Summer Journal 2007

We began our trip through Ireland with 2 guides who carried in their hands our meals, time, expectations, comfort, happiness. Their purpose is to provide us with the absolute best experience we could get in 10 days. We saw things most people would never see. In John 16:13 the Holy Spirit is called our guide. We have learned to lay down our selfish ambitions and allowed the Guide to lead us in to truth. He also wants to provide us with the absolute best experience we can get out of this life.

That is the absolute beauty of Jesus. He gives the choice to follow His lead. The master of our lives will lead us to an abundant life. He has seen the beginning from the end and truly wants to lead us in a life of love.

Billy Bourne is the 26 year old sports minister at First United Methodist of Tulsa who joined this journey because he wasn't going to miss this great adventure.

After four days of learning the ins and outs of the transit system here in DC, our fearless midwesterners were ready to explore on their own for their free day. There is so much to see in this amazing city, and everyone had a different list of sights they wanted to see; so after a group visit to the Lincoln Memorial, they subdivided in order to conquer.

The World War II Memorial, the Vietnam Memorial Wall, the beginnings of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, the Jefferson Monument, the Capitol building and the White House were just a few of the sights to see. It was Memorial Day, so there were veterans from several wars and visitors from all over the world. Several of the group made the trek over to the Arlington National Cemetery where they watched the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknowns, they said the heat and humidity were stifling, but the trip was worth it to see something so moving. One leader was moved to tears upon finding familiar names upon the Vietnam Wall. The heart to serve was apparent when many members of the group said they would have liked to have been able to pick up the abundance of trash strewn about by the throngs at the Lincoln Memorial.

We enjoyed a huge Italian feast in Georgetown for our last meal together, and then had our final time to share our thoughts and experiences from the entire week. The students shared their "You Never Know" moments about their faith, and then about their brothers and sisters in the group. This has definitely been a week to bond and grow as a community. Our prayer is that the youth ministry of Calvary Cathedral returns to Sioux Falls and takes the town by storm.

The journey from the islands to the small town of Athenry was the beginning of a new adventure. Exploring the town was framed in an exercise called Stone Soup. The team was given a meager amount of money to purchase and cook for 20 people, 5 of whom were local youth workers. The fantastic meal consisted of ham, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, gravy and desert. These guys are becoming more Irish than we think.

We took in a relaxing evening and we really look forward to a morning to sleep in.

"Overwheliming," "numbing," and "powerful," are just a few of the words we can use to describe our visit to the National Holocaust Memorial Museum here in Washington, DC.  As we journeyed floor by floor, we traveled a unique "Way of Sorrows."  Many of us felt isolated even while in the galleries full of people.  A somber air of reverence, tinged with shock, was pervasive.  So many thoughts that are hard to put into words.  A poem, by Yiddish poet Moses Shulstein, on the wall of one gallery, sums up the horror in a real way:

We are the shoes,we are the last witnesses. We are the shoes from grandchildren and grandfathers from Prague, Paris, and Amsterdam, and because we are only made of fabric, and leather and not of blood and flesh, each of us avoided the hellfire.

The Aran Islands are a special treat to any visiting pilgrim in Ireland. Our pilgrims from Tulsa were ecstatic when they landed on the smallest island of Inisheer. This, one of the most tranquil locations in Ireland was filled with discovery. The ancient ruins of O'brien Castle, the sacred setting of St. Cavan's, or the striking lighthouse were some of the discoveries. One group of us took an 8 mile hike circumventing the whole island.

Our final time of worship on Inisheer was in the ruins of the 10th century church, Cil Ghobnait. We walked through our Celtic liturgy, sang hymns, and prayed where continuous prayers have been spoken for over 1200 years. We were joined by a local named Thomas, a bit drunk, who quickly sobered up in the humbling presence of God. We were moved to see his countenance radically change in that ancient sanctuary. Hundreds of years later St. Ghobnaits mission is still alive. Back to the mainland...

The team from Calvary Cathedral in Sioux Falls South Dakota has hit the ground running here in our nation's capitol.  Our focus this week is "You Never Know." As we explore the city and learn a bit of the culture and history, we recognize that we never know who will be sitting next to us on the train, or who will be needing a smile or a kind word, or who will be standing in line to receive an sandwich.  What we do know is they are all God's beloved children.

 Washington DC is a beautiful city, and the students are quickly becoming adept at navigation via public transport.  Using a combination of buses and subways, we have been all over town!.

Our first full day involved serving with an organization called Martha's Table.  Some of the team worked with children in the daycare program while the remainder made hundreds of sandwiches, cut racks of pies and wrapped a mountain of doughnuts for distribution to the hungry.  The students were delighted to see how much of an impact they could make on this small organization that has a very big heart, and the staff at Marhta's Table was amazed at what they accomplished. We can't wait to see what our next adventure will be!

Molly Wren is one of our fantastic director's who is pioneering our first trip to Washington DC.

The choppy waters of Galway Bay greeted us as we stood at the Spanish Arch imagining the voyage of Christopher Columbus who came to Galway to pray at St. Nicholas Cathedral before his personal voyage of wonder. What makes a man believe he can go where no one has gone before- to find something no one has ever seen? And yet, Jesus bids us come follow him. Where else can we go? For He has the words of eternal life. As we stood outside the gothic cathedral we reminded the team, who traveled here to personally discover what their voyage of wonder might be, to unlock for themselves the obstacles that stand in the way of their pilgrims path.

