I Hate Buses

     I hate buses. Not the city, public transit type. The cross-country sort. Probably more succinctly, I don't trust other drivers on hills. When I was in high school, I went to an intensive week-long diversity training camp. On the way to the Methodist retreat center where it took place, our travel bus broke down on the crest of the very large hill. And then the brake systems failed. Thankfully, instead of tumbling off the very steep right side of the hill, we careened into the trees on the left. I like being in control of the vehicles I am in, especially in hilly areas.
     This past week, I had no choice but to be led where I wanted to go, but certainly not the method I wanted to take. We flew to Cuzco, and then drove south along the Trans-Oceanic Highway (TOH) to Andahuaylillas. This area is one of the most spectacular I have ever seen, both in terms of the nature and human-made places. Andahuaylillas is home to "The Sistine Chapel of the Southern Hemisphere," one of the most gorgeous churches I have ever encountered. From there, we continued another 3 hours south on the TOH to other small towns where the Jesuits work. We hired a driver for the day and rode in his Euro-style 11-passenger van. It was literally a white-knuckle ride. The speed limit was 30 kmh (19 mph), and even slower on the turns. We were certainly above that. We squealed around hairpin turns and passed trucks on blind hills. Trust was the most I could do.
     This was a place I have found myself on spiritual adventures as well. I am reminded of the end of the Gospel of John: "When you were younger, you used to dress yourself and go where you wanted; but when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go" (John 21:18). John notes that this is how Peter was crucified, but we can find other importance in the passage as well. We often take adventures in ways or to places we do not want to go. I remember frequently finding myself restless and quite cold on riverbanks in rural Missouri. Half the time, I had no idea why I was there. The Holy Spirit was happily driving along, laughing as we went up on two wheels around spiritual cliffhangers. I wasn't even allowed to pick the music--Jesus took my iPod and wouldn't give it back. "You will listen to Frank Turner and like it, damn it!"
     By the return portion of the trip, I was feeling more confident in the driver. He slowed a bit as we passed through some clouds in the mountain passes. We still took turns faster than probably safe, but here I am writing this post. I still had to brace myself on the seat in front of me. This was more for the comfort of Matt, who was sitting next to me.
     The same seems to hold true for much of my prayer. I can say, "Trust, trust!" all I want. If I don't actually practice, it's a moot point. I could have refused to ride in the van and stayed at the retreat center in Andahuaylillas, but then I wouldn't have seen this:

     If I choose to avoid the places or ways God leads me, then I'm missing the same spiritual picture as well. The Spiritual Exercises are made up of four weeks--sin, the life of Jesus, the death of Jesus, and the Resurrection. You can't get to the Resurrection without passing through the execution. As we go deeper into our spirituality, as we get older like Peter, God begins to dress us. We no longer demand an individualistic outfit, but follow where led. The next hard part is making sure we follow the right voice, which we must save for another post.

Next week: National Park Recommendation

AMDG,

Ken "Headed Stateside" Homan

Welcome from Kitzi

"Oh, to live will be an awfully big adventure"--Peter Pan

Along with Ken, I would like to welcome you all from the beautiful continent of South America to A Jesuit Guide to Adventure! About a month ago, Ken brought his idea to me and asked for my opinion on the creation of this blog.  Without hesitation, I knew that it was a wonderful idea and agreed to contribute writings, reflections, and suggestions for living adventurously.

However, as I began thinking about it more and more, I couldn't help but think that maybe I was the wrong person for the job.  As strange as it sounds, I feel like my faith and spirituality during the last 6 months that I've been in Bolivia have really begun to waver more than they have before.  I'm a part of a Catholic, nonprofit organization and am living in a country where the majority of the people identify as Catholic, yet still find myself questioning a lot when it comes to my faith.  Maybe it is the fact that the people here have become hardened to the poverty that they see everyday and accept it as the way the world works...or maybe it is the fact that I, too, see myself becoming hardened each day to the poverty that I see.  Whatever it is, it had me questioning whether or not I was the right person to co-author this blog. 

Yet, it is also for this very reason that I feel so pulled to contribute.  The more I talk about both my love and my struggles with faith and religion, the more I meet others who relate to the way that I feel.  We are confused, passionate, open, and unfulfilled with where we are at in our search for faith and discernment of spirituality...and it is in this way that I believe my contributions to A Jesuit Guide to Adventure will help to create an important balance and comprehensive insight to spirituality.  It is the hope of Ken and I that with a variety of voices and perspectives, we can reach out to not just one specific population, but an all-inclusive, continuously growing reader group. 

