Four years ago, in the fall of 2007, I was a senior in high school. My parents and I decided to go to Spain to walk a pilgrimage called the Camino de Santiago as a family retreat that would allow us all to speak to, hear from, and be touched by God with fewer distractions. For an account of that trip, click here. Since my parents were realistic and knew that they could not walk all 500 miles in the short time we had (as it turned out, I couldn't either), but I wanted to try to walk it all, I ended up alone for 16 days. During that time God did some amazing things to me and through me that have stayed in my memory for these four years.
One thing in particular stuck out to me. Despite the Camino being founded 1200 years ago as an opportunity for penitence, self-examination, and a pretty sweet indulgence certificate (if you're into that sort of thing), a lot of people I met seemed spiritually lost or even dead. Certainly many people treat more as an adventure or tourist destination than anything else. One man, three days out from Santiago (the end), told me hopelessly that he had expected something divine to happen. Nothing did, however, so the walking had become nothing more than "a personal weight-loss program." I know he is not alone in his sentiment. With tens of thousands of pilgrims walking the path each year, the Camino is now a huge harvest field for the Gospel.
For three years after I returned I daydreamed about returning, perhaps as a hostel-owner to serve pilgrims and act as a chaplain or even missionary to the pilgrims. As my sophomore year of college came to a close and I thought about what I was going to do after college, it clicked. Far from being a daydream, this vision was something that I could actually do! My parents confirmed it when I told them and they reacted not by getting upset that their youngest child and only son wanted to go overseas, but by excitedly advising me on practical steps to make this vision happen.
One of the steps (no pun intended) that we agreed upon was that I need to walk the Camino again, not only as a pilgrim this time but as a scout. Where would be a good place to start what I hope will one day be a network of Jesus-loving, Bible-believing, evangelical hostels and churches on the Camino? This summer, from May 16 to June 27, I will walk the Camino once more to prayerfully discern the answer to this question. As often as I can I will update this blog with whatever God tells me is important for you readers to know.
So what's with the title of the blog? For one thing, I am certain that this trip is completely in God's will for my life, so I am walking in his love. I also happen to know that at least two churches and many of my friends will be interceding in prayer for me every step of the way, so I am walking in the love of the saints. Finally, I am walking out of love for God and my fellow pilgrims and a desire to perform the ultimate service by proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ not only in the future but during this trip.
So reader, whether you know me or not, however you heard about this blog, please pray for me. Pray that I will meet like-minded servants of Christ on the way with whom I can network in the future. Pray that I will receive visions of where God wants to start this ministry. Pray that God will lead me in ministering to my fellow pilgrims every day, whether it is simply by providing friendly company to a lonely extrovert, treating blisters (everyone has them, not everyone has the proper tools to treat them), or even laying out the Gospel message. Pray that God will convict me of my own sins and shortcomings and heal me of them. Pray however you feel led.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, and I hope that when the time comes you will read about my experience and be blessed by it. God bless!
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