In my time as a missions major at Lincoln Christian University, I read a lot of books and did a lot of projects on various topics. Everything from the country of Cambodia to the issue of sex trafficking to orphans to child soldiers to family ministry. And to this day I still devote a lot of time to studying and reading up on those things as I serve in the local church with my husband and wait to see where GOD will lead us in the future. While I know those are some tough subjects to read about and some that most people would be terrified to even think about, the reality is that my heart breaks for children who have found themselves abandoned, abused and broken in some way or another. My heart breaks for children all around the world who have to live each day with some sort of fear. Fear of who will take advantage of them next. Fear of not being able to find a place to sleep. Fear of not being able to find a meal. Fear of not being able to have a future and a life that matters. And so I read whatever I can in order to better understand the circumstances, challenges and consequences that children around the world face. And yesterday I read one of those books that just grips my heart and makes it ache because of how awful and harsh the world really is towards children and humanity in general.
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah is a book that is about exactly what the title says. It's the story of a boy who survived being a boy soldier in the country of Sierra Leone during one of its civil wars. A boy who was born in 1980 and saw a lot of evil by the time he was 16 years old. Ishmael published his story in 2007, after escaping from Sierra Leone and starting a new life in New York City. It is an incredible story. Made all the more impressive that it was written in English (very good English) when English was not his first or even his second language. It's a story that is hard to read because of the terrifying scenes and harsh images he paints with his words and memories. He shares stories of when he was young and before the war caught up to him, his brother and his friends. He shares stories of what life was like as he was trying to run from the war and keep from getting captured. He shares stories of how life changed when the national army "drafted" him at the age of 15 to fight against the rebels. And then he shares stories of his rescue and rehabilitation. They are all real stories. Real stories that are the stories too many children in the world share. They are stories that far too many children have to accept as part of their personal history.
Ishmael Beah wrote,
A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah is a book that is about exactly what the title says. It's the story of a boy who survived being a boy soldier in the country of Sierra Leone during one of its civil wars. A boy who was born in 1980 and saw a lot of evil by the time he was 16 years old. Ishmael published his story in 2007, after escaping from Sierra Leone and starting a new life in New York City. It is an incredible story. Made all the more impressive that it was written in English (very good English) when English was not his first or even his second language. It's a story that is hard to read because of the terrifying scenes and harsh images he paints with his words and memories. He shares stories of when he was young and before the war caught up to him, his brother and his friends. He shares stories of what life was like as he was trying to run from the war and keep from getting captured. He shares stories of how life changed when the national army "drafted" him at the age of 15 to fight against the rebels. And then he shares stories of his rescue and rehabilitation. They are all real stories. Real stories that are the stories too many children in the world share. They are stories that far too many children have to accept as part of their personal history.
Ishmael Beah wrote,
"I believe that children have the resilience to outlive their sufferings, if given a chance."
He originally said that at a conference at the UN that he got to be a part of shortly after being re-introduced to civilian life and his extended family who took him in after his time of rehabilitation. He stood before a group of world leaders and shared a part of his story. He shared the above statement in the hopes that one day no child would have to endure what he had. But as of yet, the use of children as soldiers hasn't been stopped. As of yet, the use of children for sex hasn't been stopped. As of yet, the use of children for cheap, slave labor hasn't been stopped. But yet, if given the chance, each of those children could overcome all that they have endured. They could find hope and purpose and even love and a family.
I read hard books like A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier because it makes me pay attention to what is going on in the world. It makes me be aware of what children around the world are enduring. It keeps me from ignoring the problems or stepping away from them because "they aren't mine" or "they are on the other side of the world." As a Christian, but also as a human, I read these books so that I can be thinking of, praying for and reaching out to the children of the world who find themselves abandoned, abused and broken in some way. Yes, it can be depressing. Yes, it makes me cry. Yes, it makes my heart ache. But at least it reminds me to feel, to be human and to find a way to do something to change the world, even if it's just for one child.
So let me ask you this.... what do you read about that makes your heart ache?
Comments
Post a Comment