(Roncesvalles to Viskarret:  19,000 steps)

Joshua 1:1-9
v. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Three times in this passage God told Joshua to “be strong and courageous,” and he says it to us too. Are you tired? Be strong. Shoulders hurt? Be courageous. “And don’t forget,” says the Lord, “I will be with you wherever you go.”

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At 6 am Maurice’s phone alarm went off, gentle harp chords. He did not hear it. I leaned over the bunk to hiss at him. He couldn’t find the phone. Then he couldn’t find the off button. But it didn’t matter. The Spanish wives were already in high gear. Keep reading

(I am editing my blog and discovered this post had disappeared so I am reposting it [3-7-2018].  Otherwise nothing new in it.)

(Orisson to Roncesvalles)

Deuteronomy 2:8-10

v. 2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.

He led us all the way this long day and fed us with manna that we did not expect (v. 3) not in the wilderness but on the mountaintop. What a day!

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It took us a while to pack everything up in the morning, including our wet laundry. Breakfast was soggy toast with plenty of butter and jam; people didn’t dawdle but I tend to chew slowly. By the time we got out and filled our water bottles it was 8:12. Keep reading

dawn from our window

getting our credencials stamped at the Pilgrims Office

(St. Jean Pied de Port to Orisson, France:  13,481 steps)

Exodus 15:1-21
v. 1, 13 “I will sing to the Lord, for he is highly exalted.
Both horse and its rider he has hurled into the sea….
In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed.
In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.” Keep reading

With the priest at Notre-Dame-au-bout-du-pont, St. Jean Pied de Port, France

Scripture reading: Exodus 14:10-14, 31
v. 11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?”

When the Israelites saw the Egyptians approaching in full battle gear they realized the enormity of their situation. “They were terrified and cried out to the Lord” (v. 10). “What have you done to us? You could just as well have struck us dead back home.” Over the past few days Maurice and I have been saying to one another, “Do we really know what we’re doing?” Of course the answer is no. We laugh and the wave of fear dissipates for a while. If we listen closely we can hear the still small voice of God: “Do not be afraid” (v. 13). “One step at a time and see where I take you.”

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This evening we went to mass (in French, of course!) at the church of Notre-Dame-au-bout-du-pont. Keep reading

St. Jean Pied de Port

Scripture reading: Exodus 12:31-39, 13:20-22
v. 34 So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs wrapped in clothing.

The Israelites had to leave in a hurry (v. 33) and didn’t have time to plan their journey, but they had a lot to take with them: flocks and herds, clothing, treasures of gold and silver (v. 32, 35-36). They needed lunch, too, but without time to prepare anything they just grabbed their unleavened dough (v. 39). How did they manage to transport everything they had to take with them? “They had carts,” said Maurice (he saw the movie). Well, maybe they had some, but probably not one per family; some things would have had to be carried. “So they took their unleavened dough and carried it on their shoulders,” and not just the dough but the kneading troughs too, everything wrapped in extra clothing, with perhaps some special pieces of gold and silver stashed inside the bundles. How heavy was all that, and how awkward? I don’t suppose they had internal frame backpacks in lightweight tech fabric to move the load onto their hips. And how far is it from Rameses to Sukkoth? No idea (and no internet to find out). Yet they managed, all 600,000 men of them, with their families. Surely I can manage carrying my carefully selected and fitted pack with its agonized-over and tediously weighed contents. “That’s nothing,” said Army first sergeant Eric when he picked up Maurice’s loaded pack the other day, and mine is several pounds lighter. Sheila came over on Saturday and helped us make sure the packs were adjusted properly. So we should be able to do this. But on the flight from Frankfurt to Toulouse we met Kiwis Yvonne and Fred. They recognized that we were walking somewhere by our sturdy footwear. Their packs are so small they don’t even have a waist belt. “Just two of everything,” said Yvonne when I commented admiringly. But they don’t have sleeping bags, and I don’t think they have extra shoes, and probably neither they nor any other pilgrims have the pounds of tech gear we have. What else do we have that takes up so much space and weight? A few toiletries, a first aid kit, rain jackets, fleece vests and lightweight gloves (and a pair of tights for me) for colder days as we progress, and one half-pound guidebook. Well, plus a tech towel each and 17-gram washcloths (half the weight of a normal one!), and our standard vitamins and my thyroid pills (with backups, so we can have some in both packs). I have a small notebook with two pens (an extravagance) and Maurice has a plastic bag with a few art supplies. And we have flip-flops for albergue floors and showers of uncertain sanitation (my flips are only 104 grams). Lord, thank you for your provision for our pilgrimage. Please give us strength for the journey and wisdom to know what to cast aside and leave behind.

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Dinner on the plane was usual airline food but it came with wine and Bailey’s. Keep reading

Potomac River

Scripture reading: Genesis 12:1-9
v. 4-5. So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.

“J & M traveled tonight on a plane.
I can see the red taillights heading for Spain.” (Thanks, Elton John!) Keep reading

At the beginning of the school year our church invites students, teachers, all school personnel and anyone else to get prayed over and have their backpacks blessed.  Hey, we realized, we have backpacks!  So we took them to church on Sunday night for the blessing, made a craft, ate hotdogs and chicken nuggets for supper and participated in the family game.  It was a delightful evening.  I guess now we’re really on our way.

People know we like to travel and sometimes ask if we have any trips planned.  “Why, yes,” is my current answer.  “We’re going to walk the Camino de Santiago.  Do you know what that is?”  They almost never do, so I give a quick explanation before interest fades.  “It’s a thousand-year-old pilgrimage route across northern Spain.”  “Oh,” says the inquirer with mild curiosity.  “How far is that?”  “Five hundred miles,” I say, ready to break into song.  “WHAT?”  The surprise is delightful every time.  “Who are you going with?”  “With Maurice.”  “But with what group?”  “Oh, it’s just us,” I say.  (Us and the other thousand or two people along the trail on any given day.)  Eyes widen further as questions form:  How long will it take?  (Maybe six weeks.)  How many miles a day will you go?  (Maurice says twelve to fifteen.)  Do you usually walk that far?  (No.)  Have you ever backpacked?  (No!)  Will you have to carry a tent and build a campfire?  By now I am laughing.  “We must be nuts,” I say, and no one disagrees.

Keep reading