You can expect me to write a variety of reflections based upon my experiences in Bolivia, creative and inexpensive ways to engage in adventure, recommendations, and faith-related questions and concerns. 

Enjoy!

Kitzi

      

Oh the places you'll go...

     I'm experiencing one of the downfalls of adventure--sickness.  In Peru, apparently we say, "Mi estamago es flojo," or "my stomach is lazy."  Jealous of the other guys out getting to do service in the community, I decided to take some time to look back on places I have visited or lived.  The easiest way to do that seemed to be a map.  I'm a very visual person and tend to associate stories with places.  So using a picture of the U.S. I found on a Google image search and the paintbrush option in Paint, I started creating this map to see where I have been and the people that accompanied me or who encouraged me along the way.

     If you asked me to, I could tell you a story from each of these places, who I was with, and who I met there.  Some of them I have been blessed to visit several times.  If you look at the dot on the Alabama-Georgia border, that is the location of the School of the Americas protest at Ft. Benning, GA.  I was blessed to go there five years in a row.  For better or worse, my prayer sometimes seems like a montage of these experiences.  Making this map though has allowed me to sit with each of these places and people individually.  We have many things now to store memories--journals and pictures that can be stored en mass.  My spiritual directors have always encouraged me to pull these out again, especially the journals I keep on retreats.  It seems to be the same way authors are often encouraged to write and then let something sit a while and come back to it.  Perhaps there is a fresh experience that gives light to a previous one.  Only recently did I discover why I left college early to join the Jesuits, a two-year delay.

     These tools help me to remember that discernment is always an on-going process.  We are always burrowing deeper into the mystery, discovering something unknown--going on an adventure.  My suggestion is to pick out a specific experience, and even smaller if necessary.  I could never reflect on the entirety of an 8-day retreat in one sitting; however, I can sit with specific prayer periods of that retreat.  In the same way, I could never reflect on my month in Denver; but I can be with a particular hike I had there.  Our adventures are like a good poem or piece of art that has many beautiful, hidden bits of knowledge.  It is best to treat them as such, giving them the time they need for recollection and quiet.  Then we can more fully share the story.

     Not only does this practice teach me new things, but it helps remind me of the old things I need to remember.  As I prepared for this trip to Peru, I was quite scared.  Not for any reason in particular, but I think the newness of it was nerve-wrecking (to the tune of feeling physically ill).  It was similar to the worry I had when my parents moved to Lawrence, KS after my senior year of high school.  I love adventure, but I also depend on a strong sense of home.  Given that previous experience, I was reminded of the comfort that so many people and the Holy Spirit offered me.  Despite feeling sick the entire flight, once landed I felt fine and ready to go. This is the kind of reminder I needed, drawn from a past experience.  Nothing new, but certainly just as powerful as the first time.

     The places you go may be many or few, but they all deserve time for reflection or prayer--an Examen at the end of the day, or even a whole hour.  Whatever it is, I hope you find it grace-filled and fruitful.  Let your adventures be not just physical, but spiritual as well.  Oh the places you'll go....

Welcome from Ken

Welcome to A Jesuit Guide to Adventure!  This idea popped into my head during my annual 8-day silent retreat on the beautiful bluffs in Minnesota.  I passed it by a couple of friends who thought it was worthwhile.  I hope to use this blog to encourage a variety of voices, and not just my own.  Kitzi has kindly said she will co-author the blog and there may be others to join later on.

The goal of this blog is to share some of our own stories of Jesuit spirituality and adventure.  After all, Jesuits have been adventurers and travelers since the beginning--Ignatius sent his best friend Xavier to China just a few years after their founding.  This spirit of adventure has wound its way into my own life in a wonderful and awesome way that has led me to beautiful places and truly spectacular people.  I hope in this blog I can share some of my own experiences, trials and graces, as well as reviews and tips.  My goal is for our posts to offer a variety of reflections, neat places to visit, and things one may need to know to get there.  I would also hope that it inspires you to do your own discernment and traveling, no matter how far or near.  Stories for me are not personal things, but belong to the community.  I share my own stories so that you might make your own to then share them.

You can expect from me posts on a variety of topics--reflections; adventure music and literature; reviews of places; recommendations; and a few helpful tips.  I will try to write in a timely manner, and if unable, ask someone to guest/co-author to fill in some of the wait.  We do ask patience as we get the blog up and running, but we hope it will be a valuable resource in your own discernment and adventuring.