This pilgrimage began for me with the decision to take four weeks off from work. I have never been away from my business for more than two weeks in my entire career. To relinquish control and trust that things will be okay is a major change and challenge for me. I am thankful to my business partner Ken for his encouragement to do this and for our employees who can handle things well while I am gone.
Once I moved past the concerns about leaving the office for this period of time, I started to focus on the reasons that walking the Camino appeals to me. First and foremost is a deep desire to spend quiet time with God and with my family. Too often my spiritual life and family life get lost in the endless hustle and bustle of each day. I hope to deepen my relationship with God and learn to hear Him no matter the circumstances. While over-working through the years, I have neglected deepening my relationships with Helen and Hunter. My desire for our time together is to be able to share our deepest hopes and dreams for and with each other in ways that are not possible with only little snippets of time. Also, Hunter will be leaving for college next fall and I am thankful to have so much time together before he leaves. I wish that I could have similar time with our daughters and son-in-law.
The idea of walking the Camino also appeals to my sense of adventure. I have never done anything like this before. To know only the starting point and date and the ending point and date, and not have preplanned every day in between is wonderfully freeing. I am excited that we can wake up and ask God what to do each day. I want to learn to appreciate each day and to live in the present rather than in the past or the future. The simplicity of walking a path daily through beautiful country as many men and women have done before me unencumbered by a lot of stuff draws me. I must admit however, that I am still challenged by the thought of walking long distances for 25 days straight. I am trusting God to show us the pace He has for us.
People from all over the world walk the Camino. Everyone on the Camino is looking for God, whether they know it or not. I look forward to meeting some of them and being able to share my personal story of life with Jesus.
Finally, to all my family and friends who are reading this, please pray for us. Specifically, that we will be transformed through this experience into the people God desires us to be.
Buen Camino,
Wick
Friday, September 14, 2007
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Helen
When God draws us to Himself, he calls us to a pilgrimage – one that lasts for the remainder of our lives here. Only when our physical bodies cease to live do we truly arrive home.
Our departure date for Europe hasn’t arrived, but my Camino experience began months ago. It has been a call to focus on God and reexamine everything in my life in light of His relationship with me: clean out, sort out, rethink my possessions, my time, my relationships.
What I’m learning is that I can let even God’s life callings distract me from this Lifelong Pilgrimage, so the opportunity to set out on a literal pilgrim trail for 30 days appeals to that part of me that longs to be closer to God.
This will not be a retreat to monastic solitude. Sometimes we will walk with others, sometimes we will walk alone. Whether we know it or not, all of us on the Camino seek God. The forgiveness, healing, unconditional love, wholeness, or oneness with our Creator people seek is what God uses to bring them to this pilgrimage. Some of us on the Camino will already be in a relationship with Him, some will meet Him as they walk, and some will sense an irresistible force that will prepare them to hear His next whisper of love. What a privilege to walk with all those God has brought here at this point in time. Perhaps He will work through us all, the community of the Camino, to testify to His love for us to one another. By His grace we will be open to give and receive.
We walk in the literal footsteps of saints known and unknown to us. Their devotion and faithfulness to His call sanctify this path. May He grace us with His presence in a special way here, there and forevermore as we journey on our Camino and on our Lifelong Pilgrimage with Him.
God’s grace and peace,
Helen
Our departure date for Europe hasn’t arrived, but my Camino experience began months ago. It has been a call to focus on God and reexamine everything in my life in light of His relationship with me: clean out, sort out, rethink my possessions, my time, my relationships.
What I’m learning is that I can let even God’s life callings distract me from this Lifelong Pilgrimage, so the opportunity to set out on a literal pilgrim trail for 30 days appeals to that part of me that longs to be closer to God.
This will not be a retreat to monastic solitude. Sometimes we will walk with others, sometimes we will walk alone. Whether we know it or not, all of us on the Camino seek God. The forgiveness, healing, unconditional love, wholeness, or oneness with our Creator people seek is what God uses to bring them to this pilgrimage. Some of us on the Camino will already be in a relationship with Him, some will meet Him as they walk, and some will sense an irresistible force that will prepare them to hear His next whisper of love. What a privilege to walk with all those God has brought here at this point in time. Perhaps He will work through us all, the community of the Camino, to testify to His love for us to one another. By His grace we will be open to give and receive.
We walk in the literal footsteps of saints known and unknown to us. Their devotion and faithfulness to His call sanctify this path. May He grace us with His presence in a special way here, there and forevermore as we journey on our Camino and on our Lifelong Pilgrimage with Him.
