The Human Experience

Last night, my friend Megan Rigby and I went to a pre-screening of Grassroots film called, "The Human Experience." One thing about me is that I have a tendency to be frequently inspired. I'm at constant battle with innumerable interests and pursuits. My heart is too large for its own good sometimes. Last night’s film was not any different. It was, hands down, one of the best films that I have ever seen. It is about these boys from Brooklyn who decide to pack it up one day and remember what it is like to be human. They spend the coldest night of the winter living on the streets of New York with the homeless, they spend weeks in Peru with a group of guys from "Surf for the Cause" helping out in a children’s home, and they visit a leper colony in Ghana, Africa. Their story was so inspiring and beautiful. Essentially, they wanted to know what kept people going. What does it mean to be a human being? What gives you hope in such great suffering?

The boys themselves were from rough inner city backgrounds. They live in a place called St. Joseph's House. Jeffrey and Cliff Azize are two of the main characters and neither of them had seen their father for ten years and their mother passed away when they were young. Michael Campo is a film student who struggles with the life of the city and a disability in his left arm and Mathew Sanchez is another member of this band of brothers whose mother died of aids before he was given the opportunity to know her. They all came together on this "experience" to ask the tough questions.

Megan and I just watched the film along with some other girls from our bible study that we met up with and I know I do not speak for myself when I say that it was mind-blowing. Amidst the most unimaginable suffering, people were of more spirit than many people I see on a day to day basis. The children of Peru were not given a gift from the volunteers; they were the ones giving the gift. Many of these orphans do not have all limbs and are battling with the most painful of predicaments, yet their joy flows so abundantly that it breathed new life into a few hundred people in Boulder, Colorado just last night. They were beautiful and brave and strong.....and they were happy.

The week that Jeffery and Cliff spent on the streets of New York birthed lessons that I would not have expected. There was a man that they spoke to that said, even as he sat freezing on the coldest night of the year, "I know that God has a purpose for me. I do not know what that is, but I am able to help people even if it seems like I have nothing." Likewise, a homeless woman was asked what she would say if she were given an opportunity to speak to the rest of the world. She said that she would ask the world, "Why don't you help your brothers and sisters? When they are in trouble that is what you do."

And in Ghana....a man from the leper colony along with all of the people there that would seemingly have every reason and right to be upset with the world simply looked into Michael's eyes and said, "You are my brother. We are happy. We are the same." Especially in the part of the film devoted to Africa, I found myself in absolute and uncontrollable awe of human life. I do not believe that I have ever doubted it, but now more than ever, in hardship and in good times humanity is a beautiful thing. A woman in Ghana, diagnosed with HIV was given an opportunity to tell the camera what legacy she would like to leave behind for her children. She was not a reverant woman with many years on her life's shelf. She was "still in the sadness" of her diagnoses, but she said, "Trust in God. He will make possible whatever it is you strive to do in your life." Awesome.

Life is one lesson after another. I do not have to be wise with the number of years I have lived to recognize that. The lesson that we all learned last night and the lesson we should all look to; especially in the unfortunate frequency of our own selfishness is that we can make differences. We do not have to go to Ghana or Peru or live homeless for a week to understand that we are all part of something incredible. We can start within our families. In fact, Jeffery Azize and Michael Campo were there last night. We asked them what could be done to "experience" and know love in the way that they seem to have grasped. Jeffery harkened to the part of the film where his brother arranged to see their father for the first time in a decade. He said that we can "make peace within our families" for starters. So there it is. We can take a look at our own lives close at hand and ask ourselves, "How am I loving my brother?"...."How am I loving my sister?" and "How am I being loved?"

I almost did not go to this pre-screening, but God made sure that I was there. My life's suffering is not at all near the level of suffering witnessed in this film. We should all be so lucky as to recognize life's gift as they have.

On the Emerald Isle

Erin go Bragh! (Ireland Forever!) I am back in the United States and being tossed around in the sea that is "Spring Semester." I hope, again, that this finds you all well and enjoying the beginning of 2009. I have many new stories to tell and pictures to show you! This letter will in no way be able to wrap up what an amazing adventure it was to visit Ireland. I will do my best to fill you in. I really cannot wait to tell you all in person though.

