After a family tragedy more than 30 years ago, Michael Wheeler, much like Forrest Gump, started running.

In 1976 in his hometown of Kansas City, Mo., his niece, sister, uncle and a cousin were all murdered.

Rather than mourn, Wheeler said he decided to pick himself up and do the same for others. In April, Wheeler again embarked on a 28-state run that led him to Selma.

“I started by April 1 in Pittsburgh, Kan. and I have been traveling by Greyhound,” he said. “My heart has been touched and that is what kept me going.”

As part of his outreach, Wheeler said he walks or runs about 10 miles each day in the cities he visits spreading the gospel.

Wheeler, an Army veteran, said his teachings have not always been well received. He has been beaten up by drug dealers and stabbed. But, he said he will continue to try to bring joy to the people he visits.

“I’m kind of like Forrest Gump,” he said. “I run to bring people hope.”

In his travels, Wheeler made an appearance on Good Morning America and met President George H.W. Bush in 1989.

This year, with all of the natural disasters, Wheeler said he has seen a greater need to help.

“It’s been really interesting this year with the storms,” he said. “I was in Baton Rouge and they were sandbagging the Mississippi River. I ran through Joplin, Mo. and it was like a war zone.”

No two days are the same, Wheeler said. Each day presents a different set of circumstances and a different approach.

“My days are all different,” he said. “Sometimes I might be around the drug houses and walk around them and pray. Sometimes my day will be riding the bus and talking to people, sometimes it’s a street ministry and others it might just be running through town with my flag and spreading the word.”

Though his days are different, Wheeler said the message is the same.

“My main message this year has been meeting with ministers and telling them not to give up,” he said. “A lot of ministries are giving up and a lot of pastors are quitting. With the economy a lot of churches are closing their doors. I just tell them not to give up.”