Summer Journal 2006

Today was spent in fasting and rest. After a morning Eucharist at the Bishop's House we joined at the Iona Abbey for a tour to learn the history of Scotland's greates place of pilgrimage. The afternoon was spent by some in gloriously lazy village strolls and by others on the continuation of the pilgrimage point now to the north of Iona. As we went aloing we stopped at various points for prayer and to hear the story of Columcille. This was quite a more arduous hike than yesterday but the boys of Holy Trinity, by gut and persitance, led us to all the points we sought including the highest point on the island. This allowed a spectacular view of the entirity of Iona. Needless to say we were exhausted when we finished 3.5 hours later. So it was off to the local resteraunt for a great seafood meal freshly caught today. Lobster, prawns, huge crabs and mussells filled our stomachs.

Our evening was spent at a energetic cahlidh (pronounced KALEY) where we all engaged in Scottish music and dance. This group is truly soaking in the expereince and they are learning much about themselves and their faith on this place that I can truly say flows with a holiness and peace unknown to most.

This moring, we were treated to a wonderful worship experience in the Iona Abbey joining with the ecumenical Iona community in a time of praise, prayer and word. A couple of hundred people joined from all over the world standing in the same place Columba once worshipped with his rapidly growing island community. We were challenged with the statement, "Do the actions of your life match up with the words of your mouth? Do your actions gel with your beliefs."

The afternoon was spent along the southern pilgrimage path walking miles of trails along the beaches on the west coast staring out over the sea at the end of the world, as the monks once called it. the kids played in the tide pools and climbed the granite hills in pure ecstacy. We then joined the small Anglican Retreat house for Evensong. The last part of the night we gathered in St. Oban's chapel, oldest building on the island. In the unlit chapel I told the story of Macbeth. (MacBeth and Duncan are buried in this graveyard along with 60 other kings of Scotland, France, England and Norway.) The kids were enraptured in Shakespeare's supernatural story of deceit, revenge, ambition and judgement. We the once again asked ourselves if the choices we are making match up to the words of our faith that we proclaim as true?

Our first team of the summmer, a J2A (Journey to Adulthood) group, from Holy Trinity church in Atlanta Georgia arrived from the US to rainy Edinburgh. We will take the westward road to Oban where we will ride a boat to the island of Mull and eventually the small island of Iona. The island of Iona is the landing place of Columcille, missionary from Ireland on his own Wonder Voyage. With the help of 12 others Coluncille established the monastery which still resides as a working monastery on the island today. These young people, tomorrow morning, will be worshiping on the same ground Columcille did over 1500 years ago. This tiny outpost would bring Chrisitanity to the whole of England, Scotland and Wales. What a marvelous experience they are about to engage in. Please take a moment and pray for moments of wonder for this stout little group from Georgia.

The day was spent in hours of walking research of the Old City trying to learn the secrets of Edinburgh. I spent hours discovering the hidden spots of this magnificant city. After 7 hours of hiking the streets I climbed the mountain at Holyrood Park that sits city center. At the top, called Arthur's Seat, I had a bird's eyes view of Edinburgh. On my way home I was able to interview a local Church of Scotland pastor, Tom Johnston, about the state of the church in Scotland and he graciously shared an hour of Scottish history with me. It has been a wonderful day of discovery and I look forward to the teams arrival tomorrow morning.

Today, As I researched Edinburgh I came across, quite by accident, Craigmillar Castle on the north end of town near Holyrood Park that overlooks all of the city. This is a magnificantly preserved fortification that I found more enjoyable than Edinburgh Castle. In fact, I was the only one there for more than a half an hour. Searching from the cellar to the rooftop was great fun. We may possibly bring our team here for an encounter time. Even better, I ran in to the director for many of the local heritage sites who also used to be the director of the Iona Center. He shared all the secrets of the island for our team to experience when we are arrive there in a few days.

It is amazing to me how little moments like this occur on evey trip we are on. It as if we are being led to the best spots and the most interesting people. It is a gift we do not take lightly. A true Wonder Voyage must be led by the Unseen One.

Please pray for Holy Trinity Church as they travel from Atlanta Georgia to Scotland today and tomorrow. See you guys soon!

The day was spent in Edinburgh to prepare for the upcoming Wonder Voyage. I often say that I have the greatest job in the world but what most people do not realize is the extreme detailed work that must go into each journey. Culturally unique housing is a major concern and must be planned months in advance. Transportation, safe and efficient is always a challenge. Then the pilgrimage director (the name we give to trip leaders) must know a general lay of the land, an over view of history, exchange rate, traffic laws, general knowledge of the culture and language, etc. Food is usually the greatest concern of the team and we endeavor to find something affordable but culturally true to the region.

So the time in Scotland has been good but it has been a lot of hard work. The more trips you lead to a location the more saavy you become with budget, itineraries, and flow. I look forward to many years into Scotland- I believe it will be one of our best locations- but I must always remember the hard work that our directors put into every journey. Despite the challenge, it is still a great priviledge to educate and lead these great groups on their pilgrimages.

