I learned so much these last five days. About myself, about others, and about God.
I am currently in burgos spain. About 120+ km from where i started the 5 day pilgrimage in Logrono. On the surface the journey involved high winds, rain, sore feet, wet clothes, walking through miles of vineyard, farmland, hills, and quaint little centuries old villages, with breathtaking views, and beautiful old churches. One of which we attained access to through a 500 year old secret passageway that a local albergue worker took us through.
But there is so much more below the surface.
We started most mornings off with complete silence. Allowing us to meditate on things unseen, to talk to our father, and more importantly to listen. To have the first few hours of our day until lunch to just listen, and grow closer to our heavenly father.
However this was not the case on the first day. The first day was open for us to socialize and get to know our fellow team mates. Which being an extrovert greatly excited me. But God had another plan. As I was trying to connect with different teammates, i found most were already in pairs and having good personal discussions, as i would try to interject, or partake in other conversations, I found myself unable to. Immediately my mind started jumping to its usual crazy conclusions. Thoughts of “you don’t belong here”, “nobody wants to talk to you” “no one cares to hear your story”. Then I heard God saying “walk with me Tomas, talk with me, get to know me!” I was so reluctant to my father’s request at first. But after several more failed attempts at socializing I gave in.
Not exactly the best way to go about it. But I gave it an honest try. What happened next was amazing. I spent the next 5-6 hours in an open conversation with God. Like what i would do at home during worship, except there was no music, no time limit, and suddenly no “Fear Of Missing Out”. I soon found myself far ahead of my team, overwhelmed with joy, and surrounded by my father’s creation. I asked him so many questions, ones that had no precedence on my destination, or importance really. He taught me about his creation, and so much about myself, my identity, and how he wants to grow me! Before I knew it I had walked 30 km, and was so full of joy, in fully realizing the freedom i had. Finally I could explore his creation like i always wanted to. Even though i had just walked 30km my team mates observed me running up hills, studying the plants,and just standing in awe of the miles of his creation that laid before me. Praising the father with the words on my lips he then spoke a truth in my ear. It was then that i realized, this is the life he intended for me.
I’m not the same person i was when i started this pilgrimage. I am now a person free from “fear of missing out”(or FOMO as my teammates refer to it).
Over the course of the next 5 days I learned many more lessons like how to just walk into a town and find a place for my teammates and I to stay the night in a foreign country side. I learned to just slow my mind, and listen to the father. I learned to ease up on worry, and yes I was even able to converse with several team members throughout the other 4 days. I also learned a great deal about living in constant community. After all it’s not always easy living from town to town with 21 other people.
In the end this 5 day pilgrimage is a snapshot into the 11 month journey ahead. I have found it to be a very effective aspect of my spiritual training, and personal discipline.
From a quaint little cafe in burgos Spain, God bless. And thank you all for checking up on me, Thank you for your blessings and prayers, they are well received on this end.
Here is one of many pictures of that church I got to go into via secret passageway. This is what most the altars look like in the “little” churches. I will post more pictures up on facebook later, as right now I am unable to upload those pictures. 
