Handcrafted Butterflies to Remember

Terezin, I cry when I hear the name. My son and I studied about the children of Terezin, a unique concentration camp during WWII. This was a the fake city of safety, a ruse to fool the world.

Jacob playing the part of one of the children in Terezin's Concentration Camp.

The prisoners were determined to the preservation of music, art, education and all that creates culture amidst these appalling conditions. Two hundred thousand persons passed through there, fifteen thousand children. Only 132 of those children were known to have survived. The poems and drawings by the children were hidden at Terezin inside mattresses and stuffed in cracks between the walls of houses. They were recovered after the war. Many of these other poems and drawings are collected in a book which was published by the United States Holocaust Museum, "I Never Saw Another Butterfly."

Here is a poem by one of the children who did not survive.


THE GARDEN

Only take heed, and keep your soul diligently, Lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, And lest they depart from your hearts all the days of your life; Make them known to your children and your children's children.--Deuteronomy 4:9


A little garden,
Fragrant and full of roses.
The path is narrow
And a little boy walks along it.
A little boy, a sweet boy,
Like that growing blossom.
When the blossom comes to bloom,
The little boy will be no more.--Franta Bass



More than 1,500,000 innocent children were murdered during the Holocaust. In an effort to remember them, the Holocaust Museum of Houston is collecting 1.5 million handmade butterflies. The butterflies will eventually comprise a breath-taking exhibition, currently scheduled for Spring 2012, for all to remember.

My DARE for You this week is to make one Butterfly a day for 7 days. I will post a different butterfly everyday for the next 7 days. Post yours in a gallery and leave a link in the comment section. Make sure to read for a few restrictions in "Please Note" Help me and others to remember our children who were lost but remembered through their art.

Please Note:
Butterflies should be no larger than 8 inches by 10 inches.
Butterflies may be of any medium the artist chooses, but two-dimensional submissions are preferred.
Glitter should not be used.
Food products (cereal, macaroni, candy, marshmallows or other perishables) also should not be used..
Place your butterfly in a Ziplock Bag with your name and address.


If you are a Fiskateer there are instructions on the Fiskateer Blog to where to send your Butterflies. Everyone else can send them to me and I will mail them to the museum.

Remember our children. Participating in the Butterfly project during the month of July counts towards the Christmas in July DARE and RAK.


Gratitude List
1. that I have the responsibility and ability to remember our lost children
2. my children are healthy, well and secure
3. for the strength of the children at Terezin
4. God's every moment of Grace and Mercy
5. God giving us heroes on earth

**the above information can be found at http://nonduality.com/terezin.htm.