PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — A boulder crushed a Phoenix pastor who was mountaineering for charity in 2020. The hike ended up elevating tens of millions for the victims of Warren Jeffs’ polygamy in Colorado Metropolis. His daughter completed the journey in 2020, and now, the pastor is near ending it, too.
For 3 weeks, Dream Metropolis Church Pastor Luke Barnett’s objective was to achieve 300 miles, ending the try of the Arizona Path. It’s an 800-mile trek stretching throughout Arizona to the Utah border to the Mexico Border. Arizona’s Household caught up with the pastor, who was being transported to and from the path for every leg of the journey.
“My dad didn’t elevate me to be a quitter. We have now a little bit grit in us to complete what we begin,” stated Pastor Barnett. Again in September 2020, when the charity hike began, the objective was to lift cash for the church’s effort of paying off buildings in Colorado Metropolis to help victims of Warren Jeffs cult.
In the course of the first hike on the 500-mile mark, a boulder shifted and commenced to cost forward towards Barnett’s mountaineering companion, his daughter Annalee Matchett, whereas they hiked down. “Instinctively, I assumed, oh my goodness, that is going to crush my daughter. So I simply pushed her out of the way in which, pondering I might additionally get out of the way in which, however it caught me on my again. It was an extended flat boulder and it slid down on prime of me,” stated Barnett.
Nevertheless, his daughter was in a position to pull him from beneath the boulder. “The way in which the boulder landed, it was a godsend. It was a teeter-totter so I didn’t have to drag very exhausting to get him out from beneath,” stated Matchett.
Matchett completed the 2020 hike whereas her dad recovered within the hospital — a narrative that went viral and raised $2.5 million to assist the victims in Colorado Metropolis. “These individuals up there are particular. There are not any different individuals I’d fairly be, he’d fairly be doing this for. They’re resilient, they’re not wanting on the previous, they’re searching for the longer term,” stated Matchett.
Resilient can be a phrase used to explain her dad, whose 2022 journey raised an extra $300,000 for these victims. He’s additionally slated to complete the race subsequent week. “It was necessary for me personally to get this carried out,” stated Barnett.
The pastor is predicted to complete his journey on Monday. He has eight miles left, and the end line is on the boulder that modified his life. In case you’d like to assist, you’ll be able to click/tap here.
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