Leeland

Yesterday, we played at a show in Chino, CA. During the day we had some free time. We played soccer in the amazing California weather, and ate some chiken fajitas for lunch. We were having a perfectly comfortable and normal day before it was ruined in a beautiful way. The whole band sat in front of my computer, completely captivated and heart broken.

A few years ago I heard about a little film that changed the lives of my friends that watched it. It's about three college guys that went to Africa with no real plan... they just wanted to DO something, and document the stuggles of the Sudanese. On their trip they made an unexpected discovery. For over twenty years a war has raged in northern Uganda. You might say, "What's the big deal? Africa's full of wars, right?" It most certainly IS a big deal, and this war is unique in it's tradgedy.

A rebel army called the "Lord's Resistance Army" has been fighting the government of Uganda for years. They're about as far from the "Lord" as anything can be. They're lead by a ruthless maniac by the name of Joseph Kony. They've been responsible for the death of thousands of innocent lives, including women and children. What makes this war different from all of the other conflicts in Africa?

Over half of the LRA's soldiers are boys between the ages of 10-18. These innocent children are kidnapped from villages at night, and they're forced to watch violents acts. Then they themselves, are forced to murder. Kony indocrinates them and exploits them for his twisted means. These kids are just like any other child in the world.... they have hopes and dreams but their lives have been stolen away by forces of darkness. And there's thousands of children that live in fear for their lives, knowing THEY could be the next abduction.

You might think, "This is something that happenned a few years ago, right? Surley it must be over by now!" Well... unfortunaltely it's not. As you read this, there are children in Uganda & the Congo being kidnapped and forced to kill. Just last Christmas (Dec 25, 2008) the LRA massacared hundreds of people and abducted 160 children! That was THIS Christmas! How can we let this happen? Raise your voice, and let's show the world that these Invisible Children have faces.

What can you do? Well, go watch THIS short film online, and listen to their plan for action. Come on Leeland bloggers... let's DO something!

PS. If you're already familiar with this story... what have you done to respond?

Hey guys and gals,

Hope you're having a great day. Yesterday we played at a Dare2Share conference in Columbus, OH. I was so encouraged yesterday about witnessing. I think when you grow up in the church like I have, you can get so used to hearing about certain things that you loose the real passion you should have. I felt the love and conviction of God fill me up yesterday. Why don't we tell the world about Jesus? What's stopping us? There are people all around us that will go to hell if we don't share with them this amazing news... this beautiful gospel. And it's not just an eternal hell people face, what about all the heartache and pain that can be avoided by living for Jesus.

What is "witnessing" any ways? Is it going door to door? Or walking around on the street and directly confronting people about their spirituality? It can be both of those things, but it's also something more. A witness is someone who's literally seen, heard, and experienced something. What have you seen, heard, and experienced in your relationship with God? That's your testimony. That's a big part of what you need to be telling people. Just be transparent and tell them about all the things God's done in your life. And if you think He hasn't done much, just look around because it's everywhere.

When you pray today, ask God to set up divine appointments with people who need to hear that Jesus loves them. You'll be surprised by God's response, believe me. Finally, walk in love. The whole Gospel is based on love, so we can't go around contradicting it with a mean, judgmental manor. People don't need to be reminded about how bad they are... they need to be loved just as they are and they'll become the people God's called them to be.

I'd love to get some comments on this post in a few days from people who put this into action. I love you guys! We're headed back to Nashville to the studio. Please be praying for us as we're recording these new songs.

In Christ,

jack