If you’ve never experienced the excitement (and stress) of depending on public transportation, you need to do so before you make it to the pearly gates!
This morning, I had a 10:45 bus to catch for Madrid, so at 8:45 I asked the person at the desk at my hostel if they would please call a taxi. I figured once they were called, it might take 30 minutes at most for them to arrive. I waited 30 minutes; no taxi.
I waited 45 minutes; no taxi.
The attendant called a couple more times, and finally after an hour, the taxi company said, “I’m sorry — we just don’t have any taxis available.”
I gulped and thought, “What do I do now?” I could have walked it — that’s what I’ve gotten pretty good at over the last month — but it was far enough that I probably wouldn’t have made it in time.
Then the man, said, “There is a bus stop a few blocks away, and there are a lot of different buses that come by, but you need to wait for the #6 bus,” whatever that meant. So I took off towards where he said the stop was and found it.
I waited and waited, and different buses came by, but none of them said #6. Finally, after what seemed like way too long, a bus came by that said L6A. It stopped and I asked the conductor in Spanish if this might happen to go by the bus station? He said, “Yes.”
By then, I didn’t have much extra time, so I said, “About how long will it take?” He said, “Ten minutes.” I breathed a sigh of relief and said, “Thank you Jesus.”
It took longer than ten minutes, but I made it in time. So if you haven’t experienced that kind of excitement, you need to!
I’m halfway through my 11-hour bus ride to Madrid, but quickly wanted to give some things I think are significant areas of praise.
1. I have spent the last 41 nights in 41 different beds and, to my knowledge, I didn’t get into any bedbugs. That is one of the major fears of pilgrims.
2. After walking approximately 555 miles, I have zero blisters! Do you know how rare that is? Many or maybe even most pilgrims deal with blisters at least at some level! God somehow protected me from them.
3. I drank tap water the whole time, and didn’t have any stomach issues!
4. In the States, I always HAVE to use French Vanilla creamer in my coffee. I stopped cold turkey on the Camino and didn’t go through withdrawal!
5. I had some incredibly special “God moments” on the trail.
6. There were only 3 rain days out of 38 days of walking. Almost unheard of this time of year!
7. This body just kept walking the miles — and walking — and walking, even though it is past its prime! May God be glorified.
The bus I’m on right now
Thoughts from Faith (Joe’s wife):
I will be eternally grateful to the church board for allowing Joe the time, to our church for pulling and praying for him with sincerity, and to ALL of you who report you have faithfully read his blogs and have been accompanying “us” on the Camino de Santiago!
God has used the blog to unify and equip His people across denominational barriers. What a blessing that we never dreamed of! He didn’t just minister to Joe during this time, but to ALL of US! What a faithful God we serve.
Several of you have consistently texted Joe, encouraging him along the way. That has meant so much! Here is a sample text from a sweet, precious lady in our church.
Carmen said:
“This journey to the end of the earth has been so amazing, beautiful, inspirational. How we miss our pastor tho! It's wonderful that these weeks actually made us feel even closer to you, I think. Your walk with the Lord, your honesty, and your humor. We have laughed, cried, and just been in awe of it all. Have a great afternoon/evening! May your feet and shoes get you to the finish!”
When Joe reached his goal — Finisterre, the “end of the earth” — we ALL felt the triumph! It was difficult to put into words. Our daughter, Becca, simply texted her dad: “Overwhelmed. I’m so, so proud of you.” That says it pretty well.
There were times when I felt so far away from Joe and unable to help him, such as the 2-3 weeks he was way sicker than anyone realized. I will never know the kind of will power, self-discipline, and/or stupidity that made him continue walking 13-18 miles a day with fever, muscles aches, fatigue, and a chest cough. No, I’ll never experience that — I’ll continue to do my “sick” while in bed or my recliner. But that’s not surprising for my man who has the most grit of any person I’ve ever known. It was your prayers that saw him through. God heard them, and He answered them.
Now, we just have to get him through the 11-hour bus ride that stops at every town all the way across Spain. And then the long flight across the big pond and into Kansas City late tomorrow night.
Then, 🤦🏻♀️ oh my, he is going to drive me crazy with having to rest and replenish his depleted body! Teach him one more lesson, Lord — how to take a ZERO-MILES DAY!
