Peregrinos
Hola! today from Monte do Gozo! We Sculley Peregrinos (pilgrims) are just a short walk down the hill from each reaching the destination of our pilgrimage, Santiago de Compostela. I am expecting floods of tears tomorrow, mine and many others, as this beautiful journey draws to a close. Tears will come for many reasons. Although each Peregrino’s experience is unique, we have tasted of something deeper. I’ve already said some heartfelt goodbyes. Our Camino pilgrimage may be ending tomorrow, but as Peregrinos on the journey of life with God, we go on.
There’s a beautiful Pilgrim’s prayer printed in my “Credencial del Peregrino”, my i.d. on the Camino which is stamped along the way. The prayer is from Codex Calixtus, 12th century:
“God, You called your servant Abraham from Ur in Chaldea, watching over him in all his wanderings, and guided the Hebrew people as they crossed the desert. Guard these your children, who, for love of your Name, make a pilgrimage to Compostela. Be their companion on the way, their guide at the crossroads, their strength in weariness, their defense in dangers, their shelter on the path, their shade in the heat, their light in darkness, their comfort in discouragement , and the firmness of their intentions; that through your guidance, they may arrive safely at the end of their journey and, enriched with grace and virtue, may return to their homes filled with salutary and lasting joy.” Amen!
God has answered this prayer and that of many praying loved ones so beautifully and specifically – THANK YOU!!! Today I want to tell you a few of our lost and found stories. God is a God of restoration!
Lost mobility
God has totally restored my mobility, thanks to a combination of anti-inflammatory meds and the amazing shin compression sock and knee brace Paul got for me (see stylish photo). I also included a lovely photo of my feet (viewer discretion advised)!
Lost way
Yesterday, the girls and I were headed for O Pedrouza. It’s unusual to walk side by side with anyone all day long, because it’s an individual walk and everyone has their own pace, need for breaks, etc. But since Esther and Karis are 16, we arrange meeting places ahead of time and connect regularly. Yesterday after a refreshing Aquarius at a cafe, we agreed to meet at the town 7km away. There were four other towns to pass through. Because I’d had some stabbing knee pain that day, I needed to keep walking at a steady pace and not start and stop in waiting for my girls (I have longer legs :)). So I was walking in front (it’s a good idea to put the healthiest walker each day at the back, which was Esther yesterday). Meanwhile, I was walking along and missed a turn (later I found out that at least 10 other adults had missed the same turn due to poor signage). After a long time, I realized (by sos-texting Cascade and Paul) that I had overshot the town by 5km … after walking for a long time through some isolated woods, I just had no strength to turn around and go back (34km that day), so after eventually coming out of the woods, I stood in the middle of a small road and waited for a car. I flagged down an elderly gentleman, who offered to drive me to the hostel which Cascade had already arrived at. I am so grateful for the kindness of strangers!
Lost daughters
As glad as I was to reach the albergue, it had been three hours since I’d heard from Esther and Karis (I realized it was because their phones had died). We also realized that the girls had no idea which hostel to go to, just the town name. Hostels cannot be pre-booked … we don’t know until we arrive in a town where we will stay, as they are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Thank you so much, those of you who let us know you were praying for us yesterday … it was unnerving not knowing where the girls were, compounded of course by the fact that I had just gotten lost on the same path! But God was looking out for our girls, and, as we found out later, thankfully they made the correct turn. But there were ten hostels in this town, spread out all over. After a 29km walk, no one feels like exploring the town to find a hostel. When I walked into the hostel, the first person I saw was Martha, a young Swedish friend I had reached out to back in Leon. She was one of the ones I’d cooked a Mexican Fiesta for the night in a very tiny town the night Cascade and I shared with Toby and Andre my travel plans. After I flew back to the U.S. last week, Martha became fast friends with all of them. Cascade had even shown her some family photos (I didn’t know this until later). I was so happy to see Martha, who was heading out the door as I was coming in, and I mentioned our plight. About 40 minutes later, Esther and Karis arrived in the town and were walking along the main street, wondering where to go. They walked right past the cafe where Martha was sitting, so she called them by name and showed them where the hostel was! God is amazing!
Lost Credencial
This morning at the beginning of our walk, Karis pulled out her Credencial to get it stamped at a cafe. When she put it into her backpack, she forgot to zip up the pocket, so it fell out. About 5km later, we stopped at one of the many small cafes and ran into a few friends who are leaving tomorrow. I wanted to add them to Facebook so pulled out my phone. One of them couldn’t find herself on my phone, so had me type in my name on hers. In general we only know each other’s first names, as you can imagine. When my Brazilian friend saw my name, she said, “Sculley! A Spanish father and son found a Credencial with the name Sculley about 5km ago and are going to leave it at the pilgrim office in Santiago.” That blew our minds that we would probably get it back tomorrow, but I was still wondering what we would do when it came time to register for tonight’s hostel, since both passport and Credencial are required. So we finished our 15km walk for the day and chose one of the three hostels in this small town. We got here shortly before it opened, so I sent the girls to buy some lunch. While I was waiting, a Spanish family arrived that included a father and son. You guessed it, they were the ones who had found Karis’s Credencial … amazing! This series of events was such a remote possibility, one in a million, but nothing is too hard for God! I am in awe of God’s personal, tender, loving care of us, even when we make mistakes, under-communicate, miss seeing signs, or overdo it! God is so good!
I have found many new treasures during my Camino, but probably the best treasure is a deeper trust in the goodness of God … He has shown us His love, power, and presence in unmistakable ways, and I am forever grateful. My girls each have their own stories to tell … I hope you get a chance to hear some of them one day … thank you for journeying along with me!I
Sunday morning … I had hoped to post this last night but didn’t have a good internet connection to be able to include photos. My Camino journey is completed now. The final 5km walk into Camino de Santiago was very emotional for me, the culmination of a once-in-a-lifetime journey. We have received our Compostelas, and our places of origin (both where we live and where we began walking) will be announced during the special Pilgrim Mass at noon. I am so grateful for each of you who, by virtue of you reading this, has been a part of my journey. We are each fellow pilgrims hoping to find our way … may we each notice and follow Christ, the One who has gone before us to show us the way to the Father.
(Cascade walked almost 800km, I walked about 460km, and Esther and Karis each walked about 110km.)
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