Let me begin this post by saying I am SO SORRY I cannot get paragraph seperations to appear in this post. There is seperation between paragraphs in the editing scene, but when I click "publish", those seperations dissapear! I am so sorry. This blog post reads something like a run-on sentance. :) Also, please bear with me as I try and cover a lot of information in one post. I know it is a little confusing, especially without paragraph breaks!
For years (since I was about 22 years old) I have been following the story of the unrest in Uganda. At first, I didn't really understand all that was happening. This is something I feel EVERYONE should be aware of, so let me tell you what I know so you don't have to spend years trying to figure this all out. :)
(Let me make one thing perfectly clear!! I don't know everything there is to know about the LRA and what is happening day to day in Uganda and other places in Africa where the LRA moves. The tiny little bit I know comes mostly from personal accounts of people who have been in Uganda and experienced the effects of the LRA.)
The story begins with understanding the warring group, the LRA. So, let's start with answering this question: WHAT IS THE LRA?
The LRA (or LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY) is an army lead by a man named Joseph Kony. You can read about the LRA HERE. Basically, this army exists to fight against the central government. The LRA uses children as their soldiers.
Fighting against a government is not a new concept. What makes the LRA so horrific is the means by which it fights. Absolutely horrible stories exist of how the LRA enforces it's power. I am hesitant to share these stories, and if you do not want to hear horrible, heartbreaking stories, please just skip this part of this blog post. The only reason I am sharing is so people understand that this is not just someone speaking out against government. When speaking of the LRA, we are not talking about picketing, or even full blown riots! We are speaking of absolutely inhumane, horrible acts of violence to prove power through intimidation and fear. I won't personally tell all the stories, but have related two and I have links to others. PLEASE, PLEASE do take the time to follow those links and read the stories. Do not just "skip over" them. Please read them! It is important to know these stories! Please read them.
A man and his young teenage daughter were on a crowded bus in Africa. The LRA stopped the bus and came on board. There, the soldiers killed many passengers. When they came to this man, they threatened to kill his daughter unless the man sexually molested his daughter. At gunpoint, this man was forced to perform such a horrible act against his daughter as the LRA soldiers watched.
The LRA came in to a village and killed many adults. Many of the children hid at the school. The LRA captured them. One boy later told that the LRA forced him to kill the members of his family by chopping them to pieces with a machete. He was then forced to carry a piece of his father's body with him as he walked the miles and miles with the other captured children to the LRA training area where they would be trained to be soldiers for the LRA.
This is a news report from this month found in the Las Angeles Times. Please read it HERE.
If you want to see an excellent documentary that tells stories of the LRA, watch "War Dance" (streaming on netflix!!).
One family has devoted their lives to serving orphans, including those in Africa. They have many stories of how they have helped children who are victims of the LRA. HERE is one account of the actions of the LRA.
Organizations exist to help free the children who have been forced to work as slaves, and others exist to help them return to society. Most have seen so much horror in their young lives that they cannot simply walk back in to normal life. One amazing young woman has started an organization, eXile International, to help former child soldiers of the LRA. HERE HERE you will find a speech the founder of eXile International presented in September of last year at the International Criminal Court Symposium.
Now, let me ask you a question. The LRA is stated to have started it's hardest rampages almost ten years ago. For how many of those years have you been aware of the LRA? How long have you known about the atrocities of the LRA? How long have you known the name "Joseph Kony"? When was the first time you learned of the LRA? What if you had been made aware before that time? Would you have done anything different? If only that meant offering one more prayer on behalf of the children kidnapped by the LRA? Do you wish you had known longer just so you could say you had not been ignorant to the suffering of others? Now, let me pose another question. What if there were a movement NOW to bring awareness in America of the Lord's Resistance Army? What if there were an organization working to just educate people, to let people know that there is the LRA, and that they are hurting and killing people? Now, I will tell you: there IS such a movement! It is starting NOW! They have called it "Kony 2012". So, I am certain most of you have heard about the movement: Kony 2012.
If you don't really know about Kony 2012, you can check out the video HERE.
There is a LOT of debate about this movement! Want to know MY feelings about Kony 2012? Come back tomorrow!
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Kony 2012 Part 1
Let me begin this post by saying I am SO SORRY I cannot get paragraph seperations to appear in this post. There is seperation between paragraphs in the editing scene, but when I click "publish", those seperations dissapear! I am so sorry. This blog post reads something like a run-on sentance. :) Also, please bear with me as I try and cover a lot of information in one post. I know it is a little confusing, especially without paragraph breaks!
