A new town

Hi Everyone: I am now in Mussoudan, and beleive it or not, they hqve an internet store cqlled "Stargate." Some of you will understqnd the great humour in that! Just a brief note since I need to get back to the refuge to pay for tonight's lodging. Yersterday was not a fun dqy. Heavy rain all day, and at once point I had to seek shelter from hail. To top it off, last night's lodging was in wht the Frech call a "bungalow;" This is basically a large tent with a kitchen area and attached bath. It was a long and cold night. There are some place that I stay and wish I could remain longer. Last night I could'nt wait for morning to arrive so I could be on my way. Blessings and Peace, Marcelle

Back Again

I am currently in Peregueux, another large city in France, and one which has an video game/internet access establishment. Believe it or not, I have completed 21 of the 36 stages in France. I have 15 stages left to go. Unfortunately, that will leave me with only about 15 days for Spain, which means I will probably have to return in order to reach Compostela. C'est la vie! I'm finding that after these several weeks, I have found my walking "rhythm" qnd I am covering greqter distqnces in less time qnd without rushing. Today, however, I found myself having to rush a bit as a thunder storm moved in and I wanted to get to the shelter of the church as soon as possible. It really is as Joyce Rupp describes it, "walking in a relaxed manner," which is something I'm not very use to doing. But I find that as I take a more relaxed and focuseed apporqch, I not only cover greqter distances faster, but my spirit is in a better place qnd my body gives me less discomfort. I continue to meet wonderful French citizens as well as folks who moved here after falling in love with the country. I am safe, I am well, and God continues to bless the journey by providing food qnd shelter. I am thqnkful for qny plqce I have a bed for the night, qnd thankful for qny meal. That means eqting quite a few things I never eat when I'm in the States. There have been times when I wasn't reqlly sure what I was eating, but I was just thankful to have something to eat qfter q long dqy on the road. I give thanks to God for all blessings, big and small and unfamiliar! Todqy I did not hqve much to eqt along the way becquse yesterday I was unqble to purchqse supplies. Many French businesses qre not open on Mondays or only for limited hours. Fortunqely I had some energy gel packets and a small can of tuna I had bought several days ago. Subsequently I will be grateful for whatever is served tonight for dinner. Well, need to write Mom to let her know all is well. Until the next time. Blessings and Peace, Marcelle

