some of you may know how heavy things have been for me and my family, and others of you may be unaware, but either way please remember to pray, pray for peace of mind, sleep filled nights, restoration of some sort of harmony.
as for life in sierra leone, when i'm not thinking of home and cursing that i am across the ocean and rendered helpless, i am attempting to remain focused on work that is good. in counseling with the street boys, we are working with them to combine their stories, histories, experiences and aspirations into a single story that can be acted out in a play, a project called 'theater for development'. the boys will also be making a song about their lives on the street, all culminating in a huge show/concert extravaganza next month for friends and community members. i hope i'm conveying how freaking excitced i am for this, and am so proud of the boys for articulating their stories and their pasts. heidi and i have taken on our own side project of having the boys write their individual stories, which will soon make up an epic website for your viewing pleasure with loads of fun pictures. we will keep you posted on our progress.
on a final note: 'good' seems a simplisitic and overrused word, but it is the word that comes to mind to describe our time here. our life is simple and our joys unadorned. we enjoy people and sun and rain and working and sitting and walking. we enjoy living life.
"God made the world and saw that it was good. Not fair. Not happy. Not perfect. Good."
as for life in sierra leone, when i'm not thinking of home and cursing that i am across the ocean and rendered helpless, i am attempting to remain focused on work that is good. in counseling with the street boys, we are working with them to combine their stories, histories, experiences and aspirations into a single story that can be acted out in a play, a project called 'theater for development'. the boys will also be making a song about their lives on the street, all culminating in a huge show/concert extravaganza next month for friends and community members. i hope i'm conveying how freaking excitced i am for this, and am so proud of the boys for articulating their stories and their pasts. heidi and i have taken on our own side project of having the boys write their individual stories, which will soon make up an epic website for your viewing pleasure with loads of fun pictures. we will keep you posted on our progress.
on a final note: 'good' seems a simplisitic and overrused word, but it is the word that comes to mind to describe our time here. our life is simple and our joys unadorned. we enjoy people and sun and rain and working and sitting and walking. we enjoy living life.
"God made the world and saw that it was good. Not fair. Not happy. Not perfect. Good."
4 comments:
Oh, kid. This makes my heart so glad! I love that you and Heidi are able to invest so much in the lives of these young men. I am stoked for them to be able to take ownership over what they've been through and who they are. How exciting will it be to see them smile at the end of their performance, as the crowd cheers for them? Ugh. I wish I could be there to fully understand what it's like to have built these healthy, beautiful friendships that are growing these young men into productive members of their communities. It makes my heart so glad that this NGO you're working with isn't just about "Let's get these guys jobs," but really wants them to be healed. Beautiful.
You are beautiful inside and DEFINITELY out :) I love you, I love you, I love you.
...And I cannot WAIT for that website to be up and running! I will most definitely be adding that to my bookmarks list.
Ugh!!! And these pictures you just added! HOLY CRAP!! Heidi Whipple is a photography GODDESS! :) i love love love these pictures. I love the hands and the book, and I love the guy with the mug. These men have stories to tell, you can see it in their eyes. I'm so so glad you have this opportunity to be a witness to their lives.
The pics are amazing and hint at the richness of your experience...you're my hero, Sydney!
Hugs across the waters.
candy,
with all humilty and modesty, i would like to admit that i picked pictures that i had taken over my time here, many of course with heidi's amazing camera.
thanks for appreciating! love you!
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