Brokenhearted.

I am an avid reader. Always have been. I simply love to read. The last fifteen years, most of my fiction and non fiction have centered around the continent of Africa. I never felt like I knew everything about Africa. But I was pretty pleased with the knowledge I had acquired and happy to share with anyone who would listen to histories and stories that never seem to make to it the front page. But two years ago my hubris took a nose dive when I uncovered the atrocities of the DRC.

Many of you know that we began our adoption process in the DRC over a year ago...stopped for several months to regroup...and then began again in November of 2009. Throughout the last year, I have tried to read and research the history and happenings of the Congo. I say "tried" purposely here because in all my reading I have never struggled so intensely with the desire to put it down and pick up something lighter than when I read about both the past and PRESENT struggles of the Congo. I still wrestle today. I believe that God desires us to have our hearts broken for the Congo. I believe the DRC is the most forgotten and ignored country in the world. While I was delighted to see the huge and magnificent response to the earthquake in Haiti...I kept wondering, what is the world's response to the Congo?

over 6 million people have died since 1996 due to conflict in the DRC
malaria kills over 400 children every day
6 out of 10 children die before their 5th birthday
sexual violence against women and female children is worse than anywhere else in the world

I became "friends" on facebook recently with a young college student named Kambale Musavuli. He is part of a college tour to engage students in this battle for the Congo. He came up with these startling facts:

Every two days 9-11 happens in the Congo.
Every five months the death toll of the 2004 Indonesian Tsunami happens in the Congo.
Every five months Dafur happens in the Congo.

Why are we so ignorant?

The UN calls the conflict in the Congo the deadliest since WWII. With 45, 000 people dying each month...why do we not know? We have the Internet...we have immediate access to news and sports scores but we do not know this?

Much of this battle is for the riches found in the Congo soil...those minerals that are used to make our cell phones. Since 1996 over six million people have been killed...millions of women and children raped and tortured so that we can buy ringtones and send text messages. (yes, i have a cell phone...I look at it differently today...i just don't understand.)

I continually find myself both startled and downright ashamed.

I have kept away from sharing stats about Africa to motivate families to adopt from Africa. Adoption and what i am sharing today are VERY different things. I believe that we are all told to care for orphans and widows but I question if everyone is "called" to adopt. I think there are loads of questions you have to ask yourself if you want to adopt. Adoption is not the answer to this. What I am hoping for here is awareness of a humanitarian CRISIS and TRAGEDY. And for me, I became aware of this while reading about the birth country of my son.