Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Carrying a 75-pound cross while walking the streets of major cities means more to Nick Schindler than meets the eye.
For the past year, the Virginia native has been walking cities in Oregon, Idaho and now Utah in an effort to bring attention to homelessness, while also spreading a message of Jesus Christ. Schindler plans to walk in each state, while assisting people experiencing homelessness with donations and by working with local municipalities to facilitate successful transitions out of homelessness for some.
He knows firsthand what it is like to live on the streets and said his mission is as personal as it is universal.
"My wife and I (with whom he travels) have both experienced homelessness," he told KSL.com. "I experienced homelessness from the time I was 18 until I was 24 or 25. If you've ever fought with homelessness, it is the most gruesome fight that you will ever have. When you're that person on the side of the road flying a sign saying, 'Anything helps, God bless,' that is the most humiliating thing that you will ever have to do in this life.
"It is the lowest of the lows because it's so hard for the average person to be able to ask for help, and that place (on the side of the road) is the last place you'll get help. You'll get drinks thrown at you. I've had people throw hard-boiled eggs at me, yell at me to 'Get a bleeping job.'"
Schindler acknowledged the years during his homelessness were different because there were far fewer outreach programs than there are now. Even so, he said, in his travels he has found a rising younger demographic experiencing what it's like to live on the streets. And, as someone who was young and homeless, he described how difficult it was to get out of that cycle.
"Let's say that a homeless person wants to work (and many of them do) but you don't have a place to sleep. You don't have a place to shower. You don't have an address to put down on that application. You don't have a phone number because you can't afford a phone bill. Good luck getting people to hire you," he explained.
Schindler went on to talk about a manager at a Subway in Florida who took a chance on him by giving him a job many years ago. That was his first ticket out, and it allowed him to get more jobs and build a life where he was self-sufficient. One of those jobs was working construction. He said it was during one particular construction job where he had two leftover pieces of wood that he said sent him on the very path he is on now.
Carrying the cross
Schindler hasn't always been a Christian, but said he "found Jesus later in life" following a series of extremely low moments. One was, of course, experiencing homelessness. Others, he said included a difficult childhood, subsequent drug abuse and resulting health challenges that nearly took his life at a young age. He said, as much as he wanted to give up on himself, "Jesus never gave up on him."
The Bible and its teachings resonated with him, particularly stories about Jesus Christ administering to the less fortunate and carrying the cross.
When he saw those two pieces of wood while working construction that day, Schindler knew he needed to spread love and compassion to the country's unhoused by bearing a cross, which, to him, signifies bearing one another's burdens.
"I was cutting a piece of juniper when I was hand-customizing shelving for one of our older rigs," he recalled. "As I was putting it together … I kept looking at these two pieces of wood and, no matter what I did, I couldn't turn them into shelves."
Schindler decided to turn the pieces of wood into a cross, with hopes of carrying it across America. At the time of Schindler's epiphany, however, he was recovering from two traumatic car accidents. He said, even with his challenges walking, he started training for the journey ahead.
"It's kind of hard to throw stones when you're carrying a cross," he said. "When I'm carrying the cross, I'm carrying the symbol of love. If we can just grab a portion of that and say, 'Let me release my hands of the stones of judgment and let me just try to understand my neighbor and see if I can help,' we'd all be better off. The love of Christ, I think, is one of the most beautiful things."
More than just walking
Schindler said his goal is to walk many miles a day and he has, at times, walked upwards of 20 miles in one day carrying the 75-pound cross. More than walking, he said, a lot of his time is spent working directly with local agencies to connect the unhoused with reputable organizations with proven records of success.
"My wife and I do mobile ministry for the unhoused across America, serving in encampments where the homeless congregate," he explained. "We get familiar with the services that are on the ground in that city and what their housing situation is like. Then we contact the shelters to see what factors contribute to keeping people homeless, and we go from there."
The love of Christ, I think, is one of the most beautiful things.
– Nick Schindler
Whether his spiritual message is received or not, Schindler hopes the people he encounters feel the same love he was offered in his darkest days.
"Love is the universal language that appeals to people because people desire to be loved and accepted," he said. "To be able to not only share the gospel, but also compel people to be more loving, courteous, kind and sacrificial is a message that has been really resonating with a lot of people along my journey, not just in Oregon, but also in Idaho and then here in Utah."
Schindler will be walking in Utah at least through the rest of June and said he's not sure what state he will walk next — follow his journey on his Facebook page.
