If you've seen a man carrying a giant 12-foot wooden cross around the beach in Port Aransas these past few weeks—no, you are not seeing things. Bob "CrossWalker" Hanus from Utopia, Texas has been coming down to Port Aransas during every spring break for the past 12 years to spread his message of positivity and his mission of teaching about Jesus Christ to spring breakers.
“I carry the cross to remind people about the love of Jesus. This is something I’ve been doing since 1993. So, what was that? Oh, 32 years!" Hanus said.
Hanus has been teaching strangers about Jesus Christ for over 30 years, with more than one-third of those years being right here on the beaches of the Coastal Bend.
“It’s about you, having a personal relationship with Jesus, you know," Hanus said.
Hanus has traveled across the United States, and several other countries, carrying his 85-pound wooden cross to remind to teach neighbors about the sacrifices of Jesus Christ.
“I’ve been blessed to walk over 24,000 miles dragging a number of crosses all over the country, and throughout Canada, and Mexico and into Central America," Hanus said. “I’ve actually walked the longest highway in the United States from Ocean to Ocean from Boston, Massachusetts to Newport, Oregon.”
But, Hanus has had his own crosses to bear throughout his life.
“I was addicted to cocaine. And I had an 8-year long addiction to cocaine. And coming back from spring break (at) Daytona Beach Florida, I almost died of an overdose," Hanus said.
“Three years ago, before in August. I was diagnosed with Leukemia and had to go through 14 blood transfusions and a bunch of chemo," Hanus said.
When he is not teaching his mission to strangers, Hanus serves as a volunteer firefighter and EMT up in the Hill Country.
"Everybody needs a savior. And, when I'm working as an EMT, it's usually at a point in someone's life where they're having a crisis. But there's a lot of people out here going through life that are in crisis. And I may not have a medical bag and a stretcher out here, but I have the cross. And the cross is just as, and even more important for a lot of these people to have intervene into their life," Hanus said.
Hanus walks around Port Aransas Beach for about three hours every day for over two weeks straight during the spring break time. Many of the high school and college students receive him very well out at the beach.
“I thought it was really cool that we’re bringing this message out to even places that couldn’t have the best influence people, but it’s also something we need to remember our whole vacation," Madilyn Cummins, a high school student visiting from Austin said.
Hanus hopes to leave his mark in the sand, and on many strangers' hearts as he continues his journey sharing his faith with others.
“I learned that it’s really important to build a relationship with Jesus and to read the bible," Liam Coibion, a high school student visiting from Austin said.
Hanus will be out on the beach every day for three hours between Mile Marker 30 and Mile Marker 33 until March 23.
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