One Day - the movie.

I saw the movie, One Day, last week.  And I have to say, it was hard to watch.  My heart truly still aches even a week later when I think about that movie!

But, I truly think you have to read the book to fully appreciate the movie.  You can read my thoughts on the book here.  So many book bits are left out of the movie!  And oh ...you just get so attached to the characters in the book, probably more so than you do in the movie.

But I must say, I thought the movie was simply fabulous.  And as terrible as it sounds, I was pleased they didn't change the ending simply to appease Hollywood.  I shed FAR more tears than I actually wanted to.  Trust me, I have no problem with tears, but these tears were simply uncontrollable.  Let's just say I was sobbing for hours after the movie ended (now that you know that - you probably don't want to watch it right?)  But the film truly made my heart ache.

Emma and Dex, the main characters, have soo much history together. They know each other so well, and it is so beautiful.  And if there is one thing I have learned it is that history means something in a relationship, in a friendship, in a marriage.  History means something - it means deep relationships, it means countless memories, and it means vulnerability.

As I watched the movie, I couldn't help but be reminded of my relationship with Peter.  Emma and Dex remind me of Peter and I...their joy, their laughter, their jokes, their humor, their deep friendship, their intimacy, their differences, their deep, deep love for each other - all of it is so very familiar to me!  And when I see them, I see Peter and I - may sound silly, but it's so true.

And I think that's why it hit so close to home that night and that might be why I was crying uncontrollably up until I fell asleep.  For those who have seen the movie or read the book, you know what happens, and for those who haven't, forgive me for possibly revealing too much!

I went to bed grateful that night...grateful for my life and for Peter's, grateful for our marriage and our friendship, grateful for our faith in something so much bigger than ourselves, and grateful for Peter's prayers that quieted my restless soul and calmed the fears in my anxious heart.

And with all that being said, I will leave you with a movie trailer, and encourage you to READ the BOOK.

Leaving Thoughts.

So we are on our way out of Lira and I am typing this in the backseat of the truck. Figured it would be easier to type than it would be to write in a journal! So here I am…reflecting on the past week and my heart is aching.

We had a wonderful day yesterday (Friday). Our driver, Jimmy, and the Sponsor Coordinator, Hardson, took us to see the medical clinics in town. The first one, Gift Life Clinic, is the clinic they take the children to, and there is only one doctor and he told us he sees 100 patients per day! Crazy talk huh? It truly has been amazing to hear about the number of children who have lost both their parents to HIV/AIDS. It is rampant, and everyone has been touched by the disease in some way. So many young lives lost, so many children left without parents, siblings.

While we were talking to the doctor, two men brought in a woman who was probably in her early 20s and laid her down on the hospital bed where she remained for the entire duration of our conversation. The room was soo small that there was no room for Jimmy and Hardson to sit, thus I was hyper aware of the sick woman lying on the bed. My heart yearned to reach out to her, but 2 men were literally standing in my way. I yearned to know her story, to hear her cries. I yearned to hold her hand, to pray for her. The conversation continued between us and the doctor while the woman laid there with her eyes closed. She looked so peaceful, yet she was probably in so much pain. I wanted to break down right then and there and cry out to the Lord for this injustice. Instead, I said a quiet prayer to the Lord and briefly placed my hand upon the woman’s as I was walking out the door.

The Gift Clinic was seriously overflowing with people. So many babies were crying, people were sick with malaria, HIV/AIDs and they were so very tired. People were sitting on the ground outside waiting for their turn to come, waiting for a seat to open up inside, waiting for the doctor. Always waiting…It was a sad, sad place, but aren’t hospitals always?

The second place we went to was the clinic the children will soon be going to considering the Gift Life clinic is seriously overcrowded and the children have to wait ages to see the Doctor and some even get more sick just from simply being at the clinic. It truly was like night and day to be honest! According to Hardson, this second clinic was started and supported by white people. There were so many white coats, however, there is only one doctor, and more than 50 nurses. The facility itself is much bigger, thus they can accommodate so many more people.

In the afternoon we went to the Children’s Village for the final time. I was able to see the little 5 year olds…Pasca, Monica, Peter, and Patricia (AKA Grumpity Grump). Oh how I love them…oh how my heart breaks for ALL of them. They are so young. They sang us some beautiful songs, recited bible verses, and danced and laughed with us. Then came a time for Peter and I to share, while someone translated. Peter stayed composed while he shared and said everything I would have said, and then they asked to hear something from me. I couldn’t even bring myself to share and the few words I did share were said between tears and gasps for air. So many little eyes were staring at me while I shared my love for them, while I thanked them for their warm welcome and their love, while I squeezed the beautiful Pasca who was sitting in my lap. And I cried harder. I cried even harder when I saw the tears in Peter’s eyes. I cried for their loss…the loss of their parents, the loss of their innocence, the loss of a childhood, the loss of normalcy. These children have lost their parents due to HIV/AIDS. They have lost their parents due to the LRA and the fighting. They have lost their siblings to HIV/AIDS and abduction. They have lost their innocence due to rape and HIV/AIDS infection. I cried for their joy amidst the loss. I cried for their transformation that has already occurred and will continue to occur. I cried for the Lord’s redeeming work in their lives. My heart ached as the tears streamed down my face, however, my tears were not only tears of sorrow but also tears of thankfulness. It truly has been such a blessing and honor to witness the beautiful hand of God and the beautiful work of Children of the Nations in Uganda, and for that I will be forever grateful.

