Arkansas 'miracle men' complete grueling pilgrimage

Father, son and friend make traditional hike 170 miles across France and Spain

Published: July 20, 2013

By Dwain Hebda
Associate Editor

Nearing the finish, John David Jones (left), Harrison Jones and Dave Thompson pose at Monte do Gozo (Mount of Joy). The statues point the way to their final destination, the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela.

RUSSELLVILLE — The Spanish mountain wind howled around John David Jones’ ears and his breath caught in his lungs. Was it pneumonia? He couldn’t tell, but it wouldn’t surprise him. Each step was pain, each breath ragged. His poncho, shredded by the whistling zephyr, was knotted around his body like funeral wrappings.

Dave Thompson of Scranton also struggled against the terrain and Jones’ son Harrison, while holding up better, still felt bone weary. Worst of all, the three Arkansans, in the midst of a month-long pilgrimage, were haunted by the nagging doubts about reaching their destination. More and more it looked like they would return home defeated.

“I was totally stressed out over it,” John David Jones said. “There were times, I wondered, maybe God didn’t want us to do it, like he was telling us he wanted us to go back home for some reason.”

And yet, throughout this adventure, miracle trumped misery. Bleak as it was, that day on the mountain was no different. As with the rest of the trip, the crisis only served to reveal they were not walking alone.

“I look at Dad and I can see he’s sick and his poncho is all ripped up,” Harrison Jones, 18, said. “I was praying all along the way to just let us get down the mountain. We come around this corner and right there is a new poncho with a rock on it on a bench.”

“At times it was amazing,” Thompson said. “There were several times where things would happen that should have been game-enders and something good would always happen that would get us through another day.”

The El Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James) is considered one of the three most important pilgrimages (after Rome and the Holy Land) a Catholic can complete. It begins at various points, mostly in Spain and France, and ends at the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwest Spain. As legend holds, it’s the final resting place of the apostle. By the 12th century, organized pilgrimages to the site were common. They still are and with thousands of pilgrims from all corners of the world making the trek annually. El Camino is big business.

John David Jones, 42, and Dave Thompson, 50, met four years ago at a “Why Catholic?” group and became workout pals at a local gym. Each heard about the pilgrimage and, during a workout, agreed to take on the adventure.

The Joneses attend St. John Church in Russellville while Thompson attends St. Ignatius Church in Scranton. Leading up to their departure, they were invited to speak of their coming trek and received special blessings from their pastors as well as Bishop Anthony B. Taylor. Each congregation remembered the trio in their weekly prayer intentions, following their adventures on Facebook.

They set off May 22 without a clue as to how ill-prepared they really were for the physical and mental challenges that lie ahead. They only spoke English and they arrived at the starting point expecting summer weather, only to find themselves in the middle of a 150-year cold spell.

In preparation for the 275-kilometer walk (about 170 miles), they had taken long hikes around Russellville, yet somehow failed to take advantage of area bluffs, despite the first leg of the trek winding through the French Pyranees. The persistent cold, wet weather added to the physical strain.

“Those mountains,” said John David, shaking his head. “We’d go 115 feet up, then 210 feet down, then 135 feet up again.”

At night, they rested and patched themselves up in hostels found all along the route. The food was good and the camaraderie was well-received, as locals and fellow pilgrims embraced them.

“At one point we were exhausted and we came around a corner and there’s a priest shaking every pilgrim’s hand,” Thompson remembered. “He took us inside and blessed us and somehow we continued.”

John David Jones said without hesitation he is ready to do it again and Thompson is planning visits to other holy sites.

Challenges and all, all three enthusiastically recommend the trek to anyone, saying they see their lives differently having felt the hand of God on his shoulder.

“It’s almost been hard to adjust to life back home,” Harrison Jones said. “I even dream we’re back out there. Every day we had something to get up and do and a challenge to face. There’s a saying among pilgrims, ‘The Camino chooses you.’”