“Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…ONE! I can’t believe it! I am now in the streets of Santiago de Compostela…I have reached my destination! The journey has ended…but a new journey has just begun.”

The excerpt above was taken from my audio journal entry, dated August 26, 2000; a huge turning point in my life as I was only a few days short of completing a two-month pilgrimage in Europe. The main reason I embarked on this overseas pilgrimage with three of my friends was to attend World Youth Day and to see the Pope in Rome. We were to backpack through Europe for two months, ending with World Youth Day as the climax of our journey. We traveled through Italy, France, and Spain: from Rome to Assisi, Taize to Paris, and Santiago de Compostela to Madrid. We embraced and savored the history, the culture, the food, the churches, and the people. And although we traveled with only what little money and clothing we could fit into one backpack on our shoulders, it was an amazingly rich experience!

However grandeur all of it seemed, I didn’t realize the climax of the journey for me was not to be World Youth Day – nor any of my experiences in Rome, or Assisi, or Paris with my friends – but that my high point of the trip was something God wanted me to experience alone.

At the conclusion of World Youth Day, my friends and I decided to spend our last week in Europe apart. We went our separate ways to spend our last days in Europe doing exactly what we, as individuals, wanted to do. I decided to attempt the “El Camino de Santiago” – “The Walk to Santiago” – which is a 115 kilometer (70 mile) pilgrimage from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. I learned that the walk was an organized Catholic movement open to all people willing to embark on a spiritual pilgrimage; a journey to Santiago ending at the chapel where lays the tomb of the Apostle St. James, to whom this movement was dedicated.

My Santiago experience – from the mere thought of attempting the walk alone to the final steps into the streets of Santiago – contains a wealth of life lessons which are deeply engraved in my mind and heart. Often times I draw upon and reflect on those lessons to help me with each new journey I take on in life.

Starting Out

At the beginning of my journey I mapped out my daily goals. According to my research, the average pilgrim walker needed four days to complete the walk; so I set my goals accordingly. After I completed the walk in four days, I would rejoin my friends on the fifth day to head back home to the United States. I knew the importance of mapping out my goals and using them as a guide for the journey, to stay focused and to always keep the end in mind. I believed that by mapping out my goals, I increased my chances of success.

On the very first day, at the very beginning of my journey, I began encountering challenges. I got lost trying to find the bus station, which caused me to miss my bus to Sarria, and I had to anxiously wait for the next one. By the time the next bus finally arrived, I knew the day would be ending by the time the two-hour drive was done. I was tired, frustrated, and disappointed that I didn’t even reach the starting point of the walk. It was then that I understood more profoundly the need to prepare oneself to face the inevitable challenges which arise during any worthwhile endeavor.

On the two-hour bus ride to Sarria I remember looking out the window, and I couldn’t help but notice the unpleasant, overwhelming, and ever-stretching distance of the 115 kilometers, making the walk seem more dreadful with every passing minute. Fear and doubt started to dwell up inside of me, and over the course of the bus ride those feelings festered into discouragement. I had two choices: to quit now or to face my fears and conquer them. At that critical moment, I took out a pen and paper and proceeded to write down every anxiety and excuse I had for not continuing my pilgrimage. The list included my apprehension of doing this walk alone, my concern of not having enough time to accomplish my goal, my fears of getting lost, mugged, or beaten, and many more. The list went on and on, filling both sides of the paper. When the bus ride ended, I took the piece of paper and burned it to ashes. I burned the paper to symbolize my letting go of the excuses and fears that stood in the way of my goal. I felt more determined and empowered after this act of recognizing my fears, and then detaching myself from them.

The Walk

Since I lost one day just struggling to get to the starting point of the pilgrimage, I had to adjust my goals and I had no other choice but to increase the amount of distance I had to walk each day. Fellow pilgrims doubted me, saying that my goals were unrealistic. I had to remind myself that not everyone will believe in me or support me along the way, but I had to believe in myself and continue on. It was not easy. I’ve never felt so much physical pain in my entire life. My legs were extremely weak and stiff from the strenuous walk, my shoulder muscles burned with weariness from carrying my backpack, my energy was almost completely drained from minimal food intake, and worst of all, at the end of the first day of walking I was only halfway to my daily goal! The entry in my audio journal that night said, “I am tired. I will rest tonight and be revived to continue on tomorrow.” The next day I pushed myself and remained focused and determined…and by noon I reached my goal for that day! I truly learned that when you fall, all you need to do is rest, dust yourself off, and try again.