For years (since I was about 22 years old) I have been following the story of the unrest in Uganda. At first, I didn't really understand all that was happening. This is something I feel EVERYONE should be aware of, so let me tell you what I know so you don't have to spend years trying to figure this all out. :)
(Let me make one thing perfectly clear!! I don't know everything there is to know about the LRA and what is happening day to day in Uganda and other places in Africa where the LRA moves. The tiny little bit I know comes mostly from personal accounts of people who have been in Uganda and experienced the effects of the LRA.)
The story begins with understanding the warring group, the LRA. So, let's start with answering this question: WHAT IS THE LRA?
The LRA (or LORD'S RESISTANCE ARMY) is an army lead by a man named Joseph Kony. You can read about the LRA HERE. Basically, this army exists to fight against the central government. The LRA uses children as their soldiers.
Fighting against a government is not a new concept. What makes the LRA so horrific is the means by which it fights. Absolutely horrible stories exist of how the LRA enforces it's power. I am hesitant to share these stories, and if you do not want to hear horrible, heartbreaking stories, please just skip this part of this blog post. The only reason I am sharing is so people understand that this is not just someone speaking out against government. When speaking of the LRA, we are not talking about picketing, or even full blown riots! We are speaking of absolutely inhumane, horrible acts of violence to prove power through intimidation and fear. I won't personally tell all the stories, but have related two and I have links to others. PLEASE, PLEASE do take the time to follow those links and read the stories. Do not just "skip over" them. Please read them! It is important to know these stories! Please read them.
A man and his young teenage daughter were on a crowded bus in Africa. The LRA stopped the bus and came on board. There, the soldiers killed many passengers. When they came to this man, they threatened to kill his daughter unless the man sexually molested his daughter. At gunpoint, this man was forced to perform such a horrible act against his daughter as the LRA soldiers watched.
The LRA came in to a village and killed many adults. Many of the children hid at the school. The LRA captured them. One boy later told that the LRA forced him to kill the members of his family by chopping them to pieces with a machete. He was then forced to carry a piece of his father's body with him as he walked the miles and miles with the other captured children to the LRA training area where they would be trained to be soldiers for the LRA.
This is a news report from this month found in the Las Angeles Times. Please read it HERE.
If you want to see an excellent documentary that tells stories of the LRA, watch "War Dance" (streaming on netflix!!).
One family has devoted their lives to serving orphans, including those in Africa. They have many stories of how they have helped children who are victims of the LRA. HERE is one account of the actions of the LRA.
Organizations exist to help free the children who have been forced to work as slaves, and others exist to help them return to society. Most have seen so much horror in their young lives that they cannot simply walk back in to normal life. One amazing young woman has started an organization, eXile International, to help former child soldiers of the LRA. HERE HERE you will find a speech the founder of eXile International presented in September of last year at the International Criminal Court Symposium.
Now, let me ask you a question. The LRA is stated to have started it's hardest rampages almost ten years ago. For how many of those years have you been aware of the LRA? How long have you known about the atrocities of the LRA? How long have you known the name "Joseph Kony"? When was the first time you learned of the LRA? What if you had been made aware before that time? Would you have done anything different? If only that meant offering one more prayer on behalf of the children kidnapped by the LRA? Do you wish you had known longer just so you could say you had not been ignorant to the suffering of others? Now, let me pose another question. What if there were a movement NOW to bring awareness in America of the Lord's Resistance Army? What if there were an organization working to just educate people, to let people know that there is the LRA, and that they are hurting and killing people? Now, I will tell you: there IS such a movement! It is starting NOW! They have called it "Kony 2012". So, I am certain most of you have heard about the movement: Kony 2012.
If you don't really know about Kony 2012, you can check out the video HERE.
There is a LOT of debate about this movement! Want to know MY feelings about Kony 2012? Come back tomorrow!
Friday, March 2, 2012
I Won't Stop
I was not ready to see this today.
I know it exists. As the founder of Sixteen Small Stones, I am always, always, always thinking about it.
But sometimes, not enough.
Sometimes, it is like thinking to breathe. Somewhere in my mind, a synapsis is telling me to breathe, so I guess at some level I am, indeed, "thinking" about breathing all the time...but how much? When a famouse opera singer is on stage, they are very aware of their breathing. When a yoga master is meditating, she is very aware of her breathing. But the average person, sitting on their couch watching tv? Not so much.
That is how I am with orphans. I am sitting on the couch watching tv and even though the thought of caring for orphans is going on in my mind, I am not always aware of it.
Is that okay? Is it okay to NOT think about orphans?
Today, I saw this post. And now I know it is NOT. It is NOT okay with me to stop thinking about orphans. When I stop thinking, I stop acting. I stop being their voice. I stop fighting for them. Is it okay to spend a few minutes NOT doing those things? What if I take 5 mins to put the orphans out of my mind. Would five minutes really make a difference? I read this post, and I decided that those five minutes DO matter. To me, five minutes is nothing. I may sit on the couch and read facebook for 5 mins. I may stand in the kitchen for 5 mins and think about what I want to fix for lunch. I may stare out the window for five mins and daydream. Five minutes in my life is a small amount of time. In the life of an orphan, five minutes could feel like an eternity.
