Saturday evening, we returned to the UCA in the evening for the vigil commemorating the martyrs.  We arrived in time to see the completed alfombras.  We then gathered to hear a few speakers, watch a student dance group, and then light our candles and begin our procession through the campus.  There were banners and images of the martyrs, which some of the students carried.  There were several thousand people of us in the procession. The spirit was both joyful and solemn.  Once we began processing I kept largely silent, praying with each step.  I thought of the processions I had been part of at Ft. Benning, GA at the School of the Americas decades ago.  I thought of the people I accompanied then and now.  When we arrived at the athletic fields where the vigil mass was held, I stood in the back listening to the wonderful music.  Some people in front of me invited me to sit and so I did.  It was a beautiful night and I was grateful I was there to celebrate it. 

The photos below are from the vigil.

On Sunday, I returned home from El Salvador, catching an early morning flight.  El Salvador has had a difficult past and continues with a difficult present.  There are economic and political challenges.  Many of those challenges persist because of my own government’s foreign and economic policies.  I have captured a few thoughts here, but this is not all.  Of course not.  There are stories I have not told.  Besides the limits of time and space, there are stories that are not appropriate for Facebook.  Stories that are not mine to tell.  My own experiences there will take a long time to untangle.  For the moment, I am grateful for the privilege I had to travel there and to meet the people and places I visited in the short time I had with them.  A small window into the wide world beyond my doorstep.