"When I think about the Invisible Children, my heart aches.
It feels so awful and so impossible that Americans are so terrified of a life of failure, while these kids don’t even have the chance to succeed. They have real fears. Fears of being abducted, enslaved, or killed.
We lie awake at night because we are worried about our midterms tomorrow, while these children lie awake because they are scared they will be taken tonight. We have homes, and families, and food. They are starving orphans forced to night commute for their own safety.
Our lives are so different, that we can’t even imagine what it would be like to be them.
And the scariest part? Most of us had no idea this was even going on…"When I first saw the rough cut documentary, I remember that the next few nights I had difficulty sleeping because I could not get the idea out of my head that somewhere a child was lying on the ground trying to sleep amongst a war in which the thought of being abducted was always at the front of their mind.
I lay beneath a warm blanket in a quiet room, safe from not just wind and rain, but also from something else that was too terrifying to even think about...it just felt so wrong. I wondered why I wasn't in that child's place. It's weird...it was like I felt lucky that I was born in this country. And I do feel blessed to live in America.
And yet I feel like sometimes living here is a nuisance. Stay with me...
We are definitely blessed to live in a country where there is much more government assistance for those who are sick or destitute...but the curse of living in such a comforting place is that we are too often oblivious to the suffering that goes on in other countries. We subconsciously forget about the rest of the world and are so focused on ourselves that we cannot see something so huge like the war in Uganda.
Ever since my trip to Ecuador, I feel like my eyes have been opened to the rest of the world. I finally crossed that border and saw another part of this earth where the people are all trying to live just as we are. And I realized something that seemed so simple, but that I think everyone forgets so easily...something that I believe is invaluable:
We are all human.Deep down, our humanity connects us across borders, nationalities, languages, and classes. When it comes down to it, we all need the same things. We all need food and water to live, and we all need
love.
And I noticed that before my trip, the Ecuadorians I would soon meet were just an idea in my head. They were numbers...faceless crowds. But when I spoke to them, shook their hands, and held their children in my arms, suddenly they had names and faces and needs. I saw their hearts, their tears, and their laughter. It was life-changing!
This is why I encourage anyone I meet to take a trip (even if just one) out of the country and be amongst a different culture. Try to learn more about someone who speaks a different language than you. It's not only fascinating, but it has an amazing affect on your life's perspective.
Anyhow, you are probably wondering what this has to do with Invisible Children. Basically, I remember sitting stunned on the floor of my youth group's room and wanting to cry realizing that this had been going on and I had no idea. Here I was, freaking out about boys and schoolwork and whether my hair looked alright when something so big was going on. And when you think about it, there is always going to be something going on in the world.
And it made everything else seem so trivial. And I want to challenge you to quit worrying about the little things. Try not to get caught up in the day-to-day monotony that is so common in our country and imagine what it would be like to live in Uganda. I guarantee it will make you rethink your priorities, and I think that's something that America could use right now.
