This Is An Order

You must read this:
Another Post From Uganda.


The Compassion team with their team of bloggers is in Uganda posting their thoughts, their pictures, their journey.

And the post I linked to above, it just REALLY, REALLY needs to be read by as many as possible.

Here are a few excerpts from it.

"I asked him whether he thought it better for a child to be brought up in the wealth of America or in the poverty of Uganda.

"Oh Uganda. Uganda. Absolutely," he said with passion.

"In America, your plentifulness drives you away from God. Here, for the poor, for me, I am grateful for every meal. I am dependent upon God and I know it."

"Even the poor, you see, they are happy and they are thankful to God. One of the things we need to know is that Africa is very hopeful and that keeps us going even if there is nothing today. Tomorrow, we believe, will be better."

Please Take Just A Moment

As you may possibly know, Rocks in my Dryer was one of the bloggers chosen to join Compassion on a trip to Uganda, to blog about the work being done there.
Please take the time to read her post about her first day in Africa.

Oh, and while you're at it, Boo Mama is there too. Read her post.

And then, if you've been moved, as I believe you have been, then read This Post by Spence Smith, an artist relations manager for Compassion.

Invisible Children

As some of you may know, I have been yapping a lot about the Invisible Children. It is a documentary filmed by three young guys who discovered the atrocities taking place against the children in Northern Uganda. The story of the Invisible Children put the children of Uganda on my heart in a major way. I am going to go on a mission trip in June to Uganda to work with some orphans. I won't however be in Northern Uganda. But now that a cease fire has been issued, I may consider going to Northern Uganda a couple of years from now if the opportunity presents itself.

Anyway, I found a link that had the entire Invisible Children film on it. It is 55 minutes long. I have it posted here for you. It may take a few to load. Please don't be turned off by the first fifteen minutes or so of it. WATCH THE WHOLE THING!!!!
I feel that the last twenty minutes or so of it is the most moving. And everything before helps explain it all.



Again, there was a cease fire signed after 20 years of violence, death and atrocities toward the children in Northern Uganda. The U.N. as well as the Government of Uganda are working to find homes for all of the children as well as education and therapy. The children who were abducted and forced to join the LRA, were trained and brainwashed at a young age to kill. They were desensitized to it all by witnessing the brutal deaths of other abducted children. So, as you can imagine, these thousands upon thousands of children have a lot of emotional issues to deal with.

If you are interested in sponsoring a child from Northern Uganda, you can contact Far Reaching Ministries. 951-677-4474. Steve and I have sponsored a little Kenyan boy through them since 2001. I just received a letter today though that recently a young boy in the orphanage that Far Reaching Minsitries had worked at, had been abusing many of the young girls at the orphanage. The director was refusing FRM's help in finding him a new home and were going to continue keeping him there. FRM decided that the situation wasn't right for them and are now focusing on helping two orphanages in Northern Uganda. So, our sponsorship is going to switch over to a child in Northern Uganda. So, anyway, if you are interested, contact them.

Videos I urge you to watch

INVISIBLE CHILDREN

THE CAUSE:





THE COMMERCIAL





THE OUTCOME





A WAY YOU CAN HELP
-Please note some may be turned off from this video by how it starts, but please watch.




MORE WAYS TO HELP
MAKE MORE NOISE!

The power of your voice at the Global Night Commute was like nothing we've seen or heard before. After meeting with senators to discuss the effects of the Global Night Commute we realized one thing - we've only just begun. With thousands dying everyday in Uganda, we want you to let your senators know that change needs to happen NOW.

Be a part of the 2006 Northern Uganda Lobby Day and Symposium and make noise to end a war. Sharpie-art your calendar and save the date, because on October 9th-10th, you will be in Washington, D.C. with Invisible Children.

If you live in the area or can catch a ride to the Hill, come join Invisible Children and more than 15 other organizations to make more noise to help the people of Northern Uganda. You will hear from the world's leading experts, including Betty Bigombe and John Prendergast, the filmmakers of Invisible Children, and then meet with your elected representative's staff to urge more effective U.S. involvement in the crisis. You'll go home with the knowledge and tools to keep advocating for the invisible children. It's a field trip worth 20 gold stars.

For more information and to register online, go to: www.ugandalobbyday.com

If you can't play hooky or your car won't make it around the D.C. Beltway, don't fret. Call your senators and representatives on the lobby days to be a voice to the voiceless. Imagine what would happen if all of the phones rang off the hook for the invisible children.

Click here for phone numbers to contact both of your state's senators in Washington, DC: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Click here to connect to your Representative in the House: http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW.shtml


Official Invisible Children Website Find out here how to order a dvd to host a party. Ask your pastor to show it at your church. Buy the video or a bracelet

Donate

They have a myspace page too

THIS HAS ALL MOVED ME TO TAKE ACTION....what's on your agenda for the evening? laughter over dinner with the family, TV shows to watch and then children to safely and soundly tuck into bed? While you put those covers over your precious children, think about Africa and how you can help. PLEASE!!!!