Mission Trip to Bluefields, Nicaragua

What we see in Bluefields:

A polluted bay,
Houses made from rusting metal sheets,
Roads of red mud,
Miles of wrappers and tires that stretch down every ditch,
A deluge of garbage slumped against a hill,

Taxis that tear down the ancient roads;
The passengers with nowhere to go.

What we hear in Bluefields:

A soccer ball bouncing as we boot it with the kids,

The sharp sound of the scissors slicing paper

to create some clever crafts, such as a colorful mask,

a tongue-tied toddler,

Too timid to join and play,

Adrian strumming the strings of his guitar, and

the kids’ clapping crisply echoing

while they sing a Spanish worship song,

“! Dame la mano, querido hermano! ¡Dame la mano y mi hermano serás!”