As I continued walking on that second day, I was six kilometers away from the next lodging area when darkness started to fall. It was a little bit past nine o’clock in the evening and I was in the middle of country land surrounded by farms and the forest. As quickly as I got excited about accomplishing my day’s goal, my positive attitude swiftly plummeted as I started racing through the path to beat the darkness of the night. As I was closing in on the last two kilometers before the next lodging, I suddenly stopped in the middle of the path to catch my breath. I stood there in the silent blackness of the night, and I was frightened. Panicking, I hastily rummaged through my back pack in search of my small flashlight. Upon finding it, I used its dim light to help me reach the nearest village that wasn’t too far ahead. When I reached the small village, I felt reluctant to leave it and enter again into the dark, unknown wilderness in order to get to the lodging area. I stood silently in the cold night air and weighed my options. As I was coming to terms with the idea of just sleeping there on the side of the road, a man appeared outside of the house across the road. When he noticed me, he looked concerned and came over to ask me how I was doing and if I needed anything. In the best Spanish I could muster up, I told him that I was utterly exhausted and could not continue on to the lodging area. He must have pitied me, for he took me to an old abandoned schoolhouse and gave me a small mattress and blanket to use for the night. The next morning, before I started my final day of the pilgrimage, he generously offered me coffee and sweet bread for breakfast. I felt so overwhelmingly blessed and truly taken care of because of that providential encounter…and my spirit was renewed! I learned two lessons in that experience: that some goals I’ll hit and some goals I’ll miss, but when I know where I’m going it doesn’t matter where I’m at; and, that with every adversity lies a seed of an equal or greater blessing.

The Last Stretch

On that third day of the walk, I had 42 kilometers to go until I reached my destination. There was definitely a positive change in my spirit, in my attitude, and in my confidence throughout the remaining journey. I felt as if I were being transformed from the experiences – both the challenges and the blessings within those challenges.

When I had only ten kilometers to go, I finally saw a view of Santiago on top of a hill in the distance. I never felt such a strong desire and longing to see something as I did that day; it was as if I had been waiting years to see Santiago. The countdown began. The most powerful experience came when I saw the bridge which leads to the streets of Santiago de Compostela. The closer I came to the bridge, the more powerful the summation of this experience became. As I was crossing the bridge, I felt weak and overwhelmed with emotion. I felt the greatest relief overcome me and it made me think of what the early disciples of Jesus had to endure to spread God’s word. I felt God. The bridge was not very long in length, but crossing it felt like entering a lifetime of grace. Upon reaching the middle of the bridge, I had a vision of myself standing on stage sharing this experience with others. I knew at that moment that God planned this pilgrimage for me. At that moment, more than any before, I learned the rewards and happiness of trusting in God’s plan and following Him wherever He leads. I knew that God had a purpose for me and that this Santiago experience was preparing me for His plan.

“Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…ONE! I can’t believe it! I am now in the streets of Santiago de Compostela. I have finally reached my destination!”

I stepped onto the streets of the city of Santiago at six o’clock the evening of the third day. Despite all the fears, anxieties, discouragement, and excuses…I completed in two and a half days what takes the average pilgrim to finish in four. I knew that it was only possible because I walked by faith. What began as a physical journey became so much more significant and deeply profound; rather, it became a guiding light, a reminder, and an inspiration for my real journey through life, my earthly pilgrimage towards Heaven. In retrospect, I realize He’s given me this experience as a tool for life’s many adventures: education, career, ministry, relationships, and faith. I learned that when one journey appears to end, I am called to use those experiences, the challenges and the blessings, as lessons for the new journey.

“The journey has ended…but a new journey has just begun.”