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| ginger bloom |
i'm pooped today.
last night we watched a movie, "Machine Gun Preacher".
true story.
about Sam Childers, a former drug dealer, bad-ass...biker...felon.
(to make a long story short...)
Childers 'found religion'...ends up going on a missionary trip to Uganda with his church,
to help build homes for refugees.
while there, he wants to go north, to Sudan. into the war zone.
after witnessing the atrocities of the Lord's Resistance Army...
Childers makes it his personal life's mission to work with The People's Liberation Army...
to save the children of South Sudan.
save them from starvation & disease.
save them from starvation & disease.
to save them from the murder, torture, rape, mutilation by the LRA.
he fights back. hard.
he tries to provide the children with a life...of hope.
he tries to provide the children with a life...of hope.
he builds the Children's Village. currently home to 200 orphans,
although they have housed 1000 kids over the last 13 years.
a church, school, kitchen, playground and soccer field.
although they have housed 1000 kids over the last 13 years.
a church, school, kitchen, playground and soccer field.
watching this film was heartbreaking. emotional. shocking.
i couldn't get to sleep. not 'til 2:30 in the morn.
my mind was overloaded.
my mind was overloaded.
i couldn't stop thinking...
of what goes on in this world.
what people DO to people.
of what goes on in this world.
what people DO to people.
it made me ache inside.
i had a post all planned for today...but this is not it.
it just seems...not fair...to them...to be taking pictures and smiling and joking.
am i being too sensitive? yeah, maybe. it's tough not to.
i try to imagine...
giving up all the comforts of home.
a daily shower. tv. a/c. a filled fridge. stocked pantry. a bed. clothes. a washer/dryer.
an oven. a car. left overs that get forgotten & moldy.
i have a bank card. a credit card. a laptop. electricity. a home.
i don't really worry about a group of people storming in with guns
or setting our house on fire while we sleep.
i don't really worry about a group of people storming in with guns
or setting our house on fire while we sleep.
it's hard to imagine living in their world. the fear. the terror.
children being kidnapped & forced to kill.
forced to witness their parents being murdered. at any time. any day.
forced to witness their parents being murdered. at any time. any day.
damn.
the more i talk, the more depressed i get.
SO...
here's a few pictures...of the twelve i was planning on.
ON TO
my world...
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| july 4th |
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| dragonfly |
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| a Crab spider doing some web repair |
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| Red-shouldered Hawk, front yard. a little far away for my camera...so a little blurry. |
of course...ANOTHER yard mushroom...a strange looking round one.
AND two little grasshoppers...on the Hibiscus...munching away.
be safe. stay cool.
laura
it is true. it is hard not to be affected by the reality of some folks suffering. hard to shake it and just continue blogging away. i did a post about this last friday after we were hit hard by our blogger friend surviving wildfire at their wyoming home. it just felt so silly to post regular stuff.yet, we do it.
ReplyDeleteIt's always amazing how the story of others, can linger with us throughout our days. Long after we close a book or shut of the TV. Urging us to remember. It's a dream of all authors for their words and story to linger, and in cases like these everyday true life bittersweet moments...it moves many of us to pay things forward ....to ease other's pain, in our own ways of offering whatever bits and pieces within us that we can share....even when it's just a smile. Hoping your week is filled with sunshine, a little rain and lots of new found-bones! Ha! Ha!
ReplyDeleteEven in our "perfect" little world there are atrocities, hardships, sorrows.....it is hard to accept that some seem to have everything and others have nothing.....remember to be grateful every day for what you have, share when you can and pray when you can't.
ReplyDelete. . . and what a beautiful world it is. Thank you for continually posting these pictures. I think they help remind us how beautiful this planet is. My own sensitivity and optimism makes me believe that we post enough beautiful pictures, maybe these evil doers will be forced to look at the beautiful world they're destroying.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fascinating movie, but I'll learn from you and not watch it before going to bed. . . .
I haven't heard of this film, looks interesting. And hard to watch. Nothing gets my blood boiling like the harm people do to children. Off to count my blessings now....
ReplyDeleteyes we have a lot to be thankful for and I know I forget that and take things for granted a lot of the time....do you know I have been thinking about this recently when I have heard of atrocities against children especially. I think we just have to be grateful for what we have and your photographs remind us of that and we must do what we can to make others aware........x
ReplyDeleteI've not heard of this film or this man. Amazing how people can be transformed
ReplyDelete(I hope that's the right word). It does sound like a difficult film to watch and it certainly makes you think and be thankful. I will certainly keep my eye open for the film. The world can be a very difficult place for many people.
Your pictures are real crackers - so very sharp and crisp.
Take care and have a good week. :))
oh my, your photographs are absolutely gorgeous!
ReplyDelete!!!!
ReplyDeleteLike other commenters, I have not heard of this movie. From what you have said, I would not be able to watch it. We who have so much are often ignorant of what is happening in other places... Thank you for your posts which contain so much beauty - natural antidotes to pain.
ReplyDeleteMay your week be full of mushrooms, moons and marvels. and above all, love.
It is the difference which unites humankind. A much felt entry one can only be thankful for.
