Holy Ground

So yesterday was a good day. I went for one of my daily walks around town and at about 2:30 I walked through a narrow path up a hill and found a medium-sized and very open field surrounded by a wall with one place over which I could walk. What drew me to enter at all was the fact that in the field and beyond there were yellow flowers galore, which I have associated with God´s presence ever since following them out of exile last time I was here. As I walked toward the middle of the field I also felt I should take my sandals off, so I left them behind and kept walking. It was a very peaceful spot, and I felt sure that the crickets chirping were singing praise to God. I looked around for anything that looked outo f the ordinary and saw a single-stalked flower by itself. I walked over to it and looked around to see other flowers like it sprouting up all over the field.
Here is the interpretation I took away of what I saw in the field. There was nothing built there, and nothing around it but yellow flowers. I took the field to represent both Spain and Léon, because there are so few churches but the Holy Spirit is most assuredly present here. The single flower I took to represent a café and church plant in Léon while the new shoots were the promise of following church plants throughout the Camino and all of Spain. With this great revelation in mind I sang a praise song and walked back into town.
Of course doubts have come, but I have tested this vision numerous times today and it passes every test I know to give it. And Léon is a dark place. I didn´t write this before, but the Sunday morning I left (it was about 6:00) there were all manner of young people just finishing a night of partying with, I suspect, no plans to even bother attending church later in the day. Also, as I passed by one man who was standing outside smoking and said hello to be polite, he shouted after me what I think translates to, "You just say ´Hola´!" Not sure if it was as menacing as it sounded at the time or if he was just teasing me for being obviously foreign, but it certainly didn´t make me feel at all welcome to the city. Also, the medieval quarter, where I think would be the best place to go, is continually crowded with tourists and vendors selling touristy souvenirs. There is a definite need for a place of peace.
Anyway, today I walked in what has to be the coldest weather so far as I finished the climb up and over Mount Irago through a fierce wind and cloud. Once on the other side things got better and I finally got to a warmer altitude before arriving at last to Molinaseca, which is a quaint and very Spanish little village. The albergue here is on the pricier side, but has very nice (non-bunk!) beds and takes the cake for the best shower on the Camino.
Tomorrow I will get to stay in what was probably my favorite albergues last time, the Ave Fenix, which is run by an older man named Jesús who has dedicated his entire life to serving pilgrims. It´s a long 30 km (18 miles) to get there, but at least I won´t have to climb over another mountain until the next day. Anyway, that´s about all for now, so God bless!