God’s grace and peace,
Helen
Hunter
The Camino de Santiago is a 1200-year-old pilgrims’ trail across Spain to the fabled resting place of St. James. The completion of the last 100 kilometers is rewarded by a certificate that supposedly gets pilgrims out of half their Purgatory sentence. However, my parents (Wick and Helen) and I are going for the journey itself. God is gradually revealing the full impact of the trip to us.
When my parents first told me about the trip, my first thought was “Wow, we’re going to be in really good shape!” Sure enough, we’ve been getting as ready as we can by walking the Black Creek bike trail or going to the YMCA to use the treadmills (yes, in our packs!) Most recently, I went all the way down to Black Creek and back (16 miles), just a little under the average daily mileage we’ll need to walk the entire Camino in 25 days.
Another thought was “This will be a great opportunity to practice my Spanish!” I’ve been taking Spanish classes since fourth grade, but I have yet to truly think in Spanish. Though I have met a few people besides my teacher to speak with, I’ve never been immersed in the language. As far as immersion is concerned, this is the chance of a lifetime.
Further reflection revealed that the pilgrimage will be a distraction-free time to talk and listen to God. A month of quality time with Him is an exciting prospect for me, because I need His discernment for some decisions I have to make in the coming months. As a high school senior, I don’t have much longer to make a final choice about where I want to go to college. Also, over the past year God has given me the idea that He wants me to write, and I have been getting a few ideas for stories, but whenever I sit down to act on those ideas, I get side-tracked with something else. I’m hoping a month away from distractions will cure me of my tendency to give in to them.
Until a couple of weeks ago, I was only thinking of the benefits God would bring to my life through this trip. A recent sermon given by my pastor, Dr. Jon Shuler, however, opened my mind and eyes to the incredible ministry opportunity on the Camino. Dr. Shuler referred to the trail as a mission field, and through subsequent discussions with him and thought on my own I realized that everyone who walks the Camino is looking for God, whether they know it or not. Men and women from all over the world will be walking with us, consciously or unconsciously for the same reason we are, and what an exciting possibility it is that I might have the chance to help even one of them find what they are looking for!
This trip promises to be the most memorable experience of my life so far. I know that all three of us will take something away from it, and I look forward to sharing our memories with you all. God bless
- Hunter
When my parents first told me about the trip, my first thought was “Wow, we’re going to be in really good shape!” Sure enough, we’ve been getting as ready as we can by walking the Black Creek bike trail or going to the YMCA to use the treadmills (yes, in our packs!) Most recently, I went all the way down to Black Creek and back (16 miles), just a little under the average daily mileage we’ll need to walk the entire Camino in 25 days.
Another thought was “This will be a great opportunity to practice my Spanish!” I’ve been taking Spanish classes since fourth grade, but I have yet to truly think in Spanish. Though I have met a few people besides my teacher to speak with, I’ve never been immersed in the language. As far as immersion is concerned, this is the chance of a lifetime.
Further reflection revealed that the pilgrimage will be a distraction-free time to talk and listen to God. A month of quality time with Him is an exciting prospect for me, because I need His discernment for some decisions I have to make in the coming months. As a high school senior, I don’t have much longer to make a final choice about where I want to go to college. Also, over the past year God has given me the idea that He wants me to write, and I have been getting a few ideas for stories, but whenever I sit down to act on those ideas, I get side-tracked with something else. I’m hoping a month away from distractions will cure me of my tendency to give in to them.
Until a couple of weeks ago, I was only thinking of the benefits God would bring to my life through this trip. A recent sermon given by my pastor, Dr. Jon Shuler, however, opened my mind and eyes to the incredible ministry opportunity on the Camino. Dr. Shuler referred to the trail as a mission field, and through subsequent discussions with him and thought on my own I realized that everyone who walks the Camino is looking for God, whether they know it or not. Men and women from all over the world will be walking with us, consciously or unconsciously for the same reason we are, and what an exciting possibility it is that I might have the chance to help even one of them find what they are looking for!
This trip promises to be the most memorable experience of my life so far. I know that all three of us will take something away from it, and I look forward to sharing our memories with you all. God bless
- Hunter
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Camino de Santiago
We'll be starting just barely in France (that's the orange country, if you were wondering) in St. Jean-Pied-de-Port, which is 798 km. (488 m.) down the trail from Santiago. For those of you who are curious, that yellow country is Portugal.
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