We left on the morning of the 27^th from Denver and did not arrive until the morning of the 28^th in Dublin, Ireland. The sun was just rising there (even though it was already 9:00 am), but our bodies all told us that it was setting. It was very bizarre to experience almost non-stop sunlight for two days. We stayed in a YWCA about forty minutes from Dublin in a shore town called Greystones. What a wonderful place! The Irish Sea was a two minute walk from our house. I even managed to jump into it one night at mid-night, but that is a heck of a story in and of itself. Ask me about it when you see me. Can you say “FREEZING!?” Seriously, though, we were truly blessed to have such accommodations. Our host family was incredibly gracious. They were originally from England and their children were so much fun to get to know and play soccer (“football”) with.

Our work in Ireland consisted of many different things. To give you a clue, however, I do not think I have ever or will ever paint so much in my entire life. We painted the men’s section of the YWCA, ripped up carpet, and did many other things to get it ready for whoever may pass through its walls. They called it “decorating” which had many of us confused on our way out to work that day. Half of the team also painted a youth drop in center in Bre which was about five miles north of Greystones. We had such an inspirational and fun time there that we brought the second half of the team on the next day to finish it all up. Our hosts at the center even taught us how to do the Irish jig! We hiked there together along a scenic path through the countryside. The ocean was to our right and beautiful cliffs and rolling green hills were to our left. It was a gorgeous and rare day. The sun decided to join us and it was mild enough to just wear a fleece. (many of the other days were freezing!) Our work at the youth center was fulfilling and appreciated.

We had one day of work in which we decided to pick up trash in a local neighborhood that was particularly in need of it. We picked up over fifty bags of trash and it was far from getting it all. Our work had unintended meaning that day as well. When we were picking up trash we ran into four little boys that had nothing but unkind things to say. It was disheartening to hear some of the things they said come from such little guys. They followed us on our entire journey taunting and making a fuss. Frankly, they were trying everyone’s patience. After getting to talk to them for a while, though, God opened our hearts to them. We asked them what they did for fun and they replied with stories about how they would taunt the drunk and drugged people in their neighborhood and see how far they could run before they were caught. I think we were all unaware of how rough they had it. God granted us a view that no one had expected that day, and after inviting them to play soccer with us, it made us all glad to hear cursing appear less and less in their sentences as the day wore on. We prayed for them that night, hoping that they might come back to the house more often be cared for by whoever might be there.

My time in Greystones was beautiful, eye-opening, and humbling. I went on many good runs and walks and had many good “spots of tea.” (There was no way around the eleven o’clock tea break. The whole of Ireland seems to have tea at that time.) I enjoyed the work we completed there immensely. When it came time to say goodbye, we were all very reluctant.

From Greystones, we went Northern Ireland where we stayed at Queen’s College in Belfast. It was a much different experience. The Irish accent is much thicker in Northern Ireland and communication was often a bit of a laugh. We worked with some incredible people from Habitat for Humanity. We hung drywall and moved bricks for the construction of one of many of their houses. We also got a very small but amazing look at the struggle between Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods there. There were forty “peace walls” that still separate communities and prevent them from interacting violently. Fighting has really stopped, but because there has been such a long history of struggle our host said, “reconciliation is our next challenge and it’s far from over.” The biggest goal is to help the children know that they can work together even if they do not always agree.

We also got a tour of the Parliament building, Stormont, in Belfast. We were even met by Deputy Prime Minister, Danny Kennedy. What an experience! The history was fascinating. Apparently, the building was used as a Royal Air Force strategy center in World War II. Because the building was white, the RAF covered it and the marbled streets around it with coal dust and manure so that they could not be seen from enemy air craft. You can still see some of it in the crevices. It was so neat to be in the same room that RAF strategists and pilots had been so many years ago.

The trip was so good in so many ways. The work that we did was rewarding and helpful and through our efforts we really became attached to the great big island. On a personal level, the trip did more for my faith and my confidence than any of you will ever be able to imagine. The trip brought new people into my life that I will never forget. It was truly a hand picked group. I can not thank you all enough for what you have done for me and for the people that we were able help.