Thoughts

I came to this country for two simple reasons.  I wanted to see my Lost Boys and I wanted to be a service to Carla and help her get her sweet kiddos home. 

 

Beyond that everything else was pretty much up in the air.

 

Don't get me wrong... I had a wish list of things I wanted to do and places I wanted to go.  But I had little control over any of it.

 

Honestly - my wish list was not really met.  I'm glad.  What I have seen and encountered and the people I have met has been so much better than my lame little list.  God's ways are most certainly not mine. 

 

  I hit the ground running almost two weeks ago and I haven't stopped since.  Each day has been filled with images and encounters and stories that need to be told.  I plan on sharing.  In time.  When the words burst forth.

 

This is a country in crisis right now.

 

It has been surreal for us to be here in the midst of protest and unrest and yet to this point be relatively untouched by it.  In the center of the capital city thousands upon thousands of protestors have barricaded themselves inside the court square. 

 

 

On the outside of those barricades, life goes on.  We have been affected only by the traffic caused by all of protestors.  The 30 minute trip to the embassy on Monday took us three hours as we inched through unbelievable traffic.  Vomiting kids, bathroom crises, crying babes, pouring snow and the stress of missing appointments made for a rather nightmarish event.  Other than that we have been untouched by the history that is happening mere blocks from our apartment.

 

Yesterday, I ventured down to where the Lenin statue had stood only days ago.  Flags now fly where Lenin once stood.

 

 

The statue itself lay headless on the ground.

 

People were quietly standing around it watching while one person at a time took a chisel and chipped away at the stone.

 

 

Each time a piece came off, someone picked it up and pocketed it.

 

 

 

No I did not get a piece.  I did not feel it was my right to carry away a piece of the stone.  Though this is my son's culture and for him I wouldn't mind gathering slivers, I was overcome with the quietness and resolve of the people standing there.  The old man who took the chisel and chipped away had a far greater right to gather the pieces than me.  He lived under Lenin's rule.  He experienced the tyranny. 

 

 

For him this was profound.

 

 

I just watched.  Wondered.  Hoped.

 

 

Tonight I again went down into the square.  This time I ventured past the barricades made of barbed wired, benches, tires, wood, snow and other whatnots.  I walked all around taking pictures, watching the people, buying flags.  Fire pits and tents were everywhere.  People were milling around, taking pictures just like me.  Looking.  Watching.  The police have withdrawn at this point so it is easy to walk in and out of the barricades. 

 

This place.  These people.  They need our prayers.  It is not easy what is happening here.  Things could turn on a dime.  What is relatively peaceful could become ugly fast.  Pray for them.  The resolve of those inside those barricades is strong.  They are proud and tough and are not going to just pack up and go away. 

 

Pray for them.

 

We are heading for home early in the morning.

 

Pray for us too.

 

 We are both longing for home.

 

Tomorrow is going to be very very long!