Thank you dear reader for your patience with our lack of publishing in the last month. Our family has been enjoying what the Germans call Urlaub and the Italians call ferie di Agosto - in other words the languid period at the end of summer and the beginning of the school year when all motivation to work dries up in the baking sun of August.
Regular publications will soon resume, but in the meantime we wanted to highlight an update to the “Veterans on the Camino” post we wrote in June.
“Veterans on the Camino” founder and Navy veteran Brad Genereux recently wrote the following:
“Our mission finally continues.
Due to the pandemic crippling our world, we were forced to stand down. But we are now pleased to announce that the Spring 2020 group of Veterans are getting ready to depart for Spain.
Because the situation changes so rapidly, we cannot begin planning the next group until the current group is actually walking the Camino and we are confident that no more delays will be forced upon us.
We will take applications for the Spring 2022 Camino beginning in November.
Buen Camino,
Brad Genereux”
Due to a tangential connection to the war in Afghanistan via previous government service, Matt has been involved via Slack and Signal with a massive effort to repatriate Afghan refugees and US citizens after the fall of Kabul.
While this effort gave renewed purpose to many veterans who participated, there is no doubt that the grim headlines of the past weeks have been very difficult for those who served in that country over the past 20 years.
“Veterans on the Camino” is one of the many charities helping to support veterans, but it is the one we are currently most excited about, because of both the spiritual benefits of pilgrimage as well as the increasingly well-known mental health benefits of exposure to nature and long, purpose-driven walks such as afforded by the Camino de Santiago.
If you are moved to help veterans in any way, please consider donating to Veterans on the Camino. Any subscriptions to this blog as a result of this post will likewise be donated.
Buen Camino, and thank you veterans for your service.