Wonder Voyage 2009 Summer Blog

The life of the city didn’t fail as after 9 hours of traveling our group couldn’t wait to hit the streets of NYC. We kicked off the trip with walking tour of the Lower Eastside with the added bonus of a fullscale thunderstorm. We grabbed dinner at Rays and it was off to the glory of Times Square, which if you have never seen does not disappoint. All this ended with a subway ride home and cupcakes celebrating Paul’s birthday.

Our guide Eric challenged us to be looking for the signs. Not just for our safety, but what signs may God be using to speak to us or capture our hearts

Our energetic team from Fellowship Bible Church arrived today from Dallas eager to discover New Orleans and make their contribution of service in a city still working to recover from the disaster of hurricane Katrina. After a long drive we welcomed them to their home in the historic neighborhood of Algiers. We shared a meal of Jambalaya and had a time of welcome and orientation around the activates that await them this week.

As we talked and prayed together we read the story of the blind beggar who Jesus asked, what do you want me to do for you? The Beggar answered, I want to see. We asked the same question of each pilgrim from Dallas, what would you say to Jesus if he met you on the road here in New Orleans and asked you the same question. What would you want Jesus to do for you? The posture of our heart on a pilgrimage or in life in general will carry a load of perspective. Having God’s perspective is of the utmost importance. Do we in general expect Jesus to answer our request of him? Can we answer His question? In turn can we this week help Jesus by becoming the answer to the question on the lips of many fellow beggars here in New Orleans. We shall see.

Today was fancy church day and we got all dressed up to go to St. Gwendolines, which is considered fairly modern at 650 years old. It was a completely different experience for us, who were all used to large services. We were surprised by the six Welsh women and one very special Scottish man, Alan Charters, in attendance. . He is an unbelievable storyteller, a master at rugby. He led us to the most magical, secretive church we have ever been to.

We also visited two other churches, Llanelieu and St. Patricio. Llanelieu is roughly 600 years old which is considered fairly modern by the natives. St. Patricio is over a thousand. What was amazing about Llanelieu was that it has not been renovated at all.

We first met Alan at St. Gwendolines after he gave a reading. After church, Alan talked with us about how wonderful it was to have visitors. One thing led to another, and he recommended St. Patricio to us. Being completely foreign to the area, we asked Alan to hop in the van and show us how to get there. He excitedly agreed, and we planned to meet later. After going to the second church, we traveled through rough terrain and rain and finally reached our destination. While there, we realized that this man was far more important and amazing then he led us to believe. Turns out he used to be a parish priest, headmaster, professor, choir master, a bomb specialist in the aftermath of world war II, and a rugby player. He is currently a fairly famous author and used to take classes at Cambridge from C.S. Lewis. It was shocking to think that this extremely humble man was such an important and accomplished person. What was even more astonishing was the fact that we probably affected him more than he affected us. He is currently going through a hard time as his wife is seriously disabled. Spending a day exploring with us, telling us all his stories, and teaching us how to play rugby brought him back to his youth and was like a breath of fresh air to him.

All in all, our day with him was so spontaneous, so miraculous that we could not help but believe this was a God given, once in a lifetime experience. Our plans to go hiking were cancelled, our efforts at figuring out rugby failed, and we thought we were all doomed to staying inside. Lucky for us, Alan fell into our hands and we have never been so grateful. After all, he was a role model to all of us. Accomplishing so many things in his life and still staying so true to his faith is not an easy task. While our group picture with him will stick with us for a long time, our memories will live longer. As Shawn said, today was the essential pilgrimage experience, however none of this could have been planed.

On Saturday we visited Hay-on-Wye, a small town in Wales that is said to have the biggest collection of used books in the world. It had a lot of little shops all over the town with books and records. One store named “The Castle” had a total of about 500,000 books!

After Hay-On-Wye we stopped in a town called Brecon. We visited Brecon Cathedral which had a beautiful architectural design. Afterward we explored the town and looked through all the shops.

One experience that was fun, was when we were all trying to find the ice cream shop in Brecon. All of us got lost trying to follow the confusing maps and we circled around the town a dozen times with no luck. We finally found the ice cream shop and had a great time with lots of laughs.

The moment in the ice cream shop made me realize that our group was growing stronger. We were already so much closer than at the beginning of our journey. At that moment, I knew that our group was only going forward from then on.

St. Barts arrived safely earlier this afternoon to the hustle and bustle of San Jose. We slowly made our way out from the hazy metropolis and watched with wonder as the sun set orange over our rural destination: Guanacaste. Everyone couldn’t help but be amazed at the green, lush valleys; the large trees that hung over our paths; and the stony rivers that we crossed over bridges. God’s creation never fails to astound and this simple bus ride was no exception.

Today we begin with the excitement and expectation of a new journey ahead of us. Our day ended with a community meal and a brief time of reflection before bed.

