Never Again

So, I know I didn't blog at all about my trip to Asia. Hopefully, lots of stories and pictures will come soon, but here is just one for now:

While we were in Cambodia, we went to the genocide museum in Phnom Penh. Under the "vision" of Pol Pot, the Khmer Rouge killed 25% of Cambodia's entire population. They imposed radical agrarian communism, and all potential "rebels" were killed. This meant intellectuals (and everyone with any kind of education), anyone with foreign connections, and any one that the deemed in any way to be a potential problem. At the museum (which was once a high school, before the Khmer Rouge made it a prison), we saw hundreds of pictures of people who were killed there, the instruments and devices used to torture them, and all of the horrible rhetoric used by the mass murderers. We also went to the genocide memorial, which is at one of the killing fields -- there are tons of mass graves which were exhumed, and the skulls they found comprimise the memorial. 

All that to say, genocide happened in Cambodia in the 70's ... that is not that long ago. And I never learned about. Western education is, well .... western. And, it turns out, most people I know have never heard anything about what happened there. THAT is a crime.

My heart broke for the people of Cambodia ... they are just beginning to heal from the horrible wounds inflicted not so long ago.

So it got me thinking ... what is happening in the world today that my children are going to look back on and wonder how we let it happen? Where is genocide occuring that I don't know about? What is the legacy of my generation when it comes to crimes of this nature? Are we going to let them happen? But how can we stop them?

I had tried to calm these questions in my  heart a little bit, just overwhelmed by the idea of trying to find out how I can become a part of world-change :)

And God met me in that place, and answered my questions through a man named Sean Carasso. He is at Baylor for a couple days, just telling stories about his experience in the Congo. It was the most dynamic conversation I have ever been a part of ... he is beyond passionate about what he saw and so deeply desires for people to get involved and evoke change. He talked about William Wilberforce and Martin Luther King Jr. Those are the kinds of people that I want to be found amongst. The Congo is war-torn ... and I didn't know. But I am starting to ...

check out fallingwhistles.com

and

http://af.reuters.com/article/drcNews/idAFLN34164620090123?pageNumber=3&virtualBrandChannel=0