Walking the talk

Deirdre Newman

He wasn’t sure exactly where he would start or how long it would

take him to finish.

For Nick Della Valle, walking across the country was a simple

matter of faith.

Della Valle, 55, walked 3,300 miles in about a year -- “100 miles

for every year Jesus walked the earth” -- in order to spread the

Gospel of Jesus Christ. Dressed in biblical garb as the character

Zacchaeus from the New Testament, he walked to inspire the country

with his message of personal freedom and redemption -- two traits

Della Valle personifies.

Standing 4-foot-8, Della Valle said he appreciates the freedom in

this country to be judged by his mind not his stature. He also said

he sees similarities between himself and Zacchaeus -- who he said was

also a “little person” -- because they both were redeemed by Christ.

“I drew parallels with my life and how Jesus came to me,” said

Della Valle, who lives part-time in Newport Beach. “I went out and

made all the mistakes before I realized there was a better way to

live.”

Della Valle said it was God who inspired him to make the

cross-country journey. He and his wife, Lucy, were working at a

church in Garden Grove when he got the calling.

“”I had a long talk with God and asked him, ‘Who am I? What am I

supposed to do? How could you use me?’ ” Della Valle said. “I don’t

sing, I don’t dance. It came to me, the only thing I was good at was

walking and talking.”

Once he realized his purpose, all that was left was convincing

Lucy.

“Lucy said, ‘happy trails -- see you when you get back,’ ” Nick

said. Finally, a friend convinced her that she was an integral part

of the plan.

Once both of their hearts were set on the walk, the Della Valles

quit their jobs, sold most of their belongings and found a truck with

a fifth wheeler that would help them through their journey. Lucy

drove while Nick walked between 12 and 25 miles a day.

By what they consider another act of divine intervention, they

were guided to start the walk in St. Augustine, Fla. -- home of the

country’s largest cross. Only one road heads out from the cross, so

they took it, meandering southwest along back country roads.

As Nick Della Valle wandered from town to town -- dressed in

multicolored tunics with matching head pieces and carrying a staff --

curious bystanders often asked him what he was doing. When they

heard, many invited him to come to their church and perform the

35-minute one-man play he does as the Zacchaeus character.

Throughout the trials and tribulations of the journey, Della Valle

said he never once thought about giving up.

“I had heat exhaustion twice, sore feet a lot, but was never at

the point where I said, ‘I can’t,’ ” Della Valle said.

One of his most harrowing experiences happened on Sept. 11, as he

was walking through Rising Star, Texas. Unaware of the terrorist

attacks, he was stopped by local police and told people were

complaining about him. It turned out that Nick’s head piece looked

like a turban and was causing anxiety among locals who took him for

an Middle Easterner. So he wore street clothes for the next week

until President Bush encouraged people to return to their normal

activities. Then he resumed wearing the tunics, but not the head

piece.

“If I took the head piece off, I became a wannabe Gandhi,” he

said. “A simple piece of cloth was the difference between a terrorist

and a holy man.”

Della Valle said the most significant things he took away from the

odyssey were a deeper relationship with God and a chance to get to

know things about his wife in a way he only could while confined to a

“20-foot cubicle.”

“I found out I have a holy wife,” Nick said. “I’m not sure I knew

that before I left. She is clothed in strength and dignity.”

Lucy said the trip renewed her faith in faith.

“I gave up a lot but can’t wait to see what God has in store [for

us],” she said. “It’s exciting.”

The Della Valles are now working on a Community Walk in Huntington

Beach in October. The 10-kilometer walk -- not a run, as Della Valle

was quick to point out -- is geared to get Christians of different

denominations to talk to each other.

“They all meet on Sundays in different places,” Nick said. “They

have like interests, but they never get to meet each other.”

On Tuesday, as the Della Valles readied to head down to San Diego

to donate their truck to another ministry, two teenage boys

approached and peppered them with a barrage of questions about their

cross-country walk.

After hearing Della Valle’s answers -- like he burned 13 pairs of

sneakers, but only lost three calories -- the teens were awestruck.

“It’s an amazing accomplishment,” said Anthony Hamilton of El

Toro. “I would never, ever walk across the country. I’m lazy.”

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers education. She may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at deirdre.newman@latimes.com.