God Grew Tired of Us

You may remember the news coverage of the Lost Boys of Sudan in the 1980s and 19990s. I really don't. A few years ago, when we were living in Grand Rapids, a ministry there was helping some of the Lost Boys relocate to the US. It was part of a movement to resettle several hundred of them in cities around the US. Some friends of ours volunteered with the ministry, helping them with rides, jobs, getting them situated in apartments, etc. It was amazing to meet them and to hear stories of their adjustments to Western life and culture.

So when I read a review of the book God Grew Tired Of Us: A Memoir, I was compelled to read it. It was written by Jon Bul Dau, a Lost Boy who figures prominently in this documentary. The stories he tells of survival, the conditions they lived in for years and years, and the simple fact of what they lost, or what was stolen from them, is heart-breaking.

But the story is more about the hope that the US offered these boys, giving them an opportunity to come to the US to study, work, and live. Their journey is at times humorous, but mostly reveals their tenacity and desire to better not only themselves but their country. They organized in the US and have not only sent money home to Sudan but have established foundations and begun to build schools and clinics there.

That country is still a mess, but over time, as these boys, well, men, now, continue to have an impact, Sudan will be a testimony to the resiliency of the human spirit as well as to the importance of one nation helping another. This is not your typical movie, but certainly worth watching. Bottom line, I'll go out on a limb and give it four stars.