of Quebec city). There you have it, a trek from Vancouver, BC to Bay St. Paul, QC about 6200 km. I sure was ready to rest those feet! We made it through the cold windy waters of the St. Lawrence in a ferry that lasted an hour. We found a campground almost right away. I was put up in a tent outside in colder conditions. That did not seem to matter. I slept like a rock after being awake for more than 40 hours straight! Our highway walking was officially over!

We drove the next day from Riviere de Loop to Ottawa. I drove for most of the way, a trip (with stops) of about 9 hours. The next day was our big official finish at parliament hill. We did a 10 km trek through the city of Ottawa. We initally got a lot of pro life reaction, but once we got in town we got a mix of both. Our finish line experience was quite something! About 40 people clapping for us with a welcome sign. Among the distinguished guests included Archbishop Pendergrast of Ottawa and MP Pierre Lemieux's wife.

They had a little reception for us and we were all given "congratulations" helium baloons. We were made to answer questions. We were served lunch and we had a bit of socializing. Here we got to meet up with Pierre Lemieux.

The crazy rush of Crossroads was not over yet. We rushed back to drop people of at the various parishes in Ottawa. I had a challenging time changing the speach for my parish. Now that the walk was over, we had to change our speach to the past tense and speak of future walks. The response at the walks was moderately generous despite my terrible attempt at changing tenses! When we came home, we had way too much fun with the helium baloons by sucking them and speaking in our funny helium voices. What else do you expect when you give a group of grown up men helium baloons?

The next day I spoke at St. Clements, the traditional parish. It was my first time experiencing a first class high traditional latin mass. So reverent, beautiful and slow. I loved every minute of it. I gave my last speach of the walk at a reception in the basement of St. Clements. I attempted not using my script for the first time. Instead, I added as much personal touch to my speach as I could. The young people at the parish were indifferent. However, we did get some faithful pro-lifers that were curious about our walk.

It's hard to believe that this walk is over. 80 days on the road. 100's of cities. 6200 km. So many arguments. So much of love. First, I just want to thank first of all my fellow walkers. You guys thought me so much about myself. I feel that I have come out of this a different person. Molded in the fire through all the experiences and grown sharp and strong mentally, physically and spiritually. Exactly the reasons why I decided to do this walk. I want to thank all the wondeful pro-life people that hosted us throughout Canada. You guys truly provided a little Oasis for us as we persevered in this hard journey. I want to thank my parents, family, relatives and friends who were there for moral support. Though they could not walk with us phyically, they walked with us spiritually by praying for us. Finally I want to thank the hundreds and thousands of parishoners we met along the way. You prayed for us. You trusted us with your intentions. You supported us financially. Together with your support we can win this war and put an end to this legal holocaust.

Jesus promised us that "the gates of hades (hell) will not overcome it" (church) (Matthew 16). We know that abortion will end. This inhumane killing cannot continue. Until then we will march for life.

Yes, life is a gift and every minute of it is worth living!