Although many of Baraga’s missionary journeys were filled with hardships, he sometimes enjoyed pleasant trips between missions. On late summer journeys, he felt joy and gratitude as he beheld the beautiful surroundings and welcomed the swiftness and ease of travel in a sturdy Indian canoe gliding on shiny river paths through primeval forests. He looked forward with great joy to the next stop, where he would serve his children in another village. From the beginning, when he received the letter accepting him to the mission field of North America on the seventh anniversary of his first Holy Mass, he declared, “Now at length, I hear from afar the voice which invites me to come to the holy mission. As soon as possible I will go to that so much neglected part of the Lord’s vineyard.”