The Rev. Phil Epperson planned his cross-country prayer trip the night he was jolted out of a deep sleep by a message from God, asking him to pray for America.

Epperson said God can speak to him and through him. Epperson said he believes, deeply and certainly, if he does as God asks, God will protect him and his country.

Epperson's wife insisted on the RV.

"This is not the way I would have planned a trip," Vicki Epperson said resignedly, gesturing toward a stack of atlases, cartons of batteries and cables for a digital camera, the very magnitude of the planning exhausting her. "It's a lot to do."

The 20,000-mile trip, which will begin Saturday, will take the couple to state capitals across the country. They'll fly to Honolulu from Phoenix, Epperson said.

The trip will begin Sept. 11 in Springfield and end a year later in Washington, D.C.

They'll tow a small car behind the RV. Vicki has been calling state capital police officials, securing permits to speak on state property.

The couple, and whoever they get to come out to meet them, will recite seven prayers, including the Lord's Prayer. They'll play taps and honor military veterans. They'll blow a shofar, a horn used in the Jewish faith to mark times of repentance.

BY ALLISON HANTSCHEL

Couple embarking on 20,000-mile prayer vigil

September 10, 2004

Daily Southtown