A Message from "The Lost Boys of Sudan"

In 1983, about 25,000 boys from southern Sudan, most of them 5 to 10 years old, fled the advancing Muslim army from the north that was seeking to exterminate the male population of black Christians. The Lost Boys, as they came to be known, trekked barefoot for more than 1,000 miles and eventually settled in a U.N. refuge camp in Kakuma, Kenya. Rather than becoming bitter and hostile, the boys formed a close-knit society in which they all took care of one another, boys as young as 11 taking on the responsibility of surrogate fathers. What is remarkable to see is that these children did not let their sadness and suffering -- many buried their families -- wipe out their good will and kind nature.

Last week, one of these Lost Boys (John Bul Dau) came to Mason City and spoke about the events that unfolded.

He was forced to flee from his village in the middle of the night from attacking Muslim soldiers. He escaped only to walk barefoot for 3 days in the desert (No water, no food). He drank water from the mud on the ground, and found a peach-like fruit in which he ate to survive.

He came upon a refuge camp in Ethiopia where he lived for nearly 4 years. The camp was surrounded by armed guards and prevented the refugees from leaving. The camp came under attack AGAIN from Muslim Soldiers and they were forced to flee.

This time, they had to cross a river to reach freedom. This river was no ordinary river. It was so wide that it took nearly 3 days to cross. They had no boats, no rafts, to floatation devices, and were forced to wade and swim across the river. The only thing they had to help them across the fast moving current was a single rope that had been strung across the river to prevent mothers and children from being swept away. If that wasn't enough....the river was full of crocodiles. Many people perished from the man eating crocodiles, and on several occasions, some of those people were eaten alive right next to John.

I write this blog today for several reasons. First, I think that everyday we complain about the simple things in our life. I believe that alot of us, living in the FREE WORLD, take our freedoms for granted. How blessed are you to be able to get up everyday and have opportunity knocking at your door?

John Bul Dau had two main points to his speech.

First, he wanted everyone to know that the Almighty God saved him. He believed that it was the only thing that allowed him to survive the nature of events that unfolded. Everything from surviving war, to desert, to lack of food and water, to crocodile filled rivers.

My question to you is....where are you at personally with your relationship with God? It's a big question. But it is one that John felt was important to list as his #1. There isn't anything too big happening in your life RIGHT NOW that God can't handle.

Second, he cried out "NEVER GIVE UP!".

Every day as Americans we get out of bed and we should say these two words with every foot that hits the ground. "Thank"..."You". Thank you God that we live in a time and place that allows us to walk to work without crossing a river filled with man eating crocodiles. Thank you God that you put us in a time and place that allows us to live free. Thank you that we have the freedoms to either deny You or accept You. Thank you that we have opportunity to work a home based business, work a job we love, walk away from things we hate, involve ourselves with family, friends.....WE HAVE OPTIONS...and WE HAVE THE FREEDOM TO CHOOSE.

From a Life perspective: What are you doing RIGHT NOW to live the life you want?

From a Relationship perspective: What are you doing RIGHT NOW to strengthen your relationships?

From a Business perspective: What are you doing RIGHT NOW to further your business? You can make 10-20 contacts a day. Why? Because you don't have a crocodile sitting by your phone.
We might be able to make excuses for our failures....we certainly don't have excuses for quitting.