Growing up in Afghanistan, the educational opportunities afforded to her were very different than those of her male peers. For example, when her school acquired two hand-me-down computers, Roya and the other girls in her class were dismissed—forced to wait outside their classroom while the teacher instructed the boys in this new technology.

Situations like that were the norm, not the exception, for Roya. Girls were barred from learning subjects such as math, science and technology. In her culture, women’s education was an afterthought, at best. Many considered it shameful and actively sought to suppress teaching girls such skills.

But that opposition did nothing to quash Roya’s desire to learn. And learn, she did.

From humble origins fumbling through Windows XP in a local café to founding the first female-owned software company in Afghanistan years later, Roya faced and overcame adversity at every turn.

Years later, the Afghan culture remains closed to the idea of women being well-educated and working outside the home. Roya is understandably frustrated. What good is it to blaze a trail that no one can follow?

So, she starts offering computer classes for girls. The classes are successful, and the girls who attend learn valuable skills. Still, Roya sees their impact as merely a drop in a bucket. She’s been trying to demonstrate to Afghanistan the value women can offer as engineers and innovators, but her country has been slow to see.

She’ll have to show the world instead. But how? Roya has a plan: Form an Afghan all-girls robotics team to compete in events around the globe. “It will show our girls in a new light,” she tells her brother, Ali.

He expresses his doubts—no one from Afghanistan has ever done something like this, after all. Roya is undeterred, reminding her brother that “nothing ever happened unless someone dreamed it first.”

And so, Roya and Ali set out to find the most mechanically gifted girls they can recruit to the robotics team. Turns out, finding the girls is the easy part. It’s everything else that’s hard.

Good thing Roya has experience overcoming adversity. She—and her team—are going to need it.

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A rabbit was the first to go. Enraptured by the sight of the tiny purple meteorite, which had just crashed into its enclosure, the bunny took a bite. It wasn’t long before the once adorable critter transformed into a fanged, gummy-like zombie. And with one bite with those sharp teeth, other animals at Colepepper Zoo transformed, too.

The chicks and sheep went next.

Down went the goats.

Then, they came for the monkeys.

Pretty soon, the whole zoo was gone—save for a wolf, mountain lion, capybara, ostrich, lemur and proboscis monkey.

But the gummy zombies are coming for them, too.

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Tectonic plates heave and push, birthing mountains in their wake. Foundations crack and buckle. Women and men bruise and bleed, fall and fail. We break so often that the word itself fills many a cliché. Bad break. Break a leg. Break my way.

To be human is to be broken. But some are more broken than others.

Austin knows plenty about bad breaks. He and the emergency room staff are on a first-name basis. Born with osteogenesis imperfecta, otherwise known as brittle-bone disease, the 13-year-old boy has had far more breaks than birthdays.

Oh, and he’s on the autism spectrum, too.

“Some kids who have autism can’t talk,” Austin tells us. “But I sure can!” And he’s not kidding. He’ll spend 15 minutes telling you why ice cream is just the best. He’ll quote practically an entire movie if the mood strikes. His zest for everything is unbridled. And while parents Scott and Teresa appreciate his enthusiasm, it can be a little—well, actually, a lot—exhausting.

Scott feels the pressure especially keenly. Every time he turns around, it seems, Austin takes a tumble that requires another rush to the emergency room. He struggles to connect to his always-full-bore son. “I feel like I’m failing every day,” he admits. “And the harder I try, the worse I do.”

He leans on his two buds to make the journey a little easier.

One is Joe, his easygoing sidekick who’s been with him since Scott was a kid. Sure, he’s an imaginary friend, but hey, at least it’s someone to talk with.

The other? Alcohol. A glass or two or seven really takes the edge off, y’know? He’ll drink a little with dinner. He might tell Teresa he’s working late while whittling away an hour or two at the local bar. And business trips? Those are the best. All his colleagues are pretty impressed with how he can drink steadily ‘til 2 a.m. and still make a dynamite business presentation at 8. Well, they’re impressed right up until Scott loses his job, that is.

We’re all broken. Austin has broken dozens of bones, each of which has knitted together quite nicely. But some breaks are harder to see, and harder to heal.

And sometimes the hardest part is knowing you’re broken at all.

[Warning: Spoilers are contained in the following sections.]

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Officer Knight may not be the sharpest tack in the box, but he’s athletic and strong. His dog Greg, however, is as bright as they come. He just can’t communicate well because he’s, you know, a dog.

Together though they make a great pair of crime stoppers. (And hey, they don’t even need a police siren, since Greg’s doggy howl attracts far more attention.) They’re the best of the best and they get the job done.

Until, that is, they don’t.

One day while giving chase to the vile villain Petey the Cat, Officer Knight and Greg accidentally set off a bomb. And PAZAW! The two find themselves in a conundrum. They’re rushed to the hospital, and the doctor proclaims that the poor officer’s head is just no good anymore. And poor Greg’s body is no good either.

