Walking & listening & loving & learning
I met Martha on my 2nd evening on the Camino. I had heard about her earlier that day from Meghan, an engineer from South Africa who I ended up walking the later half of the day’s route with. She had asked me if I’d met Martha from Georgia yet, and explained that she was an older woman carrying her husbands ashes with her to Santiago. She ensured me that I would meet Martha soon because “Martha met everyone.” Meghan wasn’t wrong- that evening as I walked down my albergue’s staircase, I heard a woman at the front desk explaining (in English) to the owner of the establishment (who only spoke… Read more >>
Piso Hunting
Piso: literally means ‘floor’ in spanish...but in practical use, it means apartment. I have been living in Santiago de Compostela, Spain for a little over a month now. During that time I have done a lot: applied for residency, set up a Spanish bank account, explored the city, got a bus card, got a “joven” (youth) discount card for the grocery store, gone to the beach twice, celebrated Easter with my team, attended team meetings, hung out at our ministry site and to get acquainted there, met several pilgrims and ‘regulars’ in our ministry, and so much more… But, the main thing I have been… Read more >>
ADVENTures in Support Raising
- - A D V E N I R E - - A latin word composed of “ad” meaning “to” & “venire” meaning “come”. It is the word from which we adapted ADVENT. Advent is a time of waiting for what is TO COME. . . and it begins on Sunday. For the last few years, Advent has been the season of the church calendar with which I have felt the most connected with, desirous of, and devoted to. This is because the last few years of my life have been hard on my soul. As a student of theology I came to that point that some of you may find vaguely familiar where I was: confused about what I believed, consumed… Read more >>
Christ at the End of the World
In 6 months I am moving to the end of the world. Dramatic, I know… But, it’s true. I am packing my things and heading out to Santiago de Compostela: an ancient, holy, and renowned place. So why do I call it the end of the world? Well, because it is there on the northwest coast of Spain that the ancient Phoenicians, Celtic Druids, and early-Christian missionaries believed the world came to an end. My future home is the place where eras worth of people came to watch the sun “set into its death” out beyond the cresting waves on the edge of the world. As you may imagine, the “end… Read more >>