With any significant experience, it's important to process in an external way and with others.
After every other walk or so, take time to reflect and share in a small group. Ideally, we hope you'll be able to debrief at least twice throughout your journey.
How to Debrief Your Camino Experience
Use some of the questions below, plus a question or two from each walk's theme (found on each walk's page in the web app and in the journal).
Encourage everyone in your group to speak. Notice if you haven’t heard from someone or if one person is dominating the conversation, and if so, gently invite equal participation.
RECOGNIZE
- Where did you go?
- What do you see on your walk? (Feel free to screen share pictures.)
- What did you think about while walking?
REFLECT
- What stuck out to you from the audio guide?
- A walk-specific question from Walk 1, Walk 2, Walk 3, Walk 4, or Walk 5.
RESPOND
- What have you been learning about a particular walk's theme that you want to remember?
- Is there a next step you feel led to take in light of that walk's theme?
The Approaching Differences Diagram
God comes to us not always as we want or when we are comfortable. It goes with a popular saying among peregrinos: "You get the Camino you need, not the Camino you want."
Some things in our Camino experience might stretch you: exercise, outside speakers at special events, things said in debrief, the repetitiveness of breath prayer or other spiritual practices you may not be familiar with. Any time you experience this dissonance, we invite you to view it as an opportunity for growth. Ask God what he is teaching. Be curious. Build relationships.
To learn more about this vital tool for loving and working well across cultures, please visit InterVarsity's Multiethnic Ministries page.