| | |  Americas & Beyond | October 2009 
Mexico-Bound Man Carries Cross through US
 Erin McGrath - Times Dispatch
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October 03, 2009
| | The cross rolls on wheels and has padding for where Helling's shoulder meets the wood. His small duffel bag and a donated tent are strapped to the bottom of the cross. | |
Walking from Maine to Mexico is one thing, but doing it while shouldering a cross is something else altogether.
That's the goal for Tom Helling, who was more than three months into his trek this week when it brought him through Nelson County along U.S. 29.
He was hard to miss along the highway, carrying a handmade wooden cross that weighs about 100 pounds and stands taller than he does. Helling said he is doing the walk to "remind people about Jesus."
"I know that even a nonbeliever knows what this cross means," he said. "If that puts Jesus in their head for a second, he can be there for an eternity."
Helling, of Tucson, Ariz., left Nelson on Wednesday morning with Joe Mathieu of Bangor, Maine, who is walking with Helling for two weeks.
Helling began his journey June 8 in Bangor, where he met Mathieu.
In May, Helling left his business in Tucson, flew to his brother's house in Milwaukee and built the cross. He then traveled to Bangor by bus to start his journey with nothing but $20 in his pocket and some clothes.
"I was scared to death," he said.
The cross rolls on wheels and has padding for where Helling's shoulder meets the wood. His small duffel bag and a donated tent are strapped to the bottom of the cross.
Along the way, he has encountered well-wishers and the curious. His cross is perhaps the best indication of the attention he has drawn -- it is covered with signatures and words of inspiration from people he has met along the way.
Helling said he has traveled with the cross for more than 111 days and has had to camp out only three times. Every other night, he has been provided with a place to stay or people have donated money or paid for motel rooms for him.
"People have been awesome," Helling said.
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