Joyful Tears.

So we have officially arrived. The last time I wrote we were just outside of Kampala staying in a beautiful Guest House, which we will be returning to in a matter of days. But for now, we are in Lira, and we arrived here yesterday after a long, 5 hour journey which involved super fast driving down a long, bumpy road, many stops at roadside fruit and vegetable stands, a Nile River sighting, along with many baboon sightings. Needless to say it was a beautiful journey, minus the minutes we spent behind a very exposed garbage truck, and Peter and I were finally able to see what Uganda was all about!

We arrived at the COTN Guest House, in Lira around 6 in the evening on Monday. I must say when they opened the gate to the house Peter and I were overwhelmed by the beautiful children awaiting our arrival. We were greeted by so many little hands and both of us were overwhelmed by the celebrity status we had been granted. The kids then sang us some beautiful songs and introduced themselves. Oh it was a joyous night…and we went to bed really early!

Today, Tuesday, we woke up early yet AGAIN, and were informed at breakfast that devotions would be happening in a matter of minutes, would peter like to lead devotions they asked? He kindly declined, but insisted he would do it tomorrow. Devotions began with beautiful singing to the Lord, and I was so moved by how freely these people worshiped God that I was brought to tears. It was soo beautiful…their voices alone were beautiful, but together their sound was simply magnificent.

The day was a good, full day, and I arrived home with a bit of a sunburn on the chest, loads of pictures, sad stories and many memories. In the morning we went to the children’s home and toured the area. COTN owns 12 acres in Lira and currently has 5 occupied children’s homes consisting of 58 children. However, only 29 are fully sponsored, thus 29 are awaiting sponsorship. Those 29 children had arrived only months ago to the village and were extremely curious about the muzunga, white person, because we were the first white people they had ever seen. Many of the children have been directly impacted by the rebels, the Lord Resistance Army, and many have lost siblings, parents, and relatives. Some of the children themselves were forced to kill their own family, thus many of them have suffered from these traumatic experiences, thus COTN has counselors to counsel the children through their trauma. The counselors are amazing, and hearing their stories makes me yearn to be one of them!!

Later in the afternoon we were taken to a mass massacre site, where at least 200 people were slaughtered by the LRA and some children were abducted to become child soldiers. At the time I was so overwhelmed and shocked to hear the stories and to see the sites that I had read about only in books and magazines and seen in videos, like Invisible Children that I couldn’t even shed a tear, not a single tear. I had written papers about the Lord's Resistance Army and I had read countless articles about the Night Commuters, the thousands of children that commute by foot, in the night, to safe places in hopes of avoiding abduction, yet I couldn't even shed a tear when I was face to face with the tragedy. It was soo very different to hear about the impact of the conflict from the mouths of the people, the Ugandans, and when you hear it in the songs that the women sing.

When we were there, some of the women were practicing a local dance, so we were privileged to witness it and I even participated briefly until they all started laughing at me! They also sang for us, and I was lucky enough to have someone translating the words for me. Although there were moments I wished he wasn’t translating because the words were so hard to hear. They sang that Kony could cut their mouths off or their breasts off, he could take their children and kill their family, but in the end they still forgive. They sang with so much passion, and I have no idea HOW they can forgive such atrocities, but they do. I can’t EVEN imagine. Lucio, one of the counselors told us that one of the kids in the COTN home was forced to kill his own grandmother. It was either kill or be killed. In another song they thanked us for coming, for visiting and they hoped we would go home and tell people about what we had seen, about the impact of the conflict and they hoped it would never happen again.

Tears are streaming down my face as I write this because I am can't even begin to imagine what these people went through. I can't even begin to imagine the level of fear, distrust, hurt, and anger these people have experienced due to this conflict. Tears of anger, tears of deep, deep sorrow, and tears of joy slide down my cheeks as I think about the way these people have forgiven such atrocities. I cry for what has been lost and for what could have been, and I cry for what will be. My hope is that my experience and my thoughts move you, the reader, in such a way that you will do the research. The Internet is slow here so I have been writing stuff on peters computer and then saving it to a memory stick only to upload it onto the blog when I get Internet. So I don’t have the opportunity to post links and what not on here. But simply Google the LRA Uganda or night commuters and a whole new world will be opened up to you. Please don’t wait to hear about it until I get home…