As many of you know (and have been praying for me; thanks!), last week I embarked on my first trip to an Orthodox monastery. Many of the OCA priests in the Diocese of the South love and are loved by the monks at Holy Archangels Greek Orthodox Monastery in Kendalia Texas, and thus many recommended that this monastery be the first one that I should travel to.

The monastery is located in the beautiful heart of Texas hill country about 70 miles southwest of Austin. They have ~140 acres of land and are currently constructing a new monastery complex which can only be described as “epic” and “breathtaking.”

One of the first things I noticed when I arrived was the deafening silence. It was so quiet that my ears hurt for the first few days because they were not use to the lack of sound pressure on them. This atmosphere along with amazingly docile wildlife (dear would come right up to you), and incredibly beautiful night skies created a majestic scene which fostered great peace and great prayer. Coupled along with warm and friendly monks, beautiful and intimate early morning liturgies, long prayerful walks, and good hard manual labor, I for the first time found myself in a place where I could put away all the thoughts and worries of modern life and just pray. It was quite amazing and refreshing!

In fact, I believe it was the first vacation I have ever taken where I felt completely rested. Usually when I arrive home from a trip I feel like I need a vacation from my vacation. But this trip proved to be just the opposite. As an example: I walked around the grounds for 2 hours after I said my goodbyes to the monks merely because I really did not want to leave such a wonderful place. Even more, for the first 30 minutes after leaving the monastery I had to wage an internal ware on whether or not I would turn the car around. If it was not for prior engagements in Dallas that day I’m not sure if I would have had the willpower to leave.

Nevertheless I truly enjoyed my stay and I look forward to my next visit. Please enjoy some pictures from the monastery.

Note: I took pictures right before leaving and could not gain access to any of the chapels during that time, so pictures from the most breathtaking parts of the monastery were not included below. Sorry. ;)