Next Steps in Processing

It has been 10 days since we returned from El Salvador and I still find it difficult to process everything that was and is a part of that experience and a part of the ongoing impact of the trip. I'm not sure what the difficulty is. Perhaps a part of the issue is that I did some of that on the trip and posted a least a part of my thoughts here in this forum. Another part of that is, I think, the return to the routine of the day to day. Being away for 11 days meant that there would be a lot of catching up after returning. Then there is the next mission trip that the congregation is taking in a few days. On Sunday, we'll begin our mission experience in Beaumont, Texas, as a part of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) disaster recovery ministry. The word we've gotten is that the work will be putting shingles on houses in the area. It is hard to process when there is so much to do in preparation for leaving again. My friend and colleague, Troy, does this most summers. I'm not sure how he does it?

I think another part of the struggle to begin processing is perhaps the biggest piece of the puzzle. Haley expressed it to me at the airport in El Salvador as we were preparing to board the plane back to home. She said, she didn't want to leave these people. I want to figure out how soon we can go back and what more we can do to nurture the relationship between the folks there and here. Is it December? Is it next summer? Is it some other time? Those questions are swirling at the front of my mind right now. Maybe if I address them or find some way to set them aside for a little while then I can move on to process the other parts of the trip. Either way, I still know that it will be a long process. I'll share some more as I can get it out. Plus there will be the experience from the Gulf Coast to share as well.