These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.

Today we begin our journey. First, we fly from Medellín to Bogotá in this morning. Then this afternoon, we board our overnight flight to Estambul, Turkey. We have a brief stop in Panamá, then we continue our flight and should arrive in Turkey around 5:00 pm on Wednesday. After arrival we head to the hotel, dinner and rest! Thursday morning, bright and early, we begin! (There is an 7 hour time difference between Turkey and the Eastern Time Zone of the USA.) I will be praying for all of you!