Thursday, March 31, 2011

Bereaved Film Night


Those of you who are local I want to invite you to a special viewing of the SixtyFeet film 
{Bereaved}
Friday, April 15 · 7:00pm
Gilbert Christian High School
3632 E. Jasper Dr.
Gilbert, AZ
A little more about the story behind SixtyFeet taken from their website:
Not long ago a woman was on her way out of Kampala and drove past a dilapidated old sign that read “M”: Rehabilitation Center for Children. She was drawn to learn more about the place and so she turned down a long, winding dirt road until she came to the end. To her horror, she found rooms of children locked up, young kids chained to windows, and even a 10 day old, malnourished and living in her own urine. She saw hundreds of children with little food and no supervision.

The power of that moment could not be denied. The statistics and figures that Nathalie knew all too well now had a name and a face. The suffering was real and her first hand experience would change the course of her life and the lives of these children. A glorious story of redemption for these little ones began that day when Nathalie followed her inkling and wandered into “M”.

Eight thousand miles away, the ripple effects of Nathalie’s ministry made their way to the shores of America. When we heard about “M” our hearts were completely broken. Living amidst a sea of abundance and well cared for families, we could not begin to fathom the pain and suffering that these children endure on a daily basis. It was clear that God was calling us on a mission too.

In early 2010, some of the men on our team heard about this place and began to pray that God would send someone to help. They soon realized it was them God was sending. They decided that we should go and see how God was at work in the lives of these children, and how we might participate. And so we did.

What we learned was something we already knew but had not personally experienced so vividly. The heart of God is unquestionably devoted to caring for widows and orphans, for the poor and the marginalized, for the hungry and those who suffer injustice. This we knew. But experiencing God at work in this desperate environment made us realize that He was calling us to live out the Gospel and be devoted to His purposes in a way that was tangible, sacrificial and enduring.

It is an awesome and deeply humbling thing to have an encounter with the living God. Deep in the bush outside Kampala, we encountered Him at work and it changed our lives.

Sixty Feet was born out of a desire to participate in God’s work at “M”, to come along side those already involved in the lives of the children, to share the love of Jesus Christ in a meaningful way, and to care for orphans that are otherwise treated as common prisoners. In short, Sixty Feet is a response to the Gospel.

{Bereaved} is a SixtyFeet.org film depicting the children of “M” as seen on the various trips they made to Uganda in 2010. Michael Lines tells a very convicting story through the images he captured in his film, Bereaved.

So heres my plea to those who are reading this and considering whether or not to come.... 
It's my prayer that God would bring many people to this showing but, I know whether there are 1 or 100, He has a plan. He has made it clear to me that this is very dear to His heart and wants it to be the same to me. I prayed that my heart would break for what breaks His and I am broken. God is in Ug*nda, in the prison called "M" and He is calling us to step up and fight and love His children. I exhort those who I know and love to stand with me. 
Maybe just supporting something that is important to me will be enough to get you there.. (however I do pray it doesn't stop there) Make time to come, make it important because these children are important. 


1 comment:

  1. You know I will be there!

    I love what God is doing in your heart (and mine)! I love how He has knit us together to love Him and others in this way. And I love how He has been pulling the plank from our own eyes, so we can help others with the speck in theirs. We are just a young couple seemingly lost in a common Phoenix-metro suburban lifestyle, but God is starting to do some very extraordinary things in our hearts. Although I sometimes fear that our efforts will amount to nothing (which I know that God is sovereignly in control of), I know that you and I can't deny the love that He has put in us for Jesus and the orphans. I will always encourage you to continue to follow hard after Him and I will always spur you on to radical love and good deeds; even if I am the only one who shows up.

    I love you.

    -Josh

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