Leighton’s Blog

Today was inspirational Friday. Doris Starling manages a 400 bed shelter in downtown Santa Ana. She has has a heart of gold and has been helping homeless folks for over 30 years. Second photo is of Joseph & Elizabeth who are outreach directors at Village of Hope. Village of Hope is one of Orange County Rescue Mission’s seven transitional housing campuses for men, woman, children and families. I have never seen anything like this campus or organization before. They provide housing, schooling, healthcare, counseling, job training and job placement.  They have a huge donation warehouse, church, cafeteria, mobile healthcare unit and food truck. They gave me toiletries so I could make up more of my own hygiene kits which I handed out in Santa Ana today.  People and organizations like this truly inspire me and encourage me to try to do more. 

My TOP 20 TIPS for a 200 day roadtrip in a 2DR Jeep (82 days so far):  1. Fill gas tank when you are at a 1/4 of tank. If you are in the Yukon, BC, Northwest Territory or Alaska, fill up a half  2. Take out those after market grill inserts. 3. Recalibrate your speedometer for bigger tires.  4. Worry about that cracked windshield when you get back in the States. 5. Keep phones, laptops, InReach, GoPros and other devices charged all the time. 6. Download maps when you have good WiFi. Plan ahead.  7. Practice good hygiene every morning. Duke Cannon Cold Shower Cooling Towels are good.  Brush your teeth! Change your clothes at least every 3 days. Baby wipes are your friend. Use deodorant daily! (Thank you!) 8. Take your time getting on the road in the morning. Allow time for scripture, prayer & breakfast. 9. Use water bottles & travel mugs for coffee. Less money, less trash & you are being a good human. I refill my coffee mug at gas stations or make my own.  10. But

TOP 10 things I couldn’t live without when I’m overlanding, camping, roadtripping or whatever you want to call it...  1) BFGoodrich T/A K02 Tires 2) Garvin Expedition Rack 3) Gaia GPS  4) 12V Tea Kettle 5) USB Rechargeable Visor Fan 6) 12V HotLogic Oven 7) Hizpo Android 9.0 Car Stereo CD DVD Player 8 ) Dual Optima Yellow Top Batteries  9) ARB Refrigerator  10) Sunpie Magnetic Screens/Shades

See I actually have a tent and a bunch of other camping stuff stashed in my roof top bins. I may even try to sleep in the tent tonight. I’m taking a break from driving for a few days and staying put. My fuel budget is getting rather low. #missionforhope #jeep #camp 

Jeep is all packed up again. Will be making my way to San Diego for outreach with Warrior Jeeps on Saturday. I have a few days to explore some National Forest and the coast along the way. Hopefully find some trees & shade to camp. It’s hot!! Hope to stop by Garvin Industries to thank Ron personally for their sponsorship. Some have asked....Why camp in the woods during the week why not hotels? Budget!  Some have asked...Why a Jeep...why not fly? Budget & God told me last fall to do this trip in my Jeep.  Some have asked...why in a Jeep? Would you be following me if I was doing this in a 4 door sub-compact plus God told be to. Some have asked...Why not just do to this at home.  We are already doing this at home. Last fall I started Good Hope Homeless Care.  Good Hope volunteers have been preparing meals for local shelters since the fall. A big part of this trip, besides awareness and care, is research. I hope to take what I am learning now and create programs back home to red

Meet Stan. Sixty-nine year old Stan belted out his own original tune about Jesus and Eric backed him up. Got down to Skid Row around 1PM on Sunday and I set up a little prayer station off the back of my Jeep. Prayed with lots of people and had a few mini services so folks could take communion. People loved the worship music echoing down the streets from my Jeep. I stayed there for most of the afternoon. It was an absolute amazing day! Glad I followed the “prompts” to do this today rather than going to church at Saddleback. I would’ve felt guilty all the way through service. 

Saturday morning’s outreach in Riverside, CA was crazy good. Syndicate Off-Road and their team were & are awesome! We gave out food, water, Beantown Blankets,  hygiene kits, clothing and even freshly baked cupcakes. About 75 people got lots of stuff. We had just the right amount of donations. Thank you team for all your hard work and donations!  After outreach in Riverside I drove into LA by myself so I could see what is going on at  Skid Row  with my own eyes and pray for the people there. I spent several hours with the director of Refresh Spot. Refresh Spot is in the middle of the Skid Row area and their non-profit provides a place in which folks can do their laundry, take showers, use the bathroom and sign up for services.  It was such a blessing to see some light in an area where there is so much darkness. 

Yesterday when I was coming back from Death Valley I almost drove by this cross without stopping. I was “prompted” to turn around and spend some time at it.  Two young children where buried here when they passed away from the plaque in 1847. People leave toys at their grave so I left one of my toy Jeeps. I spent some time in prayer at the cross. I touched the cross and prayed for the children and their family. At the cross I also thanked God for the way He continues to bless me on this trip. I also thanked Him for an amazing opportunity He has given me when I get home in December. I thanked Him for the amazing team He has put around me “For a time such as this”. The love I felt from Him, my family and friends this week was and is crazy, crazy love.  It was a wonderful week but I was totally beat last night so I checked into my hotel a day early. I hit a bunch of national parks this week. Who wants to see photos? 

As sad as it was doing outreach in Salinas & San Jose, CA Tuesday...I was truly blessed. Met John who is originally from Virginia...not only did we have matching shorts...he was a sailor! He has sailed all over the world. Sometimes I wonder about the stories I hear on the streets but John new particulars about places I have been to and races I have been in or photographed. A great guy. We prayed together and he got a bit emotional. Met many nice and very appreciative people Tuesday who blessed me. Thank you Tom Erickson helping to sponsor these stops!  

So I left Lynnfield, MA June 9th. Been on the road 71 days, driven 13,169 miles, I’ve slept in my Jeep 51 nights, 20 nights in hotels, been through 18 states and 3 providences in Canada. But those aren’t the good numbers. We have done outreach in 10 cities and we have given out 336 Beantown Blankets , over 400 hygiene kits and lots and lots of food, water & fruit. All because of your support, encouragement & prayers. Thank you! 20 more cites & 129 days to go. Monday I leave for Los Angles and hope to do out reach in San Jose & Monterey along the way.  🙏 🚙 ⛰ #missionforhope #jeepers #jeeps #givingback #helpingthehomeless

Meet Christian, a 35 year old gentleman I met while we were doing outreach in downtown San Francisco Saturday. Christian is from Detroit and has been in San Francisco for two years.  We spoke for quite a while about lots of things.  I then met Alan a well dressed man in is 60’s who had all his belongs neatly strapped to his suitcase on wheels. Alan told me he was a musician and a comedian and opened for Frank Sinatra and Frank Jr. We talked about big band music and he told me lots of stories of back in the day. Alan even belted out a song for me.  It was a very blessed day and I can’t thank local Jeepers Sharon and AJ enough for helping me find the right places to go in San Francisco help me pass out the donations as well as minister to people.   The best part of the day for me was giving a very skinny lady a blanket, hygiene kit and snacks on my way out of the city. She was in tears and so grateful.  Although the homeless situation is bad in San Francisco, it seems like loc