Where did your joy go?

Asked why I was not joyful as I had been the day before, I had to take a minute to answer. What I realized was that my feeling was not one of sadness but authority. 

It dawned on me that it had been a month since we arrived, and I was finally getting the fact that my child and I were not there to film, report, or otherwise record their stories. We were there because like them we shared the harsh reality of escaping human trafficking too. We were shelter sistas and our lives would forever be enriched by our new extended family.

I noticed that the Filipina’s are really close, but they have a very strict hierarchy that they follow, very tight knitly. So, if one of the lower people, like one of the elderly ladies wants to do something, from my observation she has to go to a leader so to speak in order to do that, if it’s’ outside of like their comfort zone. The Ethiopians I noticed only ever come together, same with the Indians, only ever come together really around meal times and the T.V. to talk about their favorite movie stars or what food problems they’re experiencing. And then they have one or two people that they constantly hang out with, so it’s’ not really a group hanging out together. And then there are the Africans that always are together, always playing games despite what sometimes the other doesn’t want to, but eventually, they’ll really enjoy each other. So that’s what I’ve noticed in a few of the different cultures.

In the middle of the chaos in our trial by fire it was becoming clear that as Christian Americans, we were viewed as royals among Muslims and their battered and abused servants, who together treated us the way the church should. And in this space where everyone was shown dignity regardless of socioeconomics or hygiene, we were able to dream together of creating a way of life that we dared to imagine. 

What excuse can we give the rest of the world for not taking the lead as parents in the fight for our children’s safety, when it is our hands and theirs that will rock the next generation?

I’m Adelaide. Thanks for listening.

P.S. Let’s be the media our children learn from. Screen shot success & share #CoWkSavesAChild.

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