Into The Sky

This past weekend, Mike and I were able to go to Grove City Church of the Nazarene to experience an incredible night of worship called A Night with The King. The music was awesome and the presence of the LORD fell heavy on both of us. I was incredibly grateful for the time we got to spend talking with friends and for this time of refreshing. When the music started, we saw the little children dancing and singing, twirling around, and smiling. Not one of them was fussing, fighting or crying...just dancing...free. I watched them and so did Mike. During this time, I think we both somehow discovered how caught up in our lives we have been and how much we need Jesus. I think we also discovered a new way to approach Him. This song is written by Jason Upton. Jason has a 6 year old son named Samuel. One day Samuel came into the worship room and said, "Hey Dad, I'd like to write a song for Jesus". So, they wrote this song together. I was reminded of it on Friday while we were watching those children. It goes like this:

Hey Jesus, are ya still on the cross

or are You feeling better?

Hey Jesus, can You come play with me

I am ready and willing

Won't You come down, down, down

down to the ground

To the "next to me" place
with a smile on my face
and a song in my ear...
Around and around

and around and around

and around we go

Hey Jesus, when I wave at You

do You wave back too?

Hey Jesus, when I'm feeling sad

do You feel sad too?

Hey Jesus, if we throw these books

do you think they will fly?

Hey Jesus, can I touch the moon?

throw me into the sky

And then I'll come down, down, down

down to the ground

to the "next to me" place

with a smile on my face

and a song in my ear.

Land of the Free...?

The other day, Mike and I watched a documentary film about the Lost Boys of Sudan. When the different parts of Africa were merged together, a civil war erupted because of conflicts between the people. Most children were orphaned or separated from their families when government troops systematically attacked villages in southern Sudan killing many of the inhabitants, most of whom were civilians. The younger boys survived in large numbers because they were away tending herds or were able to escape into the nearby jungles. Orphaned and with no support, the made epic journeys lasting years across the borders to international relief camps in Ethiopia and Kenya evading thirst, starvation, wild animals, insects, disease, and one of the most bloody wars of the 20th century. Examiners say they are the most badly war-traumatized children that have ever been examined.
When villages were attacked, girls were raped, killed, taken as slaves to the north, or became servants or adopted children for other Sudanese families. As a result, relatively few girls made it to the refugee camps. As I was watching this film, my heart broke into a million pieces. Some of the Lost Boys were invited to come live in the United States if they agreed to be filmed on this documentary. The film showed their lives here in intervals of months to years. They all lived together closely in small apartments. They were given government assistance for three months, but then were expected to get jobs and support themselves. During the one-on-one interviews, the boys showed typical signs of loneliness from what they had gone through, missing their families, and wishing they were back home in Africa. All that I could think about was what could be wrong with the United States that could make a person prefer a war stricken country over our land of freedom? Then I realized, that freedom isn't free at all. We all "pay the price" for living here. Some people work so much to afford the luxuries here, that they don't see their families. Some sacrifice their dignity in low paying jobs because of their inability to produce paperwork that says they are "qualified". These boys missed their homeland and their own people. The American people they encountered were not friendly or helpful most of the time, unless they were interacting with officials specifically paid to help them. Over time, they adjusted to a new lifestyle here. In 2001, about 3800 Lost Boys arrived in the United States, where they are now scattered in about 38 cities, averaging about 100 per city. Halted after 9/11 for security reasons, the rescue program restarted in 2004, but peace talks were underway in Sudan, and so other refugee crises in other countries took priority to theirs. As of 2006, the largest population of Sudanese refugees in the United States is in Omaha, Nebraska which hosts about 7,000 people. The stories of the lives of these boys is an incredible journey full of heartache and victory. I strongly recommend watching it. It will open your heart and give you a new mission to pray for.