All is lost … until a nurse steps up to suggest that they simply sew Greg’s head on Officer Knight’s body. Which, of course, is a brilliant idea. Greg’s smarts matched with Knight’s athleticism results in nothing less than Dog Man, a truly terrific Supa Cop!

This incredible law officer can’t talk anymore, but hey, talking is overrated. Dog Man can lick crime better than the best of ‘em. He treats baddies like a dug-up bone. He’s incredible!

Of course, villains like Petey won’t just hiss and run for cover. Petey is still scratching up insidious inventions and hairball hoodwinks. He even goes so far as to clone himself! (Though his clone, Lil Petey, is just the cutest little thing. Ahem.) Anyway, Petey the Cat is up to no good.

So, Dog Man will have to put his nose to the ground and get to do-gooding and crime-solving. I mean, after he chases a stick and a tennis ball or two.  

Ruff!

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Her father, Simba, has temporarily left to be with Nala, her mother, as she prepares to give birth. And sure, she’s got Timon, Pumbaa and Rafiki to look after her while Simba’s away, but that approaching storm makes her tremble even more.

That’s why Rafiki sits her down to tell her the story of another scared cub who overcame his fear and became the lion king: her grandfather, Mufasa.

Yes, Mufasa was also terrified when that flash flood swept him away from his parents and into a foreign land. But he found a brother in Taka, the cub who pulled him from the water and helped Mufasa find acceptance in a new pride.

Taka is royal blood, son of King Obasi. And he’s ecstatic to finally have a brother with whom he can grow old. And one day, when Taka is king, he and Mufasa can rule over all the creatures of the land.

But the truth is … Taka is no leader. He is a coward, which is why he fled when outsider lions ambushed his mother.

The lions are led by Kiros, a fierce, white-coated feline who has slaughtered his way through the lands to crown himself the lion king—and he’s soon to arrive at Taka’s pride. That’s why Taka and Mufasa are commanded by King Obasi to flee to order to preserve the royal bloodline. They take off, hoping to take refuge in the far-off Milele, a mythical land of peace and prosperity.

But something nags at Taka. Because as they journey, he can’t help but see the animals they encounter along the way look at Mufasa as leader, not at him. They admire Mufasa’s traits, not his.

Isn’t Taka the one who’s supposed to rule?

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Paddington did find a family, the Browns. They’ve had quite their share of adventures since adopting Paddington, dodging a mad taxidermist and rescuing Paddington from wrongful imprisonment. But through it all, the Brown family, including Paddington, has only grown closer.

But lately, it hasn’t really felt that way.

Mr. Brown, ever the risk-assessor, has a new boss forcing him to throw caution to the wind. Son Jonathan sequesters himself in his room, using his inventions to enable his lazy lifestyle. Daughter Judy is applying for university, hoping to move out on her own. And Mrs. Brown is missing the times when her whole family could fit on a single couch, loving and laughing together.

So, when Paddington receives a letter informing him that Aunt Lucy has gone missing, Mrs. Brown announces that the whole family will help him find her. It’s the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time together, she reasons.

When they arrive in Peru, Paddington learns Aunt Lucy was searching for an ancient Incan monument called Rumi Rock. Rumor has it that Rumi Rock is the first step toward finding the legendary (and lost) city of El Dorado.

The Browns hire a local riverboat to guide them to Rumi Rock, captained by Hunter Cabot and his daughter, Gina. Unfortunately, they soon learn that Hunter has his own history with the Incan monument. For centuries, his family has obsessed over the rumored gold located in El Dorado.

And Hunter will do just about anything—including abandoning his daughter and kidnapping Paddington—to get his hands on the gold.

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However, young Josh Dennis isn’t exactly thinking of finding anything valuable in the mine’s ink-black tunnels. The only thing on his mind is something treasured that he hopes not to lose: his life.

His current situation is all his fault, in a way. When his dad brought him up here to camp nearby and to explore the mine with some other boys and adults, Josh was, well, really nervous. He felt so small compared to the older boys. So inexperienced, so timid. He just couldn’t shake those anxious feelings.

His dad was really cool about it, though. He saw Josh’s fear and sent the others off to explore while they stayed behind and set up camp. His dad smiled. He encouraged.

Josh knew his father wanted to join in with the others. He wanted Josh to stretch. But Josh also sensed Dad’s disappointment.

So, when the gang all came back for a meal, Josh told his dad he wanted to join in and explore the old mine with the rest of them. They were only going to search the maze-like mine tunnels for a few hours before bed. He could handle that. He’d hang at the back, stay out of everybody’s way.

But those tunnels were very, very dark. Without flashlights, you were completely blind. And, being a nice guy, Josh had given his flashlight to an older kid whose bulb burned out.  

Then he lost the group.

One moment, they were right in front of him, flashlights shining this way and that, excited