Photo: Foxnewslatino.com
Few would say that squeezing four children and two adults into an old, loud Volkswagen minibus would make for a magical journey. But for Argentinians Catire Walker and his wife Noël Zemborain it was a cherished dream that finally materialized thanks to their most famous countryman – Pope Francis.
After quitting their jobs, the couple piled their four kids into a 1960s van in March and set on a six-month journey through South America and Central America to see the pope at the World Meeting of Families next month in Philadelphia. They will will finally cross the U.S. border next week.
“My husband and I used to dream of making a very long trip to get to know people and places,” said the 39-year-old mother, who works in communications and marketing. “We always thought we would make the dream come true when [the kids] were in college,” she told Fox News Latino, “but last year we decided to really make this project real and we decided to transform it into a family experience,” she said.
Out in Los Angeles, the Alvarez family has similar plans. Justin Alvarez, his wife and their eight children will travel three weeks in an RV with the World Meeting of Families as final destination. Alvarez, an attorney who works long hours and rarely takes more than a few days off, said the event hosted by Pope Francis opened their eyes to the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“Our oldest is going into high school,” he said. “We are starting to pay attention [to the fact] that time with the whole family is limited. If we don’t grab it when the moment offers it, we’ll miss it.”
He hopes the World Meeting of Families – an event held by the Catholic Church every three years since 1994 – will resonate with his children. This year it will be four days of worship, discussion groups and activities for children, including making Pope puppets and bowling with visiting bishops.
To read full article: http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/lifestyle/2015/08/24/argentinian-family-hops-on-vw-minibus-drives-11k-miles-to-come-see-pope-francis/