* * *
For the water that runs with blood and tears,
Does nothing more than mask their hopes with fears.
So unless you reach down,
Hope is gone and hearts still drown.
* * *
But behind the nervous eyes and distant stares,
Lies the need for one who simply cares.
So unless you step out onto the shore,
The page continues to turn with promise of war.
* * *
With those in rank of such young age,
Makes you think their souls are locked in a cage.
So unless you step into the room,
Skies bring signs of inevitable doom.
* * *
In this place where disease runs wild,
There’s no place to escape the cries of a starving child
So unless you step out of your cave,
To hunger they all remain a slave.
* * *
Many nights they sat and cried,
For hopes and dreams all but denied.
So unless you reach in,
Opportunity continues to lie in a bin.
* * *
For what is broken and torn,
Does nothing more than make them wish they were never born.
So unless you come and live,
The promise of peace has nothing to give.
* * *
Those that live in slums,
Have been given the name of helpless bums.
So unless you come and stay,
Poverty remains and souls still stray.
* * *
So in this place called home they remain,
With hopes for less of the same.
So now you’ve come, and there you stood,
For God is here and God is good.
-Evan Bolton
(written prior to missions trip to Ghana, West Africa, 2008)
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