the rainy season

i'm sitting in panera near my apartment. i sort of call this my satellite office. when i first moved to omaha i spent a lot of time here, typing and using their internet machine. after my first field visit to southeast asia i spent time here trying to sort through what i saw, learned, questioned, doubted, wondered, dreamed, mourned, prayed and walked.

and i'm back. with a mediocre cup of coffee, a jittery heart from the caffeine, and an attempt to write about my time in sierra leone.

although i've been back a couple of days, i've gotten into a pretty good routine of sleep, working out and eating. i've watched maybe a little too much television (yes, five episodes of sex and the city yesterday) and i've officially avoided going to some of the places i need to go to really enter into what i learned in sierra leone. every field visit is different, every field, community, ministry is different. but this visit caught me a bit off guard. i never really know what to expect when i visit friends.

so i sit in panera and i wonder about minorities in missions, sustainability, wholeness, laughter, tears, justice, responsibility. and i watch the rain drip. i think of our friends in sierra leone who will be entering into the rainy season soon.