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My good friend Kelli recommended a movie last week so highly that I immediately added it to my Netflick queue. This evening we watched it, and now, while I am still dabbing the tears from my eyes, I want to tell you about it.
The movie is called “I Am David”. It tells the story of a little boy who got stuck in a concentration camp in Bulgaria with his father after World War II. I don’t want to tell you the whole story, because I don’t want to give it all away. For that same reason, I’m not linking to a review of the movie. But the gist of the movie is this: through the kindness of many different strangers, a child was saved and given another chance at life.
The story was gripping, but it wasn’t the story itself that moved me most. No, the thing that had me sniffing and wishing for tissues was the realization that this was so similar to the story of my girls. After their mother died– maybe even before — there were people along the way who kept an eye out for them.
During those months when the girls lived alone, maybe some simply prayed for their safety. Maybe others shared a little injera every day. Still others noticed when they weren’t doing well on their own and got them to Addis where they came to the orphanage associated with our agency.
There was the adoptive father who shared the pictures of the girls with John and me, so that we would know about them. Dozens of people each played a part in getting our paperwork together so it could go to Ethiopia and be submitted on their behalf.
Then in Ethiopia there were the workers from our agency, who talked to the girls and cared for them. They prepared documents and submitted them to court and spoke in court on behalf of the girls. Right now they are still shepherding our girls through the last few steps of paperwork before we can come get them.
I am so grateful to each and every person in this world who played a part in getting our girls this far. And I am determined to never forget the importance of small things in assisting another human being, in making a difference in the life of a child. We all have that power.
Related Links
Necessary processing steps in the U.S.
Necessary processing steps in Ethiopia
How Ethiopian children come to be in need
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What a lovely and hopeful post and sentiment, Mary. After the sort of things I’ve been reading lately, this comes as a breath of fresh air.
Thank you.
Jonathan Kellerman’s book, “Billy Straight,” has a similar message. Billy is a young teen who runs away from a bad situation at home and is living on the streets. He believes that he is all alone, and yet you see the people in his life who help him along — the guy at the hot dog stand who pretends not to notice Billy stealing hot dogs because he is starving; the librarian who pretends not to notice Billy borrowing and returning books (can’t get a library card without an address). Even though Billy felt alone, he never really was. There were people throughout the story who cared and who helped in little ways.
This book (and overall message) helped me to come to terms with my own painful childhood. I used to believe that it was all bad, but I came to realize that there were people in my life whose small kind acts added up to enough to give me the HOPE of a better life. I believe that there are no “small kindnesses.” What is small to you can be immensely helpful and healing to another person.
GREAT post!!
- Faith
I am a big fan of Netflix. No where else can you rent such great documentaries!
I really enjoyed ‘Born into Brothels’, which documents the lives of Calcutta’s poorest, most desperate children. A photographer from Britian has started a photography project where she gives the children cameras and helps them document their world, create art and go to school. It’s a very beautiful, touching movie.
There’s also ‘The Lost Boys of Sudan’ which documents the lives of Sudanese teenagers who come to the US to live.
The movie I recommend the most is called ‘The future we will create’ which documents the TED expo. TED is a convention that brings together the top tech., entertainment & design companies in the US (Google, Microsoft, etc) where they share new & upcoming ideas. One college professor discussed how her students are teaching poor people how to create charcoal from corn cobs, since wood smoke from cooking fires is the #1 cause of illness to young children & women.
Other ideas discussed are affordable enviromental housing plans that anyone can build, thoughts on public education & etc. This would be a great movie for teenagers & above, a little to talky for young kids.
Great post! Lynn