We drove south toward Perth then cut across on the historic road avoiding the highway. This road would take us through mountain passes into Stirling. Though we did not have much time, we stopped at the Wallace Monument- the inspiration for the writer of Braveheart, one of my favorite films. The tower stands on a small mount in the same place William Wallace surveyed the battle fields over Stirling to decide how his motley Scottish force would fight the English. This would be the first time the greatest army in the world would be soundly defeated by a much smaller force. The Scots won the Battle of Stirling and the seed of freedom was forever planted into the hearts of the Scots. Though the struggle would last another 14 years, Scotland would become free of English tyranny under Robert the Bruce.

At WVM we love our history.

When we first enter a country for Wonder Voyage preparation we like to take in the broad scope of the location. Today Cheryl and I would drive from the Lowlands of Scotland into the Highlands. The coutryside is quite spectacular. We drove north until we reached Loch Ness. Most people take the north road over the lake- we took the southern less travelled route. Most of the road was a single lane through mountain passes for the first half and along the Loch Ness shore for the other half. This is the prettiest place I have seen in Scotland so far. We then continued trhough Inverness and then turned back south.

A necessary bathroom break lnded us in the tiny historical town of Carrbridge in the midst of the Cairngorm Mountains, which are still covered by snow. We have 'stumbled' upon another hidden gem. The location is breathtaking, full of stories and out of the mass of the tourist trade.

Everyday we pray for God to present our groups with moments of wonder. So often, those moments come through the silliest of circumstances. A bathroom break brought us to this small hamlet that we would have never expereinced except for the call of a filled bladder. The strangest things lead us to the most wonderful places.

Today we booked a tour to Iona. We arrived at the pier at 9:30 a.m. and loaded onto the boat with about 500 senior citizens who piled off buses like cattle to the slaughter. They looked like rows and rows of the undead in que for the netherworld. We took a 45 minute ferry to Mull then hopped on the next bus for an hour and a half ride to Fionnphort. From there we jumped on a 10 minute boat ride to Iona. Iona was gorgeous but most people jumped off the boat en masse and headed to the nearest resteraunt where they consumed greasy food for an hour but only after they sttod in line for an hour to await their meal. They then jumped back on the ferry! Cheryl and I explored what little of this holy island as we could in 2.5 hours. We set all our contacts for the upcoming trip. It was then back to Mull finally arriving back to Oban at 6:00. Six hours of travel for 2.5 hours on Iona. INSANITY> Yet hundreds of people do it a week so they say they have visited Iona. Yet in their consumeristic rush they miss the holy and the beautiful.

I am so thankful for what we do. We refude the Cattle Que mentality. We are not tourists. We are pilgrims and we seek the holy and the wondrous. This trip was good for the soul because it shows us that what we do is amazing and life changing.

We arrived in Edinburgh and drove cross country to Argyll's town of Oban on the west coast. Tonight is spent in recovery of the body and spirit. Our drive up through the foothills of the highlands was beautiful as we skirted several lochs. The beginning of these trips always sees to take a few days of adjustment. But we are excited to be here and we hope to establish Scotland as one of our regular locations.

My wife, Cheryl, and I are about to jet off for Scotland. This will be our first trip to Scotland, a place I have wanted to visit since I was a child. I have prepared myself by reading MacBeth and a biography about William Wallace, plus watching Braveheart (one of my top 10 favorite movies). For me, this is the best way to start a summer of Wonder Voyage's. I will take a week before our first team of the summer arrives to explore, pray and spend quality time with my best friend, Cheryl. Though the team will not arrive until the 26 of May, I will still keep our dedicated readers up to date.

The summer journal this year is dedicated to one of our faithful staff memebers, Sammy Chesser, the director of our Expozure retreats. For the last four years, Sammy has not been able to join us on a pilgrimage but he daily reads our journals with a mixture of joy (for the teams) and sorrow (that he cannot attend). This will be Sammy's first year to travel with Wonder Voyage as a participant when we go to Jamaica in July. Until then, keep reading Sammy!

As soon as September approaches we start to ready ourselves for next years pilgrimages. Wonder Voyage has been blest with a wonderful season of growth both in the amount of trips we take and in the way we prepare for these voyages. A Wonder Voyage is a unique journey. We have a missional focus of servanthood (as an example, we will be leading almost 400 down for relief work in New Orleans this summer), a cultural focus as we are determined to immerse ourselves into the culture of where ever we visit, and a spiritual goal of allowing groups times of contemplation and transformation.

This year we will be traveling to Scotland, San Antonio, Del Rio, New Orleans, Ireland, Memphis, England, Grand Tetons, Oregon, Colorado, NYC, Wales, Mexico and Jamaica. Over 600 individuals will be joining us. No telling what lies ahead.

This journal will give you a peek into the lives of these pilgrims and some of the unique moments they will encounter. Check in on us daily as we share the moments of wonder that abound when you are on a Wonder Voyage.