Day 22 of Walking
Hello everyone,
Thanks for all your prayers. They are paying off as we all felt pretty good this morning and the weather held out until we reached our alberque in Villafranca. While we were eating lunch, the rains came, so that was good timing for once. We can see the results of your prayers!
Today we walked out of Ponferrada. It was a nice walk, mostly on flat pavement so our sore feet were grateful. Before we left town, we passed by a church and heard singing inside. There was a group of children practicing singing. We stopped inside to listen, as did about a dozen other pilgrims. It was so beautiful. There are many chapels and churches that we pass, and a quaint one was open so we stopped in a looked around. It seems that one cultural tradition here is to have the corpse of Christ in a glass coffin. We are seeing that quite frequently. Then as we walked out of town we passed through LOTS of vineyards. Some of the vines look very old, and are as thick as tree trunks. The vineyards line the hills. It is very picturesque. We have also been hearing cuckoo birds almost every day. But we have discovered the truth about them: they keep horrible time. For a while, we were resetting our watches by how many cuckoos we heard, but boy were they wrong.
Please pray for us especially hard the next three days. Tomorrow we´ll go 31 km, on Monday we´ll go 31 km, and on Tues it will be 34 km. For you English speakers, that´s 18 miles, 18 miles, and ... more than 18 miles. (multiply the km by .6 - I was never that good at math.) Also, it is uphill. One stop will be at O´Cebreiro, the site of a Eucharistic miracle. We will keep all of you and your intentions in our prayers at that town.
Hope to post pictures soon (I know, I know, you´ve heard that before). We miss all of you and look forward to getting together to show you our gazillion pictures in person. God bless you!
Los peregrinos.
Thanks for all your prayers. They are paying off as we all felt pretty good this morning and the weather held out until we reached our alberque in Villafranca. While we were eating lunch, the rains came, so that was good timing for once. We can see the results of your prayers!
Today we walked out of Ponferrada. It was a nice walk, mostly on flat pavement so our sore feet were grateful. Before we left town, we passed by a church and heard singing inside. There was a group of children practicing singing. We stopped inside to listen, as did about a dozen other pilgrims. It was so beautiful. There are many chapels and churches that we pass, and a quaint one was open so we stopped in a looked around. It seems that one cultural tradition here is to have the corpse of Christ in a glass coffin. We are seeing that quite frequently. Then as we walked out of town we passed through LOTS of vineyards. Some of the vines look very old, and are as thick as tree trunks. The vineyards line the hills. It is very picturesque. We have also been hearing cuckoo birds almost every day. But we have discovered the truth about them: they keep horrible time. For a while, we were resetting our watches by how many cuckoos we heard, but boy were they wrong.
Please pray for us especially hard the next three days. Tomorrow we´ll go 31 km, on Monday we´ll go 31 km, and on Tues it will be 34 km. For you English speakers, that´s 18 miles, 18 miles, and ... more than 18 miles. (multiply the km by .6 - I was never that good at math.) Also, it is uphill. One stop will be at O´Cebreiro, the site of a Eucharistic miracle. We will keep all of you and your intentions in our prayers at that town.
Hope to post pictures soon (I know, I know, you´ve heard that before). We miss all of you and look forward to getting together to show you our gazillion pictures in person. God bless you!
Los peregrinos.
posted by chucko99 | 08:29
9 Comments:
Dear Pilgrim friends, It is a glorious day in the Chicago area... truly the day that the Lord hath made, and we are rejoicing indeed. We are praying that you are enjoying glorious weather too and good paths for your weary feet, legs and backs. Love and prayers, julia
It's 8 pm and I'm just going to do my extra mile (BTW, I only WISH I could do it in 5 minutes!). I continue to pray daily for all -
Ellen
I continue to pray daily for you all. It seems forever since you left:) I am sure you feel like you just left and wish it would never end...well maybe some days anyway(LOL)
God be with you
Cath
We had an interesting time Friday nite. We hosted 3 college guys from Calif Baptist University who are kayaking from Mpls to New Orleans to raise money for International Justice Missions. One of the young men is studying for the ministry. They were also having their share of 'war stories' to share on their trip;cold,rain,sore arms,gnats,winds,barges,tipped kayaks etc. They too have a website to view their journey www.upsteambattle.blogspot.com. Was an interesting experience, Leone wanted to get them to kiss her but I put my foot down,guys let that be an example! Continued Blessings on you all.
Dear friends,
You are nearing the end of your journey. May God give you strength as you approach the home stretch. We continue to pray for you throughout the day. Blessings.
brian and michelle
We are continuing to pray for you as you approach the end of your journey.
Hang in there! May the road rise to greet you, wind at your back, etc etc. Thanks again for keeping us notified with your blogs, can't wait to see the pictures. Take care!
Ann & Andy & Jimmy & Peter
Hi All: Sorry to hear about the sore feet, Colleen. You're about 46 now, right? Shouldn't be too surprised. This is a busy week...Nick will graduate May 31, and both sets of grands are coming in. Molly has St Viator finals, and will have to study while they're here. Nick got the good sportsmanship award at the athletic banquet...he must get that from his favorite red-headed aunt! Counting the days until I see you at O'Hare. And try to shower, will ya?
Baruch ata adonai, eloheinu melech ha'olam, shehechiyanu, v'kiyamanu, v'higiyanu l'zmam hazeh. Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the Universe who has kept us in life, and sustained us, and allowed us to reach this moment. Now before your last big walk and at the end of your journey I think this ancient Hebrew prayer is most appropriate for what you have gone through and endured. Praised be our Lord, King of the Universe, for your great witness.
Ditto...(What Dick and Leone said!). You are courageous and Spirit-filled travelers. You make us stronger. You make us holier. You are an inspiration. God blesses you with His abundant care and favor. We bless you with our prayers. Safe, comfortable, and swift travels home, Pilgrims.
Connie H.
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