So yes, I made it back from pilgrimage safe and sound! It was truly a wonderful experience.

I began by taking a bus from St. Paul to Waterloo, Iowa; a three-hour car trip that apparently takes 15 hours by Greyhound. Oy. When I arrived I walked to the University of Northern Iowa where I surprised maje_charis. I went to Mass with her that night and even though I did not intend on asking people I knew for money, people literally threw it at me. It made me realize after a time that it was not “my” pilgrimage, that I was on “a” pilgrimage and so was everyone else. I had to be open and accepting of everything God offered me through others. Also, a truly poor person would not care who gave them something, but only that it was given. More importantly, though, came the lesson that not only was it important for me to experience being poor, but it was almost MORE important for me to allow others to live the Gospel by serving me. If I am to allow Christ to come to people through me, how can I do that by meeting someone who wants to give, wants to live the Gospel and then tell them, “No thanks, I’ll wait to ask a stranger?” I had to be humble and flexible enough to accept that though I wanted to do “my” pilgrimage “my” way, God wanted me to do pilgrimage HIS way. So I did, and without asking a single person for money I was given nearly $300, which was the amount I was wanting to earn in the two weeks I planned on spending in Cedar Falls, Iowa (where UNI is).
So this was just Sunday. On Tuesday I decided to start going church-to-church, not having counted my money so far. I first went to this enormous megachurch whose name I won’t include here lest they get assaulted with vast numbers of angry emails. Suffice it to say that they appear to have everything a church could want, with plenty of funding for mission trips to various places, a huge building, many facilities, a big band, and probably a private space program.
Upon entering I walked up to a lady behind a desk and said, “Hello, my name is Jacob and I am trying to make my way to Maine. Is there any way this church can help out a little?” Note: I didn’t say that I was Christian or that I was a novice on pilgrimage; I wanted to present myself as just a common poor person without using my faith or my standing as a religious to make myself a more appealing target of service. If people won’t help ALL poor people regardless of anything, why should I make them help me?
“No, we aren’t set up to do anything like that. Sorry.”
*shock* I thought to myself, “They are set up for EVERYTHING else except helping the immediate poor?!?”
“Oh,” I said, “…… may I use your restroom?”
“Sure, it’s right around the corner.”
So I went to use the restroom, which was very nice. On my way out she stopped me.
“Why are you trying to get to Maine?”
I told her that I had an opportunity to stay with a religious community there, but I would have to find my own way. She asked where I’d come from and I told her St. Paul, that Cedar Falls was as far as I could get for now. So she wished me good luck and off I went.
On the way to the next church a man caught up with me, asking if I was a member of the megachurch. I said no, and he told me that he had just been there, too, begging for money… to EAT with. Never mind bus fare, but this man needed money for food! He told me that he had just spent the remainder of his money going to see his sick aunt in Los Angeles and he wasn’t getting paid until Friday. He seemed to be telling the truth, and I wanted to help him but I felt like I was in the same boat as he was. I needed money too! So he said thanks anyway and ran to the other side of the road, going door-to-door.
I started thinking about Matthew 25 and wondering about whether or not that only applied to rich people or if it applied to everyone. I concluded that even the poor were called by Christ to help the poor, and right now I was the LEAST poor of two very poor people. So I waved him down and offered him $10. He asked if I had $20 and I gave it to him. He left gratefully and I continued on, thinking about how I was going to beg that $20 back from someone else.
The next church turned me away in a similar manner, except less conversation, and the church after that was empty. I returned to UNI and went to the rehearsal of a choir I belonged to before I entered. One of the members, a friend from last year, a BEAUTIFUL ANGEL name Rose, insisted on buying me some food and afterwards wrote me a check… for $20! Then she and another friend of mine prayed with me and I went on my way.
Wednesday I went up Main Street in Cedar Falls to stop at other churches. All of them turned me away or were closed, except for two. There was one church, a Presbyerian church, that gave me some money. God bless them! I came in, said the same thing and including the fact that I only needed $34 more (I counted my money that morning).
