When you start to walk the way, the way appears.

--Rumi

Last winter, in the wake of the election, my friend Jesse fell ill with both an underlying depression and the onset of painful diabetic neuropathy. After some time in a hospital, she began treating both ailments by walking--three, five, nine, twelve miles--carrying a small camera and documenting the world as she saw it.

She began to experience the sensation she was on a pilgrimage, just going home to sleep in her own bed at night. She mentioned this to her pastor, Pam, who generously offered to fund a trip to Spain to walk El Camino Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage route. The church would draw this money from a fund designated for helping people explore their vocations. Pam defines vocation as "where your gifts meet the world's needs." This is something Jesse desperately wishes to understand, as she has an acute awareness of the depths of the world's need in this moment.

Recently however, Jesse received some more bad news about her health: cervical stenosis. Carrying a heavy pack halfway across Spain was out of the question. Making this trip would require using a tour company with luggage transfer, and a budget surpassing what the church can afford.

The purpose of this fundraiser is to make it possible for Jesse to go to Spain with her camera, to undertake healing for herself and others, one step at a time. To start on the way, so that the way will appear.

Any unspent funds will be returned to the church.