Left to READ

The book left to tell changed my life

so heres what you're going to do…

1. Get in a vehicle
2. Go buy the book titled left to tell
3. Go to a secluded corner
4. Bring tissues and your mind blown cap
5. read the freaking book

Is the golden ticket made of fake gold?

Abdi is a Somali refugee living in Kenya and receives the unthinkable... he wins a lottery that puts him on a short list for a U.S. visa. This is his ticket way out. But before he can cash in his golden ticket, the police start raiding his neighborhood, and targeting refugees. So it turns out that it takes a lot more than just winning a lottery ticket to make it to the U.S. More than half of the people that win each year will never make it. 

same tears

The movie, "Wasteland" is a social documentary based around the lives of garbage pickers in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. 

A man by the name of Vik Muniz selects six of the garbage pickers to pose as subjects in a series of photographs that mimic famous paintings. In his desire to assist these people and change their lives, Muniz finds himself changed as well.


These people spend all day in a landfill. A woman named Isis said, "this isn't a future." These people work around and in trash ALL day. But one man still said, "oh man if I complained god would punish me." Another woman says, 
"I may stink now but when I get home I will take a shower and it'll be fine." 


Most people think being a mom is hard enough… try being a mother while living in a dump, and working all day in a dump. Many eat what comes.. yogurt… one girl's philosophy is that as long as she doesn't die after eating it… its not bad. 


An 18 year old girl-- the same age as me has been working there for 7 years. She has two kids. The father is a drug dealer she said, "if I counted on him I'd be screwed."


This movie opened my eyes to a way of living that I can't even imagine. 




Despite everything, this movie actually showed me how people are the same no matter what circumstances they live in or work in. A girl named Isis said talking about her ex boyfriend, "it's been two weeks since we broke up." "I really like him." It amazed me that I can relate to a girl that works as a trash picker in Brazil.


We are all human. We are the same. We have different experiences and circumstances. But I've gone through break ups too. And her tears looked just like mine do. 

God Grew Tired of Us

Imagine coming to the United States for the first time and not even knowing how to turn on a light switch.

The movie "God Grew Tired of Us" Follows three Sudanese refugees -- Jon Bul Dau, Daniel Abul Pach and Panther Bior -- as they try to come to terms with their horrifying experiences from their homeland, all while trying to adjust to their new lives in the United States. 
This movie changed my life. 
These boys back in their refugee camp were like a family. They even started little parliament, it gave each other a chance to talk and come together like family. They could talk about what they were dealing with. Many saw their parents killed right before their eyes, or had to bury their brothers and sisters. "The human mind is complex, you cannot take away a bad thing."- Jon Bul Dau.
These boys came to the United States wanting to help their people and their family, "it is my time to help them, I'm strong enough to do that." It's remarkable how once they get here all they think about is how to help their people back home. One of the boys holds down 3 jobs purely for this. When they get to the United States they "Still eat with our hands, a person without culture is like a person without land." But everything about American culture is different.

Here's some observations these men made about life in the United States.
"theres no time for family to be together, why is it tough like that?"
"how does Santa relate to the birth of jesus christ?"
"people are not friendly"
 "If you go over to another mans house that you do not know he will call the police and say why did this guy come to my house?"

We may think that in the United States we are so advanced and ahead of other people. Truthfully this movie showed me how behind we really are.

One boy commented on how there was a woman crying in the grocery store, people walked past and no one even paid any attention to her. So he went and asked, "What is your problem?"

He remarked, "I know the best way to help people in pain is to get involved in their problem." These boys may not know how to turn on a light switch, but they know how to comfort someone. Is that not more important? These people understand many basic things Americans don't.

Jon Paul knows that he has a purpose in life. He said, "god does not create me as a very tall person for nothing."And he's right. he has done so much good in the world, and helped many people.

I have so much to say…. but the most important thing is GO WATCH THIS MOVIE.
Because most American people do not know much about Africa or refugees.

When you hear sentences like,
"its not easy 17 years of separation", "they killed my father I see with my eyes."And the story of a boy that hasn't seen family since he was 13 but still loves them, meanwhile his family suffering from desiese in Uganda refugee camp.

These things are eye opening. And it shows us why we need to help. These people need our help. They need a friend, not weird stares.