We Carry Kevan – backpacking in Europe

We Carry Kevan – backpacking in Europe a story about friendship and adventure – United States

We Carry Kevan

backpacking in Europe

“In the summer of 2016, I went backpacking through Europe with some friends. I’m usually in a wheelchair, but I swapped that out for a backpack and these friends carried me around for three weeks.

We explored cities and countrysides, hiked ancient islands and walked along timeless riverbanks. It was a world I would have otherwise never known, if it weren’t for the amazing men who went with me; a band of brothers with lightning in their blood and thunder in their bones.

Paris

We spent months preparing for the journey, perfecting the backpack and training for teamwork, hiking, and carrying. By the time we landed in Paris, mid-June of 2016, we were ready to take on the world. We got there just in time for Summer Solstice, and oh my we danced!

We ate, we walked, we hopped trains and metros on whims, and we took in the view from the steps of Sacre Coeur. And we went to Samois-sur-Siene.

Samois-sur-Siene

It was Thursday of that first week when we left Paris and headed downriver to the hometown of Django Reinhardt, a legendary guitarist and great inspiration to me. Samois-sur-Siene hosted an annual festival in his memory, and we found ourselves in the midst of a gypsy camp with a hundred musicians, playing Django’s music.

This was Heaven to me, or as close as I’d get in this lifetime. I realized, then, a sort of frustration within myself that slowly turned over into sadness. All I wanted to do here was wander around by myself, take in the scene and let my soul rest in it. But again, I had no wheelchair to do this, and my wheelchair wouldn’t handle this place well anyway. Mud, steps, rocks, gravel, crowds, more steps.

Freedom

Turns out, I had traded one freedom for another. In my chair, I have control. I decide every move I make, I come and go as I please, though limited by terrain. In this backpack and with these friends, I can go anywhere, though not on my own. One freedom is not better than the other, they’re just different. Both come with pros and cons.

Wrestle to accept

And this what I had to wrestle through and learn for myself — that life is full of such compromises. I wanted to explore lands otherwise inaccessible to me, so I had to get over myself and accept the changes required to make that a reality. I wasn’t going to be in control, per se, and it was probably going to be uncomfortable in some ways.

Carry Kevan

And someone else would have to carry me, which meant it wasn’t just my adventure, but an equally shared experience between myself and my carrier. I had to consider their needs and desires over my own, and trust they were doing likewise for me, so that we both were covered in the end.”

One of the guys on the trip, Ben, was my roommate back home. We’re around each other so much, it feels more natural than others. So, he came alongside me at Samois-sur-Siene, took me onto his back, and we wandered around by ourselves, taking in the scene and letting our souls rest in it.

From the publisher

“In WE CARRY KEVAN the reader sits with Kevan, one head-level above everyone else for the first time in his life and enjoys camaraderie unlike anything most people ever experience.

Along the way they encounter the curiosity and beauty of strangers, the human family disarmed by grace, and the constant love of God so rich and beautiful in the company of good friends. WE CARRY KEVAN displays the profound power of friendship and self-sacrifice.”

The book

Find out more about this extraordinary group of friends via WeCarryKevan. There is a book, a non-profit producing backpacks.

Another trip was in China (2018), in Canada and in Southern California. Join their community at their website.

• We are a 501c3 non-profit organization.Your generosity will help us continue to develop and produce backpacks for individuals with disabilities, as well as travel to meet and encourage these individuals, their families and communities.