27. Sep 2026

Last Thots

Photo 1: Willy earned his pilgrim shell. He was the first whale ever to travel from Scotland to Germany by "foot".

Yes, Willy made it! ...but not in his own strength. I carried him. It was me who formed his thoughts and posted them in the blog. So it is with me as well. Yes, I walked the distance, but not in my own strength. As I so often said to people on the Snail-Trail: "I walk with Jesus, and he gives me the strength of the resurrection!" The God encounters, God moments, God-talks were all orchestrated by heaven. It was God's Spirit who gave me the thoughts, the words, the insights. I am Willy. We are all Willys. Jesus carries us, enables us, leads us, strenghtens us. He is the one who works in and through us to reveal his glory and draw people unto himself, to connect them to God, to bring wholeness into their lives, to encourage them and give them purpose and orientation. Jesus is the grapevine. He carries us. We are the branches that hold the fruit. Without him we could do nothing. From him comes the sap, the water of life, that forms and feeds the fruit, in us and through us to his glory.

Photo 2: "The Peacock Feather"

The feather is not quite as pretty as it was when I first picked it up from the side of the road in Ireland, but it too made the distance. Whenever I saw the feather sticking out from a side pocket of my backpack, it reminded me of God's all-seeing eye. God sees me. He knows where I am and how I am. When a walking stick breaks, when the display of the cellphone conks out, when you get a bad blister on the bottom of your foot or a painful shin splint in your leg, when a tooth filling falls out 41 days away from when and where you can get it fixed, when you are not sure where you will find a sleeping place at the end of a day or perhaps food sources along the way, when you pass through an open field with a bull standing in it, when your feet hurt and your shoulders are tired from carring the load, when it rains and you need to put your tent up... God knows, he is there, he will make a way.

Photo 3: When you walk with Jesus, you never walk alone! The Good Shepherd is really a Good Shepherd. He guides and provides. His presence gives comfort and courage. There will be joy in the journey, light in the darkness, and you will find a table prepared in the midst of adverse situations. The Good Shepherd goes before you, calls and waits for you to follow him. He knows the way. He is the way. His grace goes before you. His goodness and mercy will follow. These are not just pious words. This is life on the pilgrim path. May it be our life's way as well from one day to the next.

Photo 4: Thank you so much for being part of the journey! Thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement.
Many thanks to those who allowed me to stay in their home for a night! It was such a relief after a day of walking to have a place of refuge and recovery, a friendly welcome, a warm shower and a good meal. Thanks so much!
I also greatly appreciated points of ministry along the way where I could share truths for living that I have learned on the pilgrim path. Thank you to pastors and persons that made this possible.
We did have a glitch with sending out our weekly Snail-Trail newsletters from the end of August through September. Sorry about this, that we did not catch it earlier. That is why those who signed up for the weekly updates are now getting such a large batch of past updates all at once. I thank Martin Körber from VM-I who is the Snail-Trail webpage developer and admistrator for his help in keeping the webpage updated and running.
There are many churches and friends in the USA who have prayed for Astrid and me and been a supportive part of our life and ministry in Germany and Europe. Thanks so much for standing with us all these years and being a vital part of the Snail-Trails.
I am so glad to be back home now with my family. Knowing their love and support for me was always a motivating factor.

Photo 5: The four Snail-Trails are now complete and form a cross through much of Europe, a cross-walk of prayer. I have felt the pulse of Europe and heard the heartbeat of God for its people. Scars of past history run through the soul of Europe as do ancient roots of Christian heritage. There are many people out there who have a longing for spiritual reality. They just do not know how to connect with their Creator God. The smoke screen of religous ritual and tradition, scandals and painful religious wars, has kept many from seeking God's love, grace and mercy revealed to us through the cross of Jesus Christ. May they know and understand the message of the cross. May they seek. May they find. May God's kingdom come. May his will be done. This is what Europe needs today. Let us pray...