The film was very difficult to watch; by the end I was traumatized by the awful situations and suffering. Just when it seemed things couldn't get any worse, they did. An 8-months pregnant mother of four in famished, rural Kenya, whose husband has left the family, walks miles every day with her eldest daughter collecting sticks and twigs that can be sold as firewood; the daughter is too young to carry them so the mother does. Some people have left the village for the city, hoping for better living conditions; there they face raw sewage flowing outside their front doors and rampant drug and alcohol abuse by adults and children alike. In India, a man works all day, every day in a rock quarry. He has sold himself into slavery because of his mounting debts, but he will never be able to pay them off. Elsewhere in India, cash-strapped parents sell their daughters to sex traffickers to work as prostitutes. Amidst all of the brokenness, the film highlights how the Church is coming alongside those in these desperate situations. An organization teaches the wife and daughter of the enslaved Indian man job skills so they will not fall into slavery themselves. International Justice Mission rescues young girls from brothels and works with local governments to prosecute the traffickers.
Fortunately there was a group discussion afterward, because I needed others to help me process my thoughts. My initial thought was "Why am I here?" working with this population, who are far better off than the people depicted in the film. Then I was reminded that I am here because I have been called to be here, and I should not feel guilty about that. Still, the point of the film is to inspire and show us, the Church, how we can partner with those on the front lines in the developing world and make a real impact. I was personally inspired by a church in Queens, NY highlighted in the film. The youth pastor there has helped to ignite a passion in members of the youth group, who are poor themselves, for the hungry overseas. One day a week they fast and pray for those who are worse off than them. It was very timely for me because that week in Discipleship, I introduced the idea of tithing (giving 10% of your income to the Church) to our 8th and 9th grade boys. They thought it was crazy, and I probably did too when I was their age. But it got me thinking: we do a lot of fundraising activities during the summer for our program. What if I showed 58: to the boys and helped them get passionate about one of these issues or geographic regions, and then challenged them to tithe 10% of everything we raise to one of the organizations highlighted in the film? I told two of them about the film a few weeks ago and they want to see it, so I am excited to share it with them this spring.
You can watch the film for free here, and learn more about the 58: movement at live58.org.
