Falling Whistles

Just some catch-up first before I move on to the pressing part of this post.

Well, the semester is nearing a close and I've got the first draft of one of the major papers done and one recital down- whew! (The recital went well- the all "Baroque", i.e. early music, program- slideshow below, if you're interested!)

SB Baroque Recital, 11-17-08

It's been quite a few weeks, but I gotta say, I really am loving this school thing. (Feel free to remind me of that though, when I'm having a "freaking out" moment...:)

I feel like I'm finally learning many of the things I missed before and the people have been awesome. I've oddly enough always thrived on being "busy" and it's ironic these two hour train rides have become something I actually enjoy (!!!), allowing me the time to work on homework and emails. Who would have thunk it? And the patience, kindness, and support my sweet hubby has shown me over these last couple of months have just made me fall even more in love with him; so all things considered, our marriage is actually going pretty great, too!

I sure wish I had more time to practice though. Sigh.

And I sure wish I had more time for friendships.

That's probably the biggest area that I feel has been hit with this semester. I haven't been nurturing those friendships that I cherish, and haven't been cultivating and developing the new relationships I'm making. There are dear friends that I haven't talked to in ages, friends I haven't met for an afternoon chat in months, friends that I haven't kept up with through emails... Ugh. I'm not sure how many of my friends actually read this blog anymore, but if you do, then you are most likely one of these dear friends, so please know that I do love you and do think of you all the time!!! In many ways, the winter break can not arrive soon enough.

So, what's "Falling Whistles" you may ask? Well, instead of my attempt to fully describe it to you, which won't do any justice to the cause, please check out this website:

www.fallingwhistles.com/

Sean Carasso, the force behind the mission, is a close friend of one of the couples in our church community group, and Steve and I had the awesome pleasure of personally meeting him and hearing his story the Sunday before last as he was in NYC.

So, to very briefly summarize -cuz again, it's really better to get the info from the source following the above link-

Sean went on a trip to Africa, originally with the organization "Tom's Shoes," which gives out a pair of shoes for every pair bought, and eventually somehow wound up in the DR of Congo. There he met several child soldiers and heard some incredibly chilling and heart-wrenching stories.

The youngest of the boys, those not trained in weaponry yet, are simply given whistles to sound as a warning to the coming forces, and then these same boys, act basically as the first shield to the bullets. Hence, "falling whistles."

It is a terrifying, tragic reality that

IS GOING ON RIGHT NOW IN OUR WORLD!!!!

Please, please, please read the story he has to tell and if you feel so led, please link to it from your own blogs, email the info along, or even commit to praying about it. Right now, the main goal is raising awareness so please spread the word. This is how grassroots movements like these get things accomplished- through "whistleblowers" like you and me.

So please reACT and help others become aware.

Thank you.