Why Am I Going to Walk the Camino This Year?

My Camino for the Jane and Finch Community began like this..

El Camino de Santiago (The Way of St James) is the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain. You can search "Camino de Satiago" on google and get tons of information about the Camino. This pilgrimage was popular among Christians in the 10th-12th centuries. Today thousands of people from all different cultural and religious backgrounds walk the Camino throughout the year.

Five years ago I heard about the Camino for the first time by a friend of mine when my family and I were warmly welcomed by a reunion gathering of my former youth group members from Surrey P Church in Vancouver in August 2012. Sam (병구) told me about his recent Camino experience. His story was so interesting and it captured my heart right away. Since then, I had been wanting to walk the Camino.

In 2014, my friend Jan Hieminga completed the 800 km walk to Santiago in order to raise money for a new mission centre building project in the Jane Finch community of Toronto. He was 72 years old back then. His walk inspired me to start planning for my own Camino.

So finally, I decided to commit myself to this adventure in May 2017. My walk will serve two purposes: 1) to deepen my relationship with God. I hope that the journey may help me grow in my own pilgrimage... and 2) to raise funds for the new mission centre in the Jane and Finch community. I want to continue what Jan has started three years ago. I want to raise awareness and support for the mission centre that will help the people in our community break the cycle of poverty and violence.

My walk will start in Saint Jean Pied-de-Port, France (on the French side of the Pyrenees) and finish 791 km later in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The goal is $79,100. 💚💚💚 ..

나 자신의 영적 성숙을 위해 그리고 제인 핀치 미션 센터를 위한 모금을 위해 까미노를 떠난다...