god grew tired of us

i know that i frequently write about the various documentaries that i've seen, and then say that you all need to see them. well, this time i mean it. i just finished watching god grew tired of us, and believe that everyone needs to see it, if you haven't already.

a little historical background....the current civil war in sudan began in 1987, which created an entire generation of thousands of orphaned 'lost boys' who have been living in refugee camps first in ethiopia and now in kenya for the past 20 years. the US has allowed some of them to emmigrate to america, and this documentary followed 3 of them for several years.

seeing our culture through the eyes of these young men who had never previously seen electricity or running water or pre-packaged food made me feel ungrateful.
seeing these young men appreciating things as simple as having a minimum-wage job and a kitchen full of food made me feel unapreciative.
seeing these young men completely confused about how we celebrate christmas, when 'isn't christmas about celebrating the birth of jesus christ?' made me feel trivial.
seeing these young men scrape by to get an education so they could go back to sudan and help those people they had left behind made me feel superficial.

it breaks my heart to see any of God's children living in such a horrible situation, and gives me a glimpse into how His heart breaks. it also frustrates me to know that i am not in any position to do anything to help. the american way is to just throw money at a problem, but i want to go and do. someday i will. someday.

of montreal

last night micah and i ventured out to the glass house in pomona to see one of the awesomest bands ever. of montreal is a unique mix of indie rock, pop, glam, and performance art. we saw them in february at the beginning of their tour, and the show had been completely overhauled in that time. first of all, both of the opening bands were actuall good this time. MGMT were really good, but their creativity seemed to be dependent upon some controlled substances. the next band was grand buffet, who were a white man rap duo from pittsburgh. i can't really explain what it was that made them so entertaining, but trust me, they are.

(it takes a real man to rock this outfit. you go, kevin)

of montreal's show already included large screens with graphics and videos, props and several costume changes. but now they've pulled out all the stops and constructed this huge multi-level stage with light panels and also have two guys dressed in costumes to periodically help act out small scenes that generally included a man in a white suit with a tiger head having a battle with a guy in a black body suit and sparkly silver mask. my thought was, how do you write that job description? 'yeah, we need a guy to run our light/video setup, oh, and also periodically dress up in a black body suit and have a fake sword fight with kevin.'
(by the way, all photos were taken by micah. i suck at taking concert photos.)

(slightly crappy picture of the stage)

(bryan decided to be glam rockstar angel)

of montreal always put on a great show, and it was totally worth the lack of sleep. but it did remind me that i might be getting too old for going to shows. i can handle the noise and the crowds, but i start feeling like an old lady when the kids around me start getting high and the only thing i want to do is go find security and get them busted.

this is going to be a long week, because tomorrow night micah and i voyage out to the wiltern to see rob bell explain why the gods aren't angry. it should be awesome.

flight of the conchords

alissa brought these guys to my attention a while ago, but i heard an interview with them on NPR this afternoon and it reminded me how funny they are. so i thought i'd share.
makes me wish i had HBO.

service

anyone familiar with my place of employment knows that every year we send out teams of students to do service projects all over the world. well, this year i applied to lead one of those teams, and i was chosen!

this spring i will be leading a team of college students to work with habitat for humanity mexico to help with their '40 houses in 40 days' lent project just outside mexico city. i am SO excited. i love what HFH does for families and have always wanted to participate in a home build. and i have recently had a deep desire to see the heart of mexico and learn what mexican culture is really like, and not just the immigrant stereotype that is so hard to escape here in southern california.

i'm trying not to think about all the responsibility involved in being the leader of a group of college students. i know i can do it, but it still kinda freaks me out.

but seriously....SO excited.