Yesterday we left Canterbury in the pouring rain . After packing, and going into the van we instantly started talking and playing ‘would you rather’ questions. People’s responses were funny and some were unexpected. The comical nature made the trip go faster.

When we got to Stonehenge I was struck in awe by the precision of the engineering. The structure was surrounded by a gorgeous setting of miles of grass and apart from all the people The place felt peaceful.

After Stonehenge we piled back into the car and made our way to the Coleg Trefeca, our retreat home, for dinner.

Imagine how happy all the girls were when they found out they were getting their own rooms. After that the night went in a blur, we said our prayers and went to bed for some very good sleep.

As the priest on the journey, I confess to all that I learned more than I thought on this pilgrimage. Hearing from the pilgrims about how the Holy Spirit is drawing them into closer relationship with God has ministered to me and strengthened my call to journey alongside these other pilgrims.

My last thought this morning as we ride to the airport in our big, dirty white fifteen passenger van:

How great is our God, to draw our journeys together, to lead us through sand dunes, hidden waterfalls, deep canyons and swirling rapids, all to find Christ beside us as we go – sharing this journey and bringing us to our One True Home in Him.
Amen.

Thus ends the Colorado blogs…

Leaving the mountains
might be hard for some of us, and not just the
J2A youth! I will miss each of them as I return home to my family,
and I will miss praying together as a community each morning, noon,
evening and night.

Today was an especially holy day- filled with swirling waters and communion with Christ. We drove to Royal Gorge Bridge on the Arkansas River in the morning. The hillside we walked along sparkled as though one hundred windshields had crashed down on the cliffs- shiny mica and rose quartz drew our eyes to our hillside path, and the suspension bridge drew our eyes across the deep canyon of the Royal Gorge.

We made our sandwich lunch under the big canopy at Echo Canyon rafting outfitters. We got our PFDs on (personal flotation devices) and boarded a bus bound for upriver. The bus ride included a safety talk and instructions on what to do if we got launched out of the raft. “Do not stand up in the rocks- it is the WORST idea you’ve EVER had.” “Put your feet forward downriver to float through rapids.” “Boys- keep your knees closed.” “If you don’t get to a boat or shore, you’ll end up in Pueblo in three days.” Rafting was spectacular. Our guides (Sanet and Tom) were gifted. They possessed the skill to get us rafting competently in short order, and kept us motivated.

We then ate at Big Burger World in Canon City delicious burgers and shakes.

Coming home to Beulah, we were full, satisfied and pleased with our day. We gathered for Eucharist using a prayer from Iona’s Wild Goose Worship Group. The sermon was facilitated by Mike, our Wonder Voyage guide. We shared the bread, the wine and the Peace. Then we shared a prayer bead with each other pilgrim as we closed our worship time and prepared to wrap up our journey together.

The St Peters/ St James team in New Orleans finished out the week both the same way they started it AND totally differently than the way they started it. What? The same and different? How can this be?

The team finished the same, because they finished strong. The final two days included visits to Fairhaven Ministries as well as the New Orleans Mission. Tasks from gardening to cleaning to bicycle repair were tackled with the same energy and enthusiasm as our first two days of work. Every organization with which we served this week has commended this group for the mammoth efforts and their pursuit of excellence in all things.

The team finished differently because they started as two very distinct groups, and yet by today we practically had to make sure the right kids were in the right vans before they left to go home. They didn’t just TALK about what it meant to be one body- they WERE one body: in work, in play, in laughter, in prayer, and in love. The Lord knit their hearts together as He inspired their labors. It was a beautiful sight to behold and an honor to be a part of.

Our prayer for these 2 ‘neighbor’ churches is that they will continue to avail themselves of the opportunities to serve, worship, play, and
pray together when they are back home in the Dallas. We hope this is just the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

Today is our first actual day of pilgrimage. Our first stop, after a traditional English breakfast of eggs sausage beans ham and a tomato half, was the St. Martins Priory. After our visit to the priory we spearheaded straight to the heart of Canterbury where we were given free reign for a few hours for looting and pillaging. Then we gathered and entered the Cathedral and took part in even song and a communion. The evening wound down and we said evening prayer.
What spoke to me today was the historical elements. We learned of how Christianity had been brought to England, how England may have got its name, and the famous story of St. Thomas. St Thomas story was touching and there was a tangible feeling of connection when we were at the site of his death. The history of our church is interesting and engaging especially while we are over where it happened. You can feel where the Romans and barbarians met and see the churches they used and worshipped in.
Our pilgrimage is not just about visiting sites and places. Its also about the spiritual part. Today I learned an important lesson as I spent time alone in the crypts underneath the cathedral. I learned that silence is not the act of not speaking but the act of listening. I learned to listen to God and hear him in all places.