The pastor invited me into her office and we had a chat about what I needed the money for, why I was going to Maine, where I was from, etc. I didn’t tell her that I was a Christian, a novice, a pilgrim, none of that. She eventually told me that her church budgets a small amount of money every month to help the poor with small financial needs, but she likes to be as careful as she can so she doesn’t end up giving money to someone who doesn’t really need it, or someone who will buy drugs with the money. I totally respected that, heck, I applaud such discernment! And after that she gave me $10, saying she had a good feeling about me! She also gave me her email so I could let her know if I got to Maine OK. I left that church renewed in my hope and thinking that the last $24 will be a breeze.
It wasn’t. The rest of the churches turned me away or were closed just like before. I came eventually to the final church- St. Patrick’s Catholic church. This was the only Catholic church I’d come to so far except the one at UNI that I’d already visited earlier in the week. So I entered the church and sat in the front pew, thinking to myself how WONDERFUL it was to see a TABERNACLE and to know that I wasn’t alone in this place. I prayed for a short time and, honestly, I was scared to think how I might feel to be turned away by my OWN church! I love the Catholic Church! But when I go to beg this particular church, I am not pleading as a Catholic, but as a simple, anonymous, poor man. How will my church respond?
So I found the church offices and they were empty or the doors were closed. I eventually found the priest’s office and the door was open. “Come on in,” he said.
“Hello Father, am I interrupting?”
“Nope. Can I help you?”
“Yes, my name is Jacob and I’m trying to make my way to Maine and I need $24 more for bus fare. I was wondering if there was anyway the church could help a little?”
(Note that I did not mention that I was Catholic, that I was a Jesuit Novice, or that I was a pilgrim).
WITHOUT A WORD the priest reached into his back pocket, pulled out his wallet, opened it and said, “Huh, I have exactly $24 in my wallet. Here ya go!”
I was BLOWN AWAY!!! I gratefully accepted the money and after putting my wallet away I decided to tell him who I was (since I was no longer going to ask for money). I told him that I was a Jesuit novice on pilgrimage and he was like, “NO WAY!!!” He was all excited and we talked for a bit and I told him why I didn’t mention it before and he was totally cool with it. I walked out of that church thinking the whole while, “I LOVE my church!”
The rest of my time at UNI, in a nutshell, was wonderful. For those of you familiar with the tale, I received a lot of healing from the whole Laura tragedy from almost two years ago, which was one of the reasons I came to Cedar Falls. I even tried to retrace the infamous walk by having maje_charis drop my off near Laura’s house and then walking the Cedar Valley Nature Trail back to Cedar Falls. But no one would take me into their home for the night (including one young man who said I could sleep in the barn but who’s father came out later with many f-words and lots of anger and told me to leave), and it was too cold to sleep outside. And, oh, I tried to sleep outside but the early stages of hypothermia slowly began to creep in (I could NOT stop shivering), so the only way to keep warm was to keep walking. Between about 6pm and 2am I walked between 20-25 miles, making it to a town called Center Point. When the sun came up I made it to a McDonald’s/gas station near the interstate and called maje_charis to come pick me up. I didn’t need to prove anything to anyone, nor did I need to DIE on this pilgrimage!
The next week I wanted to go back to all the churches I’d visited and talk to them about their theologies and also about how they serve the poor, but the weather went to crap. So I spent time with friends and time at the church. After two weeks at UNI I took a 42-hour bus ride up to Lewiston, Maine to stay with the Sabbathday Lake Shakers. It was BEAUTIFUL and wonderful and I hope I can do it again someday. I will end this post with some of the pictures I took! Enjoy and thank you ALL for your thoughts and prayers while I was on pilgrimage! I’m sorry if you were hoping for stories about gunfights and wild dogs, but I’m very busy today because tonight I’m leaving for home! Hooray!

This is the Shaker Meeting House built in 1794. It is like a Shaker “chapel.”

And this is the inside! The beams and pews along the sides are painted in a unique color called Shaker Blue that is pretty much only found in Shaker meeting houses.

This is where I lived. It is called the Trustee’s Office and it is where the Shakers that ran the store and interacted with “the world” lived and worked. Guests and hired people would live here, too, I think.

I can’t remember what building this is; I think it might be where the boy’s shop was, which is now the museum/reception center. I just like this picture.

The big brick building is the Dwelling House. It was built in the 1880s I think and it iis 6 stories tall with 48 rooms. This is where the Shaker adults lived and where the Shakers still live today. This is also where they worship in the winter and where we all gathered for prayer and meals.
To close out I will just leave you some pictures of the bog, which is just a beautiful area and where I walked on water! Actually, there is a just a huge mat of peat that you can walk on because it is so bouyant. It was actually like walking on a waterbed.