JFK Airport, New York

I leave tonight (November 2nd) to return to a land I left 9 years ago with great expectations. I look forward to meeting friends from the US who serve in many ways the peoples of Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone as I look forward to meeting young and engaged local African priests and religious who I knew as colleagues those years ago. The experience of war and struggle have matured them at an accelerated pace, I am sure. I go to listen to stories of how the indominable spirit of the African people restore their communities afer years of conflict and deception. The main purpose for this trip, the first of hopefully three within these next 12 months, is to research a sampling of places where restorative justice has happened, how it happened, did it succeed, and what the community looks like now. I will try to keep the sharing current, so follow this month long saga of return and reengagement. Depending on the availability of technology as well as my ability to use it, photos and videos may accompany my words. Stay tuned. Next stop - Ghana.