A Movie You Need to See and Something Cool

This weekend we saw a powerful movie called War Dance (it's available at Blockbuster). The movie follows a group of grammar school students from Uganda who are competing to win a national music and dance competition. The film details the lives of several children in the school, several of whom were kidnapped by the Lord's Resistance Army and made to serve as child soldiers. The movie presents a very real look at some of the atrocities these amazing children have had to endure. The movie also shows how at heart these kids are just that - kids. In that regard, the filmmakers offer a hopeful view of the resilient and courageous Achioli people in Uganda. This movie was nominated for an Academy Award in 2007. We urge you to check it out! Uganda is another country that, like Ethiopia, has been ravaged by poverty, disease and war. Uganda is also close to our hearts as we were inspired to adopt by a family at our church who added a beautiful little girl from Uganda to their family of 5. There are many great organizations that are working to help the people of Uganda. Two of our favorites are called Invisible Children and GuluWalk. The filmmakers that made War Dance are part of a group of filmmakers called ShineGlobal that work to raise awareness about the plight of children in need around the world. Their website has some great links to information about Uganda and groups (including Invisible Children and GuluWalk) working to bring relief to this country. Check it out!

Another cool thing that happened this weekend was that we met two pediatricians who have done mission work in third world countries. We met one at church and one at a baby shower for a friend's daughter. Both offered to provide care for our children (free of charge if our insurance gave us any problems!) and any professional advice we might need. One of the docs does medical missions in Africa and has a specialty in infectious diseases. He just got back from Sierra Leone and told us he'd love to have us join him sometime on a mission trip. If our adoption process continues to be delayed, it would be cool to do some mission work in Africa before our kids get here. It's neat to see how God allows your paths to cross with others at exactly the right time in accordance with His larger purposes.