A Poem For the Children
Location: India
Camera info: Canon Rebel 350 D • lens 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
ISO 400 • f 5.6 • 1/10 sec (and quite a bit of editing)
Well, I was planning on writing a funny blog this week, but in honor of the events that happened this past Friday in Newtown, CT and Chengping, China, I will just leave you with this. I found this poem floating around Facebook, attributed to Cameo Smith of Mt. Wolf, PA. Please let me know if the credits are incorrect.
Twas’ 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38
when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven’s gate.
Their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air;
they could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.
They were filled with such joy, they didn’t know what to say;
they remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.
“Where are we?” asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.
“This is heaven,” declared a small boy, “We’re spending Christmas at God’s house.”
When what to their wondering eyes did appear,
but Jesus, their Savior; the children gathered near.
He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
Then He opened His arms and He called them by name;
and in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring.
Those children all flew into the arms of their King;
and as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
one small girl turned and looked at Jesus’ face.
And as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, “I’ll take care of mom and dad.”
Then He looked down on earth, the world far below;
He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe.
Then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,
“Let My power and presence re-enter this land!”
“May this country be delivered from the hands of fools!”
“I’m taking back my nation. I’m taking back my schools!”
Then He and the children stood up without a sound.
“Come now my children, let me show you around.”
Excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran;
all displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.
And I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
“In the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT.”
Please take some time to pray for all those affected by this week’s tragedies.
Musical Mistakes in Poland
Location: Poland
Camera info: Canon Rebel 350D • lens 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
ISO 800 • f 5.6 • 1/15 sec
Now, on a lighter note… 😉
Everybody has good and bad days, even professionals. Sometimes the results are just plain hilarious. On our band trip to Poland, we got the opportunity to visit a preschool in between concerts. The kids didn’t really know much about our team, except that we were from America. But they were proud of their preschool and wanted to show off their mad skillz as well. All the classes combined into one room, and the kids performed a song they had learned a few weeks prior, complete with hand motions (well, some hand motions. The rest were random kids spazzing, dancing, jumping around, picking their nose or their friends’ hair, and doing whatever else little kids do).
Next, it was our turn. Since we were just there for a visit, the band did not bring their instruments, so we were left doing things completely a capella. Not usually a problem, but the song selections we had been singing were pretty dependent on having a rockin’ musical backdrop. We did have one song that included hand motions, so we decided to do that one for the kids. Half the team clapped to keep the beat, and the rest of us taught the kids our dance. They loved it.
Then, one of the volunteers wanted to hear a “serious” song since they would be missing our concert later that night. Our band leader selected one that was in a similar key & tempo to the first, but no motions and good lyrics. Sure thing! We started the song, and even the kids continued to dance around for the first verse. We continued on to the chorus, and all of a sudden our director had a panicked look on his face. We had accidentally switched back to the chorus of the first song! :O We kept singing, and the director fed us the lines for the second verse so we could get back to the correct song and finish. At least the two flowed together well! Hopefully no one would notice, right? NOT! This became known around the trip as “The Preschool Medley.”
Has something ever gone hilariously wrong at a concert you’ve attended?
The Thing No One Wants to Talk About
Location: Indonesia
Camera info: Fuji Finepix A303 / Automatic Point & Shoot
ISO 100 • f 2.8 • 1/240 sec
I don’t know how I got here. I can’t remember much of the past few hours at all. This afternoon, I went to the market with my friends, and one of the merchants offered us free samples of his latest dish. Not long after trying it, I felt really tired, so I sat down on a bench while my friends continued shopping nearby. That’s the last I remember. Now I’m in a dimly lit room with no windows, and a door locked from the outside. I’ve tried calling for help several times, but no one answers.
Soon, an older man and woman enter the room. I try to get them to help me, but they just look at me coldly. The woman accuses me of stealing food at the market, and tells me I must work to pay her back. I refuse and try to run past her, but the man grabs me and hits me until I stop fighting. He drops me to the floor, where I sit there crying, unable to move because of the pain.
That first night in the brothel still haunts my dreams. I had three “customers” visit me, and each one was meaner than the one before. They didn’t care that I was only a child, or that I was trapped in a tiny room while my family searched for me in vain. All they wanted was what I could give them, no matter how unwillingly.
(This fictional story was adapted from the testimony of a young woman in India, who was rescued after being enslaved since she was 12 years old).
