Camino de Santiago

A little context:
 

Sometime around 40 A.D. Saint James (as in the disciple you learned about in Sunday School) was spreading the Good News in what is now modern Spain, what was then the end of the world.  On his return to Jerusalem, as sometimes happens when you share the truth, he made the wrong people angry.  There are records that King Herod beheaded him, and if that weren't enough, the feisty Queen Lupa felt the need to destroy his martyred body.   His disciples fled with his recovered remains across Northern Spain and back to the "ends of the earth".  As legend has it narrowly escaping over a falling bridge from Queen Lupa's troops, to bury the remains of Saint James in his beloved Santiago.  I'm gonna skip a whole bunch, but know names like Charlemagne, Napoleon, the Moors, Ernest Hemingway, and that Spanish Inquisition are all part of the story.  Sometime around the 12th century, the Catholic Church began promoting the route those brave disciples took, even promising the forgiveness of ALL sins for those who would journey along its path to the remains of Saint James.  It is now referred to as the Camino de Santiago and is a 790km/500mile pilgrimage across Spain.  

Since the 12th-century thousands of people have walked the Camino, each seeking something.  Jake and I have wanted to do this for years, to join the thousands in this Christian walk. The classic question on the Camino is why are you doing this?  In general, you usually have a reason to walk across an entire country- particularly when the rail system is so wonderful.  And with kids!  Our two girls are coming with us, so we felt like putting our girls through this needed to actually be for their benefit.  

 

Here are some of the reasons:

1. We want our children to know just how big the world is.  How people who look different, talk different and eat different are just as valuable and loved by God as them.  There are lots of ways to teach this lesson, but sharing meals and walking with people who are different is a pretty easy way to do it.   The Camino is full of people from all over the world.  As part of our travel-schooling curriculum, Charlotte and Claire will interview 1 person every night from somewhere other than the U.S.  A little writing, learning how to ask questions, and learning about others. 
2. We want our kids to know they can do hard things.  The Pyrenees and 790km is no freakin joke- it's hard.  But hard things, aren't always bad things.  They can do this- we know they can.  We will stop if they tell us to stop.  But barring an injury or tragedy- they can do it.  My girls are strong and tough, and we believe in them fully!
3. Family.  Jake and I have been busy over the past two decades, and we didn't slow down once we had kids.  We have been in school, building careers, finishing MFAs and PHDs, neither of us stayed at home when our kids were born.  We don't regret this- but honestly, they are a lot cooler than when they were infants.  All we want to do now is walk with our kids and chat about sheep.
4. We can.  We don't take for granted or take it lightly that we received a sabbatical this year.  What a blessing!  We want to make the most of it and do things that we would never get to do otherwise.  We are so grateful for this opportunity.
5. Oh and our sins.  There was that crème brûlée in Paris, we clearly need forgiveness. 

So here begins the first step!  Leaving from Saint Jean Pied de Port, France on our way to the cathedral of Saint James in Santiago de Compostela.  Pray for us, my friends.  We will need it!  Buen Camino!