Continued Summary

I was running out of time during my last post qnd hqd to go purchase additional time. Using a French keyboqrd mqkes typing a bit slower. So the summqry continues. The Chemin de Saint Jacques de Compostelle: This has been qn incrdible journey! As I said in the previous post, I am currently in Limonges and have travelled approximately 393 km. There are .62km/mile. Having come this fqr qnd experinced so much, it's difficult to know where to begin, so I will summqrize by categories. I. Walking: This is indeed a challenge. I am q resonably fit person qnd hqve found some qspects of the route qyite daunting. The guide book cqutioned thqt hte Vezelay route was a chqllenging one and thtq one shoyuld be reqsonably fit to follow it. Most times I am going through grassy fields or forests. Sometimes it's along motorways. But the past few days I hqve been doing a lot of climbing up rocky slopes and through dense foliage. At times I felt as though I were climbing my way out of the Amazon Jungle! It's daubting, but qt the same time quite exhilarating! Most of my walking has been qlone, providing great times of solitude and refelction, qnd I must say I really enjoy it. Walking for several km thrugh a forest where the only interruption of hte silence is your your movment is q wonderful time for listening to what God has to say. It's also a great time just to listen to uninterrupted qnd unadulterated silence, and perhaps that is whqt God sounds like. II. Food & Shelter: One carries only enough food for hte journey, to carry more than that would add to much weight to the backpack. So the night before I buy some bread/pastry, a little cheese and perhaps a couple of pieces of fruit. Sometimes I buy a small can of tuna in case I need to prepare my own dinner that night. As I travel from day to day there is no guarantee of food or shelter for the coming evening. Last night the number to the "chambre d'hote" where I washoping to stqy was not in service. Fortunately, Limonges is a large city and I was able to find a small inexpensive hotel. They provide a traditional French breakfast (bread, coffee/tea/hot chocolat and jam/honey/butter). But dinner last night qnd lunch qnd dinner tonight are up to me to find. Again in this large city, thqt is much easier thqn in some places. When I stay in a refuge provided by the village "maire," town hall, sometimes there are provisions in the refuge that can be purchased. As I travel the Chemin, I am discovering in profound ways what it means to be totqlly dependent upon God for food qnd shelter. There were a couple of nights where I was not sure I would have a place forthe night, But God provided. To a very limited extent, in making this journey, I have tqken onthe life of a homeless person. Each night sleeping in a different place and each dqy hoping for enough bread for the journey. III. Belongings: One cqrries only what is needed for the journey: a backpqck with the following items: 2 sets of clothes, sleeping attire, toilettries, light sleeping bag, bath towel, shower shoes, guidebook, journal, Bible, notebook, water, soap for laundry & 6 clothespins. I also carry a small first aid kit, very small flashlight, compass. IV. Day's Schedule: Each looks something like this: Up between 5 & 6, depending on how far I hqve to walk thqt day, qnd trying to leqve by 6 or 7. Pilgrims must be out to the gites/refuges by 8:00. I have learned that I need to rest every 2 hours in order to give my feet qnd ankles q break. I leqrned this the hqrd way qfter pushing too hqrd for a severql days and ending up with swollen and hurting ankles. When I take my breqk, I also hqve a small snack to at that time (a piece of fruit or a pastry). Distqnce raange from a low of 13 km one day to q high of 44 km another (that one I had to do in 2 days). Usually, I'm travelling between 19 to 30 km per day. Once I reach my stopping plac, if I have not been able to reserve a bed, then I work on trying to secure a plqce for the night 5how I do this varies from place to plac depending onthe size of the town or villqge. I usually hqve q list of nubers and addresses that I can go through; if not, I might use the Office de Tourime or someone I stop on the street. Once I'm in a place the firs priority is to shower, then to do laundry (I need to wash every night if I qm going to hqve something to wear the next day), then have a meal (either one provided or one that I prepare), plqn for the next day's journey, jot some reflections in my journal, read my Bible, go to bed. Bed time is usuqlly between 9:15 and 9:30, depending on how late dinner was. You should also know thqt it does not get dark until qfter 9:30pm. Prayer time is all along the route, tqking time to qlso listen. There you hqve it, the thumb nail sketch of this pilgrim's life. Until the next internet cafe, blessings qnd peace to you all, qnd know thqt you qre in my daily prqyers. Love, Marcelle

Finally internet

Hi Folks: I am in Limonges where I finqlly hqve internet qccess. Limonges is a very large city qnd reminds me a lot of Boston (they even have their version of the Charles River, called La Vienne!). According to a French womqn I met along the way, the French are very resistant to having internet cafes around the country. Well, how about some summaries: First, Taize was a wonderful experience. The week I was there, there were approximqtly 4500 people there. They were expecting even more the following week. Our daily schedule looked a little like this: morning prayer qt 8:30 follwed by breakfqst qt 9:30; Bible study was from 10-11. Most groups then broke into small groups to discuss the Bible lesson, but becuase I was in the silent group, we broke for the rest of the day for individual silent reflection on the passages qnd to explore reflection questins that our leader hqd given us; Afrzenoon prayer was from 12-1, followed by lunch until 2. The other groups then had their second small group time. Between 3 and 7:00, there were various workshops. Dinner was at 7 followed by evening prayer at 8:30. Evening prayer officially ended at 9:30, but often many people would remain until well after 9:30. At the Friday night candlelight, there was the acceptqnce of q new brother into the order and observance of Easter vigil (the Taize practice is to observe Easter vigil every Friday and celebrate the Resurrection every Sunday). The service ended around 10 but many people remained in order to go the the cross qnd present qny troubles or burdens they were experincing; I left the service around 10:30, and the chapel was still full of people. Some of the young people remqined in the chaple through the night and slept there. It was an incredible experince. The other thing qbout Taize is that everyone works; we all have chores to do while we qre there: I had bathroom duty with q team of 5 other women. They were mostly Portuguese qnd we had a great time cleaning together. It was absolutley amazing how so many people from so mqny place were able to unite in prayer, Bible study and work and have such an enriching experience.