I have never heard of The Way of St. James until I was listening to my brother and uncle talk about wanting to go. Well, it wasn't too long after that that I saw the movie "The Way". This movie really showed a spiritual of various people. It peeked my interest, so I began look into this pilgrimage. A few hours on the internet and I was hooked--really wanting to go.
It wasn't too long before I was able to find the path that I wanted to take, the amount of time that I needed to be out of the country, and a friend to go with me. At first I was wondering about how I would be able to prepare for such a journey.
- What do I need to take?
- How long would I be gone?
- Is there any special equipment that I will need?
- How much is this going to cost?
- Is it safe?
- Where would I sleep and eat (I am allergic to gluten)?
- How would I get there? What is the best way to get there?
- How much Spanish would I really have to now?
- How long is this pilgrimage?
- How far do I have to walk everyday?
Those anxieties were quickly put to rest when I found an amazing online community of pilgrims--past, present, and future ones--called Camino de Santiago de Compostela. This place has been wonderful. Any question that I have either has been answered or can be quickly answered by the thousands of people ready to reply to my questions. I have spent many hours search the boards trying to find out exactly what I need to take in order to make sure that will have everything possible. Walking/Hiking from Saint Jean Pied de Port to Santiago is a little scary.
My mind was put to rest, as well as my mother's and a few of my friends, when a good friend from church decided that she wanted to go too. Now the trip was for real--no backing out. My mother even made sure that I was trapped into this trip by telling everyone at church about what I was planning on doing. Dirty dog! Just kidding. Candy (my friend) and I have been in constant contact, sharing ideas and tips that we have found to help make our trip a lot easier.
The next step was trying to find out when we were going to make this happen. I needed to make sure that I was finished with graduate school and I was out of work for the summer. This set the date for May 2014! YAY!!!
I am grateful that there are people the know about this journey in order for them to pray about it. God does very special things for people on this pilgrimage and I don't want it to be any different for Candy and I. Therefore, I have committed myself to pray about this--pray that God do something so that I am never the same, my relationship with Him is forever changed, I have a deeper love for Him, and able to see the world and people the way He does. This is one of the things that makes me the most excited--what God is going to do. There is no way that I want to travel hundreds of miles and not come back changed!
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