Between times of reflection we had the privledge of serving others in the inner city of Galway by collecting great amounts of trash in neighborhoods and clearing debris in roadside fields. As the team worked tirelessly local children gathered. Those driving by would stop to ponder why this group of Americans were cleaning their neighborhood; and by days end we had made enough friends that our evening community gathering of children for arts, crafts and sports packed out the local community center.

The team is doing great and seemingly up for every adventure or challenge that comes their way. Between laughter, prayer and relational building time the Lord is patiently teaching us what it means to walk with Him as a sojourner of truth. "Christ, as light, illuminate and guide us. Christ as a shield, overshadow us. Christ under us; Christ over us; Christ beside us; on our left and our right. On this holy day be within and without us."

Greetings from Ireland. Shawn and I arrived Tuesday to a soft rain and beautiful green fields. After collecting our bags we were off with a team of 11 college students and their pastor from First United Methodist Church of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Our first adventure: Castle Raiding! We stopped at the castle of Dysert O' Dea exploring its treasures as well as the archeological ruins of the monastic community that developed 700 years before the castle was built. After a spot of tea and a scone we raced off to An Tobar Nua in Galway.

As we arrived in Galway, where we'll be staying for the next three days, we were greeted by our dear friends Kelly and Susan Curry. Over the next 2 weeks we will explore, with this team, how to cultivate an insatiable thirst for God and help them each discover what God is whispering to them personally in their journey. Our prayer (and yours too if you should wish to pray) is for each person to leave these Irish shores knowing what it means to be changed. The hard truth of a pilgrims' journey is the sometimes harsh reality that nothing changes unless I change.

Ken Janke is a valued Board Member of Wonder Voyage and a Spiritual Director when we can twist his arm enough to lead a trip.

Tomorrow we are off with our first trip of the summer. A college group from 1st United Methodist of Tulsa will join us in Ireland to follow in the footsteps of Saint Patrick and Dream Big. Ireland is still my favorite country in the world to visit and I await meeting Christ in a unique way on the journey. Please pray for us as we start our Celtic pilgrimage.

On Wednesday, Molly and Jason will lead Calvary Cathedral of South Dakota on a Memorial Day pilgrimage to Washington DC. This is an awesome opportunity to travel in our capital on the day we remember the thousands who have laid their lives down for our freedom.

The last week of April, three buddies and I took the journey of a life time. We traveled to Iquitos, Peru- the doorway to the Amazon- hired a 40-foot boat and crew and headed down the Amazon for 9 days. We did not know what we would find or experience but that was part fo the fun. Keith Wheeler, who has been traveling the world (170+ countries) the last 20 years with a 12' cross, dreamed up this adventure. I came to scout out for future trips along the Amazon. Jason, our communications director and Tiago, an old friend joined the insanity. The Amazon is everything you dreamed of and more. Daily, we felt the rhythm of the river, visited numerous villages sharing God's love through our laughter, ate strange exotic meals, and met the beautiful Peruvian tribes that live along the water. The Amazon is dark, mysterious and alive with myth and shadow. This is a dream trip for every Indiana Jones wanna be.

As the director of Wonder Voyage I find these trips a necessity to keeping the excitement, challenge, and humitly of travel alive in my heart. How are we to lead hundreds on their wonder voyages if we do not take a few ourselves? There is too much to write in such a lmited space but I can assure you that very soon we will be leading others on their own journeys to the Amazon- journeys that will not only stretch you as a spiritual explorer but those that will stretch your faith as you reach out to serve a foreign people you will soon call friends.

Check out some of our pictures here.

As we begin our 30 summer journeys I find myself contemplating the rarely explored discipline of pilgrimage. For centuries, people of faith have set aside seasons of their lives to focus entirely on the big questions of life. Why are we on this planet? What is our relationship to our Creator? How can we learn to serve humanity in a way that reflects a divine respect for life? Yet, our modern, western lifestyles often tell us we are too busy to take time aside to search out these most relevant questions.

This summer, hundreds will be joining Wonder Voyage around the world, setting valuable time aside, and using hard earned finances, to slow down for a few days and seek the face of God through the eyes of strangers they will soon call friends.

My journey of weight loss was a pilgrimage of sorts. The same factors that have and continue to help me move forward on this path to a healthier life work the same on our summer trips.

First, you need people to walk with you (both at home and on your trip) so the changes will be long lasting. Second, we need a balanced diet, allowing the spiritual growth in our lives to be as important as any other factor. Third, we need a disciplined spiritual life both in our conversation with God through prayer and the word of God and the discipline of serving, as Christ commanded, 'the least of these'.

Now onto the adventures! May 18 - 20 we will focus on our recent trip to the Amazon then it is on to our summer voyages. We are thrilled you are along for the ride.

Today is my 39th birthday and I feel physically better than I have in years. I am a big guy from a big family, genetically speaking. After peaking out at a whopping 308 pounds I decided it was time to stop the insanity and either (a) infect myself with a huge tape worm (b) stop eating until 2010 or (c) finally discipline myself and save a few years of life. The call to be a steward of my body as the temple of God is one I have finally learned to be obedient to.

There were 3 factors to my success. My wife Cheryl joined me in the process making it a journey of joy. Second, I have taken radical steps to have a balanced diet. I now really enjoy vegetables, smaller portions, and working through emotional issues rather than eating my way through them. Third, I work out 5 to 10 hours a week. This is a huge strain on my time but I have put aside the less important items on my agenda for the radically important ones.

Six months later I am down 42 pounds (264) and I am in better aerobic shape than most of my friends. I am lighter than I have been in 10 years! And an exciting path is still in front of me- by my 40th I will be 200lbs- my target weight. Could a triathlon be on the way?

How does any of this relate to our Summer Voyages? Come back tomorrow for the rest of the story.