Home Sweet Home

Good morning folks!


I made it home Wednesday evening at about 8 after a layover in Newark.   Both the flight to Newark from Madrid and the one from Newark to Charlotte were uneventful and pretty smooth. 


It's hard to believe that the Camino is over; it was wonderful, but it is nice to be home.  God worked big time in my life and even since I have been home I have started seeing the fruits of the Camino.  There is a renewed trust that I have in Him and His will for my life, not just in regards to what my vocation is going to be, but in regards to life in general.


I want to thank all of you for following me on my journey, but most importantly I want to say thanks for your prayers.  Everyday required a trust in God and a perseverance that would have been hard to come by if not for your prayers.  Jason and I were amazed to see God working not only in our lives, but also in the lives others on the Camino.  Although we didn't witness any Saint Paul kind of conversions, we saw God working in the lives of many of the people that we met from Amy the Brit to the little trail angels that He sent to guide and encourage us.


The pains from the walking are for the most part gone.  There are some lingering ones if I sit in one position for a while and then get up too quickly, but they are to be expected after the legs were used to walking all day for a month.  My shoes held up better than expected, although they don't really have much if any life left in them after 500 miles.  The guy at the shoe store said they usually advertise them as 400-500 mile shoes, so into the yard-work bin they go.  Also, one of the cool benefits of walking 500 miles is that your body thanks you by shedding some of the unwanted baggage collected over the years--in total, I lost about 15 pounds over the course of the trip, so now comes the task of keeping it all off.


Again, I really can not thank you all enough for your support.  Know that you will all continue to be in my prayers as I move forward from the Camino.  Please continue to pray for me. Much love.


Paul


p.s. Also, I am trying to compile all the pics from the trip, so if anyone would like to see some of ones not posted on the blog, please let me know.