Buen Camino
28 days
Norte Route
Coast-Mountains-Valleys
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Picture this: Argentina-Month 5
N squad sitting in one room, scattered about.
Sweet Fran pouring her heart out about the Camino De Santiago.
The question of- will we, as a squad, say yes to the Camino.
Will we commit to a pilgrimage?
Ten minutes to talk with the Father, and cast our vote in.
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Fast forward to Month 11- Spain
day 28
As a squad, our coaches Kris and Doug lead us into Santiago. We completed the journey. We ended the race by walking SO many miles.
We walked into the city, saw some of our friends along the way, and took in the beauty of a magnificent church. We saw others rejoicing of what they had just finished. People crawled in, some people danced, some walked a little faster.
Yet, all with a smile and a couple of tears filled with the anticipation of seeing the church and completing the journey.
This incredible feeling of: HOLY FRICK WE DID IT. WE DID IT. This overwhelming joy was everywhere.
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The journey was: hard, beautiful, painful, full of revelations, walking sticks, KT tape, Advil, peaches, yogurt, random cows on the trails, RAIN, laughter, processing different months, learning Spanish, random festivals, more yogurt, donativos, snails, slugs, shells, yellow arrows, “buen camino” from other peregrinos, Spanish tortilla, cafe con leche breaks, alarms going off at 5am, sweet embraces from seeing our squad, singing “I will walk 500 hundred miles!”, nerts, and a deep adoration and wonder of our Creator.
This was our month 11
This is how we completed our race.
Yet, it was only the beginning.
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If you could just somehow connect a little wire to my heart and mind to understand the depth of what the Camino De Santiago really is!!
It’s a pilgrimage. People dream of walking one of the many routes. For so many reasons. To search for something greater, to find peace, to let go of something, to find themselves.
(Guys. Let me tell you. Jesus is allll over this Camino. That something greater, that bigger thing- its all Jesus.)
It was an honor to walk, dance, skip, sometimes jog with Team Snacks, and with the North Route group, and especially to end it with the squad.
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Sometimes I daydream about walking to Castero-Uridales in the rain, seeing the ocean, walking on a cliff above the water, seeing all the slugs, laughing with Brook, Mal, and Han. Signing songs through the pain of our bodies becoming tired, and remembering the deep rest I felt when seeing Jez at the Albergue.
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All because Ashely Francis dreamed.
To Fran,
Thank you. Thank you for allowing us into a dream of yours. For pouring your heart out, and working so hard on the proposal. For your encouragement on the hard days, and trusting us in the process. For not letting us give up, and never giving up on us.
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“You have found the good way. Buen Camino.”
