The adventure begins...in two weeks

In two short weeks, I will be in Nicaragua for a mission trip where I will meet with local coffee farmers, artisans, leaders, teachers, church members and families as part of a delegation with Presbyterian Church USA and Equal Exchange. And I thought of no better way to inaugurate my blogging experience than by writing my thoughts about the trip ahead. I hope to be able to have Internet access while in the country and write about the people, post photographs and detail my experience.

Scared at first, I am really looking forward to the trip. I am blessed to have been selected to be on the trip that will include people from across the country. Nicaragua will be the third country in Central America I have visited (Costa Rica, and a mission trip to Guatemala, to be discussed soon in this forum, I am most certain), and let's see....my sixth country in Latin America and the Caribbean. I love the region. I love the laughing children, the warm and inviting people, the culture, the history, the religious traditions, visiting old cathedrals, the natural beauty, the beat of the music, the sunshine and dazzling blue skies against whitewashed churches, the food: black beans, plantains, mangoes, meat, fresh fish.

Nicaragua has been for years a country at peace moving forward to overcome the horrific scars of war, the ghosts of the past. Just like anywhere, problems persist: corruption, narcotics, crime, violence, gangs, trafficking, poverty, unemployment. But we are hopeful. I am hopeful. So as it goes, January 16th, I head to Managua.