Filming, packing, editing and soon flying off

SOLOLÁ — In a little more than 24 hours, I’ll be flying north and leaving behind the Land of the Maya.

My hope and prayer is that this parting lasts only a while, but only God knows how the next months will unfold.

The past few days have been a whirlwind, saying good-bye to friends and working with Viña Studios staff here to knit together a video about my trip here. I had no idea it was so complicated to produce a video, but I’ve gotten great help with a script, filming, piecing together photos, video, music and audio recordings.

Until now, I hadn’t been involved in making a video. This process, done under stress and time pressures, has been incredibly enlightening and educational. We’ve gone to the market, to my favorite tortilla shop, to the cobbler shop, the slaughterhouse, my apartment and around town to film.

I’ve gained an entirely new appreciation for the work these brothers do every day, deftly running audio and video editing computer programs (Final Cut Pro and Pro Tools) and other complicated computer programs.

It’s humbling and a little uncomfortable to receive so much help from my brothers and sisters on my project. It would have been impossible without them. It’s one thing to edit or critique a project, but entirely different to produce it from the ground up.

In all the rush, I haven’t had much time to process my thoughts, and I know I’ve not been able to properly “despedirme” (say good-bye) to many friends. Sometime this evening, I’ll finish packing and sweep my apartment, come to work tomorrow for one last morning devotional lesson, and then catch a bus to Guatemala City for my flight home.