God Grew Tired of Us

Karina and I just watched this documentary called "God Grew Tired of Us." It is about Sudanese boys who fled the war-torn country in the 80s. They walked about 1,000 miles and ended up in a refugee camp in Kenya. When they arrived at this camp, they thought they would stay there for a matter of weeks or months and then return home. The war raged on, though, and many were at the camp for over a decade. Eventually, some of them, now young adults, were invited to come to the U.S. The documentary follows the lives of three of them as the adjust to American culture, and as they struggle to keep their culture and to continue to help those back in their country.
The title of the documentary comes from one of the young men, John Bul, as he talks about how he tried to process the war and the genicide. He said that, at the same, he concluded that God had grown tired of his people, and of their sins, and had abandoned them. Although it is not reflected in the title, by the time he is in the U.S. John Bul has not by any stretch abandoned his faith in God and in Christianity. The three young men, John Bul in particular, reflect a very genuine faith in Christ. In one classic scene, John Bul is trying to understand Christmas traditions in the U.S. He asks, "What is Santa Claus? Is he in the Bible? And the Christmas trees. They are very beautiful, but are they are in the Bible? In my country we celebrat Christmas also, but we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ." The great part about his evaluation is that he was not in the least being critical or judgmental. He was genuinely confused about what was going on. It was a good reminder in the Christmas season of the fact that we want our sons (and neighbors) to see the real celebration of Christmas in how we handle ourselves.
Anyway, I thought this movie was worth mentioning. It is heartbreaking at times, but it is not gruesome. It is only PG. It was well worth the viewing.
OTHER UPDATES
I know you all are dying to know this, but Matthew pooped twice on the toilet Tuesday night. We are still very much in the midst of the training, but it was a big step. When he finishes potty training, he gets a bike.
Also, Survivor fans, I already have had 8 people ask to get in on the next pick 'em pool: Greg and Andrea Moffat, Ami McNay, Meagan and Eric Wood, Mirranda Meacham, and Karina and I. I don't know yet if there will be 16, 18, or 20 contestants. That said, I think we can fill this up and have every contestant picked.
And Ami, do you really think they'll bring Ethan back a THIRD time? Would they really do that with such a mediocre player?
I want to see Jonathan and Ozzy from that Cook Islands season, and I also want to see Michelle and Yau Man from last season.
Merry Christmas!