Serving pilgrims at La Fuente del Peregrino

As Ruben and Aaron and I drove across the north of Spain toward Galicia, hundreds of pilgrims, represented on the map above) were doing their own pilgramages from different points toward the city of Santiago, Spain.

Chris Pratt, a fellow teammate from my days of planting the campus ministry at the University of Granada, and his wife Anna Pratt invited us to join them and two other families for a week in Ligonde, Galicia, Spain to serve the pilgrims who pass by Ágape's pilgrim house, lafuentedelperegrino.com.  

 

Below left we are pictured at our first team meeting where Chris explained the history of the house and the vision and mission of La Fuente del Peregrino. 

     

For one week our team of 8 adults and 8 children served pilgrims walking along the Camino de Santiago, providing coffee and lemonade, clean bathrooms, cold water from our fountain and for a lucky few, dinner and bed to sleep in, all free of charge.

We learned how things work on the go. Each team member specialized in a certain task. Ruben was the driver and helped with all the meal purchases. Aaron, along with the other kids, stamped the pilgrims' "credential" which is like a passport on the Camino. I registered the pilgrims who planned to sleep at the house for the night.

 

  

 

  

We met so many people from so many backgrounds, each with his or her own reason for walking the Camino. Below are pictured four young Italians with Jonathan (one of our team members). We were already full for the night...but with their persuasive ways, they wooed our director, Chris, into letting them sleep in our yard. We made dinner for them as well as the other 7 pilgrims who has signed up for the night. 

 

One of our favorite parts of the job comes after dinner each night. We facilitate a game with pictures where we ask our guests to respond to three questions by choosing the most adequate photo that represents their answers: 

1. What image best describes your life right now? Which image would you like to represent your life?

2. Which image best portrays your picture of who God is / what God is like?

3. Which image best describes your relationship with God? Which picture would you like to represent your relationship with God?

As seen in the photo above, there were several children who walked the Camino. Blanca, Maite y Daniel stayed the night with their sister/aunt who was leading them on their pilgrimage. It was encouraging to hear their responses and their gratitude for our time together. They were encouraged and challenged to continue learning more about God.

God used our children in special ways to minister to the pilgrims and to help create a family atmosphere, allowing the pilgrims to feel safe and at home.

My favorite story was of Ferdindano from Italy (pictured below with our teammate Sean). He was cycling on the Camino and Google Maps had sent him FAR out the way to travel many more kilometers than he should have gone. He had not planned to stay with us, but he had injured his knee during the day's journey. He could barely walk upstairs to the sleeping area, but he refused to receive help as he struggled up and down the stairs.

After dinner, he was insistent about leaving a donation for the meal and the lodging. Although he did not speak much English, we pulled out Google Translate on our phones and through various entries he told me that he wanted to give a donation because he wanted to "pay for his sins and wrongs," although he knew that a donation was not required. I told him it was not necessary because his sins were already paid for by Jesus. A light bulb seemed to go off in his head, finally grasping what it means to receive Christ's gift of forgiveness.

There are many more stories to tell and even more untold. (Click here for more photos.😀) It was a great week to be God's hands and feet, reminding them of Jesus' love. It was also great for our family to do ministry together. It was the first time we have done something like that together and it was such a joy for me.

We capped off the week with a celebratory dinner, pictured below, giving thanks to God for the new 

friendships we formed with our teammates and for the opportunity to learn how to love the way He does.

Please pray for all the seeds that are sown throughout the summer months and beyond in the lives of pilgrims who pass by La Fuente del Peregrino. 

Also pray for our family as we consider future opportunities to serve the Lord together.