Pilgrim house to be established in Mook is looking for volunteers
One of our volunteers – Ryon Groenen – would like to start a pilgrim house in Mook and is looking for volunteers. Read the explanation that Marjolein Pieks wrote in consultation with her here.
The route of the Walk of Wisdom runs right past the Maasdorp, which is located in North Limburg at the foot of the Mookerheide. Already here, Ryon offers pilgrims of the Walk of Wisdom a place to sleep in her house in Mook.
Ryon is a hostess. She prepares a room and breakfast for her many hiking guests. Pilgrims give her a voluntary contribution and write in a guestbook. Two years ago, Ryon decided to set up a pilgrim house in Mook. To be able to give several pilgrims a simple place to sleep. So Ryon started looking for a different and somewhat larger location for the pilgrims who could receive them with heart and soul. To make the initiative a reality, Ryon hopes for loyal volunteers who have an affection for pilgrimage.
The pilgrim’s house must accommodate both individual hikers and groups. Ryon loves to meet people from heart to heart. She expects future volunteers to have an affinity with pilgrimage, just like she does. A few years ago, Ryon himself was a volunteer at a pilgrimage accommodation in Spain. She did cleaning work, she cooked for the guests, made breakfast and received pilgrims. Ryon expects the same work from its volunteers, which can be divided among themselves. Volunteers don’t have to be all-rounders. Ryon does not yet have a name for the pilgrim house. The location is not yet known.
Ryon made pilgrimages in a number of countries. Unfortunately, due to an injury, she is not yet able to start the Walk of Wisdom. Nevertheless, she sees her hostess in Mook as the introspection to which the contemporary pilgrimage of the Walk of Wisdom invites. The Mook pilgrim house of Ryon has opportunities for reflection and rest, although there is also plenty of room to chat and listen. There are blankets but guests must bring their own sleeping bag. The set-up is minimalist and sober. Ryon argues that minimalism is part of pilgrimage as an appreciation for the small. The pilgrim’s house is not supposed to be a hotel or resemble one. Overnight stays are based on a voluntary donation. Volunteers make this accommodation possible.
Ryon is a loyal volunteer at the Walk of Wisdom , which was founded in 2015 by pioneers Damiaan Messing and Manja Bente. Among other things, she ties the pilgrim laces to which (the already more than 4000) hikers attach their ‘bird rings’. The pilgrimage route of the Walk of Wisdom leads in 136 kilometers around Nijmegen past forests, fields, polders, streams and dike landscape and invites walkers to reflect. No telephone, no internet or noisy and long conversations, but a trip that turns off the busy and fast-paced western world for a while.
Would you like to sign up as a volunteer or learn more about Ryon’s plans or the Walk of Wisdom? Call or email Ryon for an appointment…. [email protected]
The initiator of the Mook pilgrim house.
Together with the volunteers, we can make this happen.
Pilgrim’s greeting Ryon
Photos: Walk of Walk of Wisdom, Mookerheide, Heidy Verbeet
