The Machine Gun Preacher

Day 324 –   We just came back from a movie – “The Machine Gun Preacher” about what’s going on in Sudan and one man’s war there. It is a very heavy movie; I heard the stuff and read about it but to see the children and the suffering there is a very different thing. And yes, it is a movie but it tells a very real story of pointless and endless killings, of destruction and cruelty beyond imagination. It tells a story of what a group of people in the name of a cause are doing to innocent children, women and men. It is appalling and disturbing beyond words and we are sitting here away from it all and do nothing. I don’t really know what I can do, I don’t want to go there, not on the humanitarian aids groups and not as this man that is fighting one man’s war. But I want to help somehow. There is so much poverty and pain and suffering in this world I have to find a way to get more involved in it. We had on our way back a long discussion if what this guy is doing is OK? Is he there for the children or is he there for the fight. It is probably a combination of both but does it really takes away from what he does, from all the children he saves and protects, feeds and clothes? He does more for these children than anyone I know.

   

I am thankful I watched this movie. I usually avoid these kind of movies, they are too disturbing for me, but I am thankful I watched this one. It is a story worth telling and I am thankful I watched it and now I have something to think about – how can I contribute, how do I get involved.  A subject I will give a lot of thinking about in the next few days and I am very thankful for that.