Rick goes, Dude, watch out!” and Braylon replied a typical Bray response,

“Well, don’t put your hair under my foot!”

(Yeah, we’re working on him taking responsibility for his actions.)

Well, I will write you back when you write me.

Miss you too,
Abbigail

We don’t really know how to respond at times like these.

I will mail his letter to Abbigail – I sent a msg to her mom with what he wrote too…just in case it got lost in the mail. And I just friend-requested another one of his friends’ moms…so he can keep in touch with Austin from ’10. I feel helpless right now. I’d love to just give him a photo album all kinds of photos in it from the three years he lived in Texas – full of pics of him and his friends. But I don’t want him to look at it all the time and be sad, and miss out on the opportunities to deepen his new friendships here. So I try & reassure him that he’s not forgotten. I set up play dates. I search for pictures. I encourage him to write and mail letters. And I pray for my lil guy as he works through this. He’s the best.

I wonder what words I’d use to describe myself.

I guess I’d circle…

Compassionate, respectful, thoughtful, creative, loyal, thrifty, loving, outgoing, forgiving

and some that I probably wouldn’t circle…

Independent,  energetic, consistent, time-conscious,  selfless, disciplined

I thought it was really cool how engaged and how focused he was. I noticed he was reading all the lyrics of every song. I kept watching him reading and singing… really listenting and getting sometihng out of it. And it blessed my heart.

We’ve tried to focus this weekend on the real meaning of Easter. From Friday til today, we did things a little different than we used to. From getting seeds and planting them in the backyard garden to symbolize new life…to getting dressed this morning in what we’d all normally wear on any Sunday. We tried not to not pay any attention to eggs or bunnies or candy. We talked about Jesus around the kids. And what He did for us.

When Pastor Stan was getting ready to ask if anyone would like to accept Christ, like he often does, we peeked down at Braylon and saw him fidgeting at first but then when he said those words, “raise your hand…”, Braylon’s hand went straight up. Then Stan finished his sentence: “…on the count of three”. Braylon’s hand went right back down and then he was just waiting….for that “3″. So when he heard Stan count to 3, he raised his hand again, to accept Christ.

Probably dozens of people made the same decision and after service, he asked Chelan if she raised her hand too.

I just think it’s a blessing to know that sitting in the middle of this grown-up service, even an 8 yr-old can be touched… moved… feel that tug.

The song was about praying for & fighting for justice. The part that grabbed him was the 2nd verse that speaks of little children who at age 4,5,6,7,8… are trying to escape from abuse and slavery. The artist raps about a boy who “tried to run away from his slave-master, but his little feet couldn’t go no faster”.

Braylon just sat there, looked down, and then looked at me, crying. Finally he raised his voice, “I’m selfish! I’m going to stop being so selfish and always thinking about myself, and help these kids!”

Funny, I’d spoken about child slavery around my kids for over a year now. It was so common around my house, it was like a fluid second language. But it took a song of Braylon’s style, about a boy Braylon’s age… to pull the blindfold off.

Yesterday he looked for the same CD and track, saying, “I like sad songs. And scary songs”. When vs.2 came, I looked at him and there were those alligator tears again.

He started asking one question after another about SCTnow. He took a chopstick and said, “this is a kid” he karate-chopped it in half and then said, “…and now this is Stop Child Trafficking Now…”  He took the other piece and  kind of reattached it, “…putting back together the kids who are in slavery & keeping them safe”.

I smiled, but I had to make sure he knew what we really did, “we don’t put back together anyone,  Bray. Our special agents do research & go get the proof that these guys who are taking & keeping children and doing horrible things to them – can be put in prison. We don’t wait until children are broken and then fix them. We help bring the child predators to justice before they can get to any more kids. We help to get them a long prison time, so the kids they had can be safer and the kids they were going to abuse – aren’t in danger of them anymore. That way, they won’t ever need to be put back together. Because of SCTNow agents, kids can be safer & more protected.

He nodded. A few minutes passed. “Ya know, I’ve been getting less scared in front of lots of people. Maybe you could let me be up on stage with you and say something at the next SCTNow Walk?” “Maybe. It depends on what you say” I replied with a big smile. “I think you’re awesome”.  Then even later that day at home, he became all excited about a new Skateboard Fund Raising idea he thought of – to get $20 donations for each cool trick that a kids performs on his skateboard. I gave him a huge hug and said it was a great idea. I like the way this boy’s thinkin’!

I’m often amazed at the impact music can make on the human soul. The song he heard by Washington Projects is just one of 26 on this 2-disk CD set including a bonus DVD documentary short entitled “At the End of Slavery”. The 3 disk set is just $5.00 - an insane value.  It includes beautifully arranged songs from simple acoustic to fully produced; from indie rock to pop, from ballads to bluegrass to hip hop. The message from these wonderfully talented and many acclaimed artists (who all happen to be Christian artists, as the project was for IJM, who is faith-based) is clear:  We as a society can all stand up for freedom. Everyone, no matter if they are 8, 34, or 81… can and should do something to fight oppression. If we don’t, who will?

The cries from the innocent will continue to go unheard.

This was just a few moments in the life of an 8-year old, but poignant & hopefully even pivotal moments. I challenge parents out there, to not shy away from the hard topics. Find an age-appropriate way to teach them about injustice and oppression. And encourage our children to take action. We have ongoing opportunities to sensitively instill bits of truth, bringing more reality to their world view.  If we do all we can now to end child slavery & violent oppression, then the issue will not be so daunting for our lil ones.

I am becoming more & more confident of this: my words in action can help make my kids … world-changers.

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FREEDOM Tracks:

“This unprecedented compilation was written and performed for the Freedom project by many of the biggest names in Christian music – artists MercyMe, tobyMac, Jars of Clay and Tenth Avenue North – who share in the vision of the International Justice Mission and donated their time and proceeds to this project. Third Day takes the lead with the first track, entitled “Arise,” an amazing song that cries out to God for freedom and forgiveness. The accompanying DVD is IJM’s compelling presentation on ending human slavery and includes a feature on The James Fund.”

Click here to order a copy