Pastor completes 1,376-mile prayer tour

PORT ANGELES — A Port Angeles pastor this summer traveled more than 1,300 miles via bike, kayak and foot around Washington praying and raising money for orphans and widows.

The Rev. Joe DeScala, director of Mended church in Port Angeles, set off on the 1,376-mile trip along the perimeter of the state June 24 and returned home July 27.

The idea for the trip came after his 46-year-old cousin died suddenly in October, leaving behind a wife and five children.

Around his neck for the entire trip was a cross containing his cousin’s ashes and engraved with his cousin’s name, which added extra meaning for the journey, DeScala said.

The goal of the trip was to raise $10,000 for the church’s new Orphans and Widows fund, $5,000 of which went toward funding the trip. The rest went to the fund.

He raised $10,098, just past his goal.

“When we started the Orphans and Widows fund, it was to raise awareness for those who experienced loss,” he said. “Everywhere we stopped we would have that conversation with people. A lot of people were really touched by it.”

DeScala tried to have someone with him at all times on his journey.

Friends and others ran, biked and kayaked alongside DeScala as he prayed.

“It was apparent as I was cruising and praying, this was a team effort,” he said, adding the highlight of the trip was seeing the community get involved with the project.

When he returned to Port Angeles, he learned of the recent deaths of Sequim resident Robert Streett and his eldest son, Robby Streett, who were involved in a head-on-crash while traveling on U.S. Highway 160 in Colorado. Robert’s wife, Josslyn, and youngest son, Sawyer, survived.

He saw the tragedy as an opportunity to disperse money from the Orphans and Widows fund, he said.

“We were brought a need that was completely what this fund was for,” he said. “Our hearts break for them, but we’re glad we are able to help.”

The trip was far from easy and was a test of his endurance.

He spent 1,126 miles on bike, 118 miles kayaking and 132 miles running.

Among the most difficult miles for DeScala was when he was kayaking the Columbia River, he said.

He said for three of four days he battled horrendous headwinds on the river and was kayaking about half as fast as he had hoped.

“It was a pretty amazing physical endeavor, and I could feel the prayer and love being sent my way to accomplish it,” he said.