It’s Human Trafficking Awareness Month, so I wanted to focus on that tough topic this week. As most of America gears up for the Super Bowl on Feb 5th, traffickers are also preparing for one of their busiest weeks of the year. Children and young girls are brought into the city from Asia, Europe, and the Americas to give visitors more “entertainment” during their stay. Local law enforcement and many ministries are working to prevent these things from happening and rescue these modern-day slaves, but it’s everyday people who can raise awareness and protect their children and others’ the best. Turning a blind eye to the problem will only allow it to continue unhindered.
So what is your part in ending modern-day slavery?
Dirt, Band-Aids, Paint & Prayer
Location: Mexico
Camera info: Canon Rebel 350D • lens 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
ISO 200 • f 5.6 • 1/320 sec
The cliche says “A picture is worth 1000 words,” but sometimes a few extra are helpful. 🙂 This was one of my favorite pictures from the Mexico building trip, because I think it summed everything up perfectly. (If you missed the earlier story, I wrote about it here and here.) In the picture are four things that remind me of the trip: dirt, band-aids, paint, and prayer.
The dirt is probably self-explanatory. We were in Mexico, and it was everywhere!!! When the team first arrived, some had a difficult time adjusting to the mess after leaving the comfort of America. All that was forgotten, however, when we caught one of the local kids trying to drink out of one of the construction wash barrels because that was the cleanest water they had. Ick. A large tank of clean water was quickly added to the project.
My friend had a very good reason why her fingers were covered in band-aids. She had been working on stucco all day. The mixture we used included sand, cement, water, and lime. The last ingredient is hard on skin, so we usually wore cloves to work with it. However, my friend noticed there were gaps in the stucco near the roof, where the angle was too small for gloves to fit. After several failed attempts with a trowel, she gave up and took off the gloves to fix it with her fingertips. We didn’t want gaps that would let in breezes in the winter. The mixture chewed up her fingers quite a bit after several hours of work, but she was happy that the kids would stay warm and dry.
Paint was the finishing touch on the houses, along with a numbered plaque. It was our pay of personalizing each building and making it look more cozy. The inside walls were unfinished, but outside, we went crazy! My team’s building had blue window and door frames. The large building used wood and chicken wire under the stucco to create an embossed cross on the outside wall.
Finally, but most importantly, we prayed for the kids, the families, and the other work teams. It was the faith of the host family that led them to care for all the homeless children, and it was faith that led the three work teams to help build the orphanage. God brought us all together at one time to make a miracle for those kids, and we needed to take time and thank Him.
Do you have a picture that tells a story you love to share? Let us know… and don’t forget to include a link!
India’s Temple Children
Location: India
Camera info: Canon Rebel 350D • lens 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6
ISO 100 • f 2.8 • 1/140 sec
As our tour group neared a Hindu temple in southern India, we were met by this little boy dressed as one of the Hindu gods. He was more than willing to strike a pose and let us take pictures – for a small fee. After all, entertaining the visitors was his full-time job.
The life of a temple child is very difficult. Most of these children are dedicated to the temple deity as infants, in order to bring their families good luck. Never seeing their parents again, they are raised in the temple to serve the local gods, which includes a variety of jobs. The boys, like this one, often serve as bahurupis (“the many-faced“), street entertainers who dress up as the gods and perform for locals and tourists alike. It’s a difficult job, because a convincing actor will go all day without shoes, eating or using the restroom. Many are not allowed to talk, even as passers-by treat them harshly.
Girls often face even more difficult circumstances. In the past, their roles were also entertainers. Indian missionary Amy Carmichael once wrote,
“The duties of the temple girls were to carry the kumbarti (the sacred light); to fan the idol with chamaras (fans); to dance and sing before the god. They were the only women who could read and write, play an instrument, and sing and dance. Their presence was believed to bring good luck to a wedding, and they had power to avert the ‘evil eye.'”
Today, Many infant girls dedicated to the temples are “married” to the temple deity and are considered devadasi (basically a “divine prostitute“). Their job is to provide sexual favors for the priests and male worshipers who frequent the temple. When they get older (around 5-7 yrs old), they are auctioned off to become a child concubine. Many girls are re-sold after they pass puberty, and more than half end up in brothels for the remainder of their lives. This practice was outlawed decades ago, but perpetrators are rarely punished, so it continues today, especially in rural areas. Tradition and poverty are strong motivators in this society.
Poverty can bring people to do all sorts of things they would never consider otherwise. What have the poor in your area done to cope?
Pictures Around the World 