I've always wanted to go to Africa. I spent a year and a half in Latin America, which still has the European influence and has many cultural similarities to ours. But Africa... so far removed from where and how we live.. she intrigued me. Probably at first because I've always been a fan of animals... zebras, giraffes, lions, tigers, bears... (I will refrain..) Are there even bears in Africa? Anyway, the point is, Africa has always been that far off/stereotypical land where people go on adventures and safaris, and chances were that I'd never be able to go. Besides, I had left my heart in Latin America.
Amazing Grace came out in the theaters, and I was so excited on opening night. I hadn't heard about William Wilberforce, but I love Amazing Grace, and I knew it had something to do with the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade... I was stoked. That movie was incredible. It totally turned my world upside-down. I had been exposed to the existence of child prostitution when I lived in Mexico, and was so horrified by it that I did my English report on it as well as a speech freshman year in college. Also while in Mexico, I went with my mom and a couple other women to look for some kids that had been kidnapped by their own mother, who then started selling them out on the streets every night... She was their pimp. Not only that, but she would dress the little boy up as a girl just to make more money off of him. When I saw that little boy, my heart broke, and I don't think it will ever recover. Ever since then, my heart was to rescue kids from the streets, rescue them from prostitution. And seeing Amazing Grace reminded me that one person really can make a difference. It may take 20 years to see the fruit of my labor, but it is possible!
After Amazing Grace, everywhere I went I heard something about street kids, read something or saw something, and I would come home in tears every day because I could not escape them - even here in Dallas, TX, I could not escape them. But what was I supposed to do? The Lord was being super quiet about what He wanted me to do, and so I just got more and more frustrated. Finally I just decided enough was enough. I started reading everything that I could and watching every movie that I could that had anything to do with modern-day slavery. A couple of months ago, I went to a screening of a documentary at the Dallas Guitar Festival. I'd heard of Invisible Children (www.invisiblechildren.com) before, and I knew what they fought for. I had even signed up to go to Displace Me in Austin.
But I was not ready for what I saw that night in the documentary. I won't even attempt to describe the horrors because words are not enough. Not only did the video open my eyes and break my heart, but one of the filmmakers was there along with one of the Ugandan boys Jacob. As soon as Laren and Jacob walked out on stage, I lost it. I'd held it together through the whole documentary, but as soon as I saw Jacob's face... From that point on, I had images in my mind of abducted children going off to fight in a war that they did not believe in. And if they did, it was because they were brainwashed and conditioned to do so. They were everywhere - in my every thought, in my dreams. So I did all I could do... paint. I decided to paint, and eventually try to sell the paintings and then donate the money to IC.
Displace Me was a huge success. Jacob was also there, and captivated the audience once again. It was only on the way home that I realized what we had done, what our actions represented. And it was on that trip that Morgan asked me if I wanted to go to Africa. Our friend Leah was going with her brother in the fall. The notion of the distant land teased me once again, only this time with thoughts of children dying of malaria and HIV and war, parents leaving their children to fend for themselves because HIV took them too early. I could not ignore Africa's cries any longer. I heard her loud and clear, and it was time to do something about it.
And so, in two and a half months, I will leave for Sang'alo, Kenya with my two girls and a guy I've never met before to work at a school full of children... beautiful children. And I pray to God that He uses us to make a difference in these people's lives.
And so, the adventure begins.
Gloria
Amazing Grace came out in the theaters, and I was so excited on opening night. I hadn't heard about William Wilberforce, but I love Amazing Grace, and I knew it had something to do with the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade... I was stoked. That movie was incredible. It totally turned my world upside-down. I had been exposed to the existence of child prostitution when I lived in Mexico, and was so horrified by it that I did my English report on it as well as a speech freshman year in college. Also while in Mexico, I went with my mom and a couple other women to look for some kids that had been kidnapped by their own mother, who then started selling them out on the streets every night... She was their pimp. Not only that, but she would dress the little boy up as a girl just to make more money off of him. When I saw that little boy, my heart broke, and I don't think it will ever recover. Ever since then, my heart was to rescue kids from the streets, rescue them from prostitution. And seeing Amazing Grace reminded me that one person really can make a difference. It may take 20 years to see the fruit of my labor, but it is possible!
After Amazing Grace, everywhere I went I heard something about street kids, read something or saw something, and I would come home in tears every day because I could not escape them - even here in Dallas, TX, I could not escape them. But what was I supposed to do? The Lord was being super quiet about what He wanted me to do, and so I just got more and more frustrated. Finally I just decided enough was enough. I started reading everything that I could and watching every movie that I could that had anything to do with modern-day slavery. A couple of months ago, I went to a screening of a documentary at the Dallas Guitar Festival. I'd heard of Invisible Children (www.invisiblechildren.com) before, and I knew what they fought for. I had even signed up to go to Displace Me in Austin.
But I was not ready for what I saw that night in the documentary. I won't even attempt to describe the horrors because words are not enough. Not only did the video open my eyes and break my heart, but one of the filmmakers was there along with one of the Ugandan boys Jacob. As soon as Laren and Jacob walked out on stage, I lost it. I'd held it together through the whole documentary, but as soon as I saw Jacob's face... From that point on, I had images in my mind of abducted children going off to fight in a war that they did not believe in. And if they did, it was because they were brainwashed and conditioned to do so. They were everywhere - in my every thought, in my dreams. So I did all I could do... paint. I decided to paint, and eventually try to sell the paintings and then donate the money to IC. Displace Me was a huge success. Jacob was also there, and captivated the audience once again. It was only on the way home that I realized what we had done, what our actions represented. And it was on that trip that Morgan asked me if I wanted to go to Africa. Our friend Leah was going with her brother in the fall. The notion of the distant land teased me once again, only this time with thoughts of children dying of malaria and HIV and war, parents leaving their children to fend for themselves because HIV took them too early. I could not ignore Africa's cries any longer. I heard her loud and clear, and it was time to do something about it.
And so, in two and a half months, I will leave for Sang'alo, Kenya with my two girls and a guy I've never met before to work at a school full of children... beautiful children. And I pray to God that He uses us to make a difference in these people's lives.
And so, the adventure begins.
Gloria
1 comment:
gloria,
i am so stinkin' proud of you, sweet cousin! it is so amazing to see you follow the Lord's calling into what you believe His will for you is. i have to admit, i am a little sad you won't be here... all for purely selfish reasons... and it scares me a bit that you'll be in africa, but i couldn't be more excited for you!
we love you so much!
-sara beth, emma kate and, of course, jason :-)
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