Falling Whistles

Okay, so I REALLY don't have time to be blogging...I am supposed to be leaving for work in about 40 mins and have not showered, brushed my teeth, gotten dressed...Okay, I am stressing myself out with this list. Let me move on. I have been sitting at my computer reading about Falling Whistles. When I first heard of them from another blog, I went to find out about them. They had an instantly playing video, which I HATE on websites, so I tried to skip it. I did that, but then the rest of the page would not load! All day yesterday, I tried to get into this website, each time clicking "skip video" and then trying to get the rest of the pages to load. It was making me CRAZY not knowing what this whole Falling Whistles thing was all about! The other woman's blog hadn't given even a HINT as to what it was about, so I was DYING of curiousity (this should come as no suprise to those of you who know me...at all). Finally, this morning, I couldn't stand it any longer! I decided to let the video load and watch it. It changed my life. (God loves to do that to me...change my life.) After I watched it, I wanted to know what it was all about, so I tried to get into the website and STILL couldn't get the pages to load. So, I googled it, and was pleasantly suprised to see this was mentioned on Tom's Shoes (LOVE the project...just can't afford it! LOL!). This is what I read:

Sean went on a shoe drop with Blake, after that shoe drop his life took a dramatic turn. He spent lots of time traveling and finding himself and his place in this crazy, hectic, scary, beautiful world. He did some work with Invisible Children, learned, and grew. His steps lead him to the Congo and here is where the real story begins… Some strange circumstances led him and his fellows to meet a group of boys, these boys had escaped two of the rebel armies in the Congo. They found them in a military encampment called Titu. Because these boys had chosen not to fight they were treated as “Enemies of the State,” forced into this prison and made to stand all night, all under the age of 15, they had not eaten in over 48 hours. These boys (and all the other citizens of the Congo) had no refuge. All people wielding guns were not to be trusted. There was no room to believe in safety, a term that is unheard of there. Lindsay convinced Sean and they bought the boys food, soap, clothes, shoes, and a toothbrush. These gifts, seen as commonplace here were a saving grace to these boys. The simple bananas that were given were the first food they had that was not rotten since the last time they had seen their families. While waiting for the UN to respond and act on a promise to rescue each of these boys they spoke to them and found out that each had been abducted, taken from their families with no warning, tied up, beaten, and forced to kill. One of the boys told of being dropped in a deep hole with 300 others, forced to stay for 20 hours of the day, all the while living in their own feces, waiting for the four hours a day when they were taken and trained in fighting and firing a gun. These stories make you cringe, but this is only the beginning. This is where Sean’s heart broke and the floodgates to this amazing story come to full force. The boys also spoke of Whistle Blowers. These small boys, too small to carry a gun and use it, were simply given a whistle and put on the front lines. The only job these small boys had was to use their whistles to make enough noise to “scare the enemy” and to be the frontline and take the first round of bullets. These small children were to serve as a temporary barricade. The ones who try to run, are shot from behind. This is to serve as a reminder to the others to “be brave.” They are left with no way to protect themselves from either side of the line. “With falling whistles, their only choice is to feign death or face it.” Strange as it may seem, telling their stories brought a sense of hope to the boys. In a small and cramped prison there was a light within each of them that could be seen. But their story is not over yet. There was some hold up with the UN and the rescuing of the boys had been put on Unicef. With some fast talking and quick moving all was resolved and the trucks to take the boys out were let in the compound; however that didn’t mean they would be let out. Sean watched as these five boys who had been planning their escape for weeks were set free and their dreams finally becoming a reality. After hearing their stories and knowing that there was hope, Sean asked “Am I even capable of helping such madness?” That’s where YOU come in. Be a whistleblower. Let everybody know that this cannot stand. These small children are not toys to be lined up and shot at, they are human life, pure, beautiful human life. With your purchase of a whistle, Sean will give to help these children be taken from this death sentence. The ones that are taken out of the Congo will also go through Art Therapy to help them learn to cope and come to terms with what they’ve experienced. Please, don’t sit by idle and let these children die in vain. We CAN help. We CAN make a difference. Write to your congressman and let them know that you want to see something done. There is power in the masses, let’s not let the whistles fall on deaf ears any longer.

Go to fallingwhistles.com. Turn the volume up on your computer. WATCH THE VIDEO. Let God change your life. You can bet, Taiger and I are getting whistles for Easter.