If you don't have time to read the entire post, scroll through and look at the pictures. (They are not photoshoped. They are not fabricated. And they are not the exception to how "most" orphans live.) As you look at each picture, imagine how five minutes would feel to an orphan. Look in to the eyes of one of the children and think what he is feeling for 5 mins. How long would five minutes feel to that child?
So, I will not stop thinking of the orphans. I will not stop fighting. I will not stop advocating. I will not stop speaking for them. Not until they are all brought home.
Will you?
Read here.
Who Will Be Sleeping on The Pillowcases I Donate??
Want to see who will be laying their sweet heads on the pillowcases you donate? Here are some cute videos of the kids at the home in India where we are donating the pillowcases...AND some of the Valentines for Operation: LOVE will be going to these sweethearts, too!
THIS video is from India's National Day.
THIS one is of the kids outside.
Aren't they darling? :)
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Pillow Talk
I know you are all going CRAZY wanting to hear how our OPERATION: LOVE events went (right? Right?). Well, you are going to have to wait just a tincy bit longer, because I have something important to say!
So, do you have more pillowcases than you even know what to do with? Are they folded, rolled and shoved in to the linen closet, collecting dust?
For your wedding, did Aunt Sunny Sky give you hippy pillowcases you will never use?
For your wedding, did Aunt Sunny Sky give you hippy pillowcases you will never use?
Did your mom give you SpongBob pillowcases for your 30th birthday? (Awwww, sad.)
Well! Do I have GOOD NEWS FOR YOU!
Well! Do I have GOOD NEWS FOR YOU!Sixteen Small Stones is collecting pillowcases! Yes! I am serious!
No more wondering what to do with those useless pillowcases. We are here to save your day!
(Aren't you so thankful?! You always KNEW there was a reason you were following this blog! HA!)
We are collecting pillowcases to send to some special kids in India, and we NEED those pillowcases you will never use! Don't let them sit idle any longer. :)
You can mail or drop them off at my house any new or lightly used pillowcases! My address is:
445 East Center Street
Shelley, ID
83274.
PLEEEEEEASE help us! There is no reason for these sweet kids to go without such a simple thing. :)
Thank you!
Saturday, February 11, 2012
OPERATION: LOVE
At the table on Saturday.
Setting up Saturday. Kind of blurry, but oh well. :)
Setting up Saturday.
Preparing the Valentines Friday night.
How did it go? How did it go? HOW DID IT GO?!
I know that is why you are all here. :)
I am pleased to say it went really well. I learned a lot, as I usually do when I do a fundraiser/donations collection project. Most of what I learn is about myself. About my weakness. About my own, well, wickedness, really. I am sure I will post stories over the next couple of days, so stay tuned! In the meantime, here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure.
Thank you all who came and supported OPERATION: LOVE! Remember, this was just the beginning of OPERATION: LOVE and we still DESPERATELY need monetary donations to pay to mail the Valentines!!!!!! You can donate using paypal or by mailing a check to the address on the left sidebar. We still need more Valentines, too! So feel free to mail homemade or store bought Valentines. There are a lot of kids who need YOU!
Thank you, again, for being involved with OPERATION: LOVE.
Bryttan's Valentine party went extremely well! But I will let her tell you all about it. ;)
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Heavy Heart
In the midst of the excitement for tomorrow, and the joy and gratitude that we have been so blessed with being able to host Operation: LOVE, my heart is heavy tonight.
I don't want to be a downer, but I do have some sad news. :( Tomorrow, Katie has to leave YueYue and move back to ShenZhen. Things just didn't work out and she is unable to live in JingMen. They simply don't have the money for her to not work.
My thoughts are full of her, and my heart is full of prayer to God on her behalf. I pray she will feel comforted and somehow find the strength to face tomorrow. To face leaving her precious daughter.
So, as I gather Valentines and cut out paper hearts, I feel a shadow of sorrow hanging around my heart. Won't you join me in prayer for Katie, YueYue and SuSu (Katie's husband)?
Tomororow is the big day!!
Tomorrow is the big day!!
If you are in Idaho, come see our table set up at Broulims in Shelley to promote
OPERATION: LOVE!
If you are in Utah, plan to attend the party of the century at Bryttan's house in Sugarhouse, where you will learn all about Sixteen Small Stones, and will make Valentines for OPERATION: LOVE! Go to her blog HERE for more info!
There is going to be a lot of love tomorrow!! Will you join us?!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
.jpg)