ReplyDeletePlease have a wonderful Tuesday you all.
daily athens photo
Deep thought movies are the best. This sounds like something I would like to watch. It's not fair. And not all things are equal, but we do what we can in our little worlds and make the best of each day. It's pretty powerful stuff. I remember my first day in West Africa in a suburb called Tira Chapeu and it was my first taste of reality. How I had taken so much for granted in my own life! These movies/experiences are sobering reminders of the reality around us all. The best movies make us think:) You've just made a difference by sharing your experience with us about this movie. Hope you find some wonderful things around you to calm the darker thoughts. Sometimes a walk is a very good thing:)
ReplyDeleteI hear you Laura! Thanks for sharing. Sometimes it's hard to just post my PollyAnnaish happy posts, but I'm not a good enough writer to do much else. And I can't let myself get depressed (in the long-term) because that doesn't do me or anybody that I care about any good(and I can do something about that). I hope that when you're ready you'll find solace and inspiration in your yard and on a walk. Take care.
ReplyDeleteI love a movie or documentary that will get you thinking.
ReplyDeleteI look at my happy little corner of the world as an example of what could be. There has to be some nice places in the world for others to look to and maybe even dream about. If we all became scared and depressed, then the oppressors would win. And even if all we can do is send some of our love, then at least they know there is help.
Guess which movie is in the mail on the way to me tomorrow?
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. I am on a fixed income and way below the poverty level in this country, but I always think of how bad it is for others and how grateful I am for everything I have when I know so many people don't. I also never forget when I was a teenager and lived on the streets one summer--what it was like to have nothing and sleep in the park. I think I will love this movie and it will probably stay with me, too.
Lovely, lovely photos...every one of them. Glad you included them with your post about the movie...they made my day...hope they brightened your's as well.
ReplyDeleteSome time ago, a group of professional wrestler came to visit one of my patients. The one they saw was missing part of his jaw, one eye, had gone through a double below the knew amputation and had part of his organs exposed waiting for the skin to close a bit before getting a skin graft.
ReplyDeleteWhen we all walked into the room, my patient and his family had bought me balloons and a tiny cheesecake because it was my birthday. There was some singing and the usual stuff.
At the end, while I was walking the visiting group out of the ICU one of them asked me if it was difficult to pretend to be festive in order to make the family and the patient feel better. I told her that I wasn't pretending. I was very happy: my patient was alive and eager to heal in order to get his prostheses, the family couldn't wait to take him home, he had terrible days but wanted to do more for his fellow man and I got to be part of the journey that would get him there. I was festive and then some. I went dancing that night, and every time I thought about any of my patients, I didn't grieved for their injury, I rejoiced in the fact that they were some of the most amazing people I had ever met. You see, they had been hurt and they, too, had hurt people, but we've done such things in order to make our world a better place for the generations to come.
It might sound a little silly, even a tad oversimplified, but if we let the horrible things get us down and rob us of our energy and smiles, then we won't be able to help the ones who need us most understand that there are still things to live for. When I see pain, abuse and bloodshed, I remember that if enough of us fight it, then it will stop.
That keeps me going.
Um, sorry for comment-jacking...
wow. thank you magaly!
Deletei really needed that!
and...really...i understand what you;re saying...and i agree...
it's just that when i SEE all that HATE...and what the hate makes some people do...and what it does to other people's lives...
it makes me hurt right to my core. i cry. and i just don't understand...how people can just torture other human beings and NOT feel any pain at all.
in that movie, there was a nurse...who told the 'preacher' that he was just as bad as the LRA...that killing them wouldn't change anything. and at times like that, i get so confused...he was saving people in the only way he knew how...by FIGHTING back...with his guns. he ended up saving this same nurse as she was just about to get killed trying to bring med's to the people in need...but the preacher shot him first.
at the end...he said...if your mother...or sister...or brother...or anyone you loved was kidnapped...woulkd you do anything you could to get them back safe?
yes, i probably would.
thanks so much...i appreciate all you had to say...and taking the time...out of your day... :)
rather than commenting back to each person individually...i decided to say ONE BIG THANK YOU! everything that everyone had to say here went straight to my heart...and all your thoughtful and understanding words are appreciated and remembered.
ReplyDeleteyes, we all have a lot to be thankful for. and i thank all of you! :)
Sometimes this world breaks my heart, but we need to remember there is also so much beauty and life, which your photographs illustrate. I especially love the spider, as usual. :-) x
ReplyDeleteWhat a story, Laura! Thanks for the review. It is nice to know there are a lot of people willing to help the children like in your movie. My neighbors son just came home from Africa, he was there for a few years helping out. I think we should all appreciate all the "things" we have that are really considered luxury items in other parts of the world. I love your photos, the moon is beautiful. And I love the dragonfly and the hawk is awesome. Wonderful series of photos. Hope you have a happy weekend.
ReplyDeleteWhen you see what really goes on "out there" you wish you could bring them here, away from the torment, the anguish, the pain. It is heartbreaking and then when I see some spoiled child here, always wanting more, waiting for the money envelop with hardly a "thank you"...it really gets me going! Can you tell?...:)JP
ReplyDelete