Christina O'Connor | Special to The Roanoke Times

Pulaski County High School junior Mitch Akers (left), with first-grader Ryan Thompson on his shoulders, and his brother, freshman Drew Akers, wait to start the "Via Dolorosa" walk.

PULASKI -- It's nothing compared with what Jesus Christ suffered.

That's what members of Pulaski's Bread of Life Assembly of God youth group told one another and strangers they encountered Friday as they lugged a 10-foot-tall wooden cross through downtown Pulaski.

The walk, known as the "Via Dolorosa" or "road of suffering," is an annual event for many Assembly of God churches worldwide on Easter weekend to recognize the suffering that Christ endured on the cross.

The Bread of Life Assembly of God youth group, made up of children ages 5 to 17, has participated in the walk for three years. This year, the group's goal was to earn $1,500 in pledged donations to pay for each of its 15 or so children to go to Assembly of God church camp this summer. Any remaining funds will be donated to Assembly of God missionaries overseas.

The group's 10-mile route began at the church on Randolph Avenue and included stops at the B.L.D.G. Phase 2 Inc. mission center, Master Chef, Prayer Infirmary, First National Bank and Boardwine Plumbing and Backhoe, where participants were greeted by staff and often refreshments. The walk took about five hours.

"My feet are killing me already," 10-year-old Megan Rupe said after collapsing on a couch at the mission center.

But "Jesus didn't get no breaks," she reminded herself and her friends.

Jayla Thompson, 17, gave birth to her daughter March 3 but was still determined to make the walk.

"Hopefully people that see us today will go to church on Easter Sunday and dedicate their lives to the Lord," she said.

Thompson, who has participated in the walk all three years, said that response from onlookers was good: Passing cars generally paused and drivers waved, honked and offered encouragement.

Children in the youth group were out of school Friday for spring break.

The youth group's leader, Tammy Thompson, said the children already know the crucifixion story from church and Sunday school. Her father, Marvin Edwards, pieced together the simple wooden cross from boards.

"We just look at it as this is just a little bit of what Christ did for us when he died on Calvary," she said.

"There's just so many that have never heard the gospel," said the church's pastor, the Rev. Mabel Caudill. "We're trying to send the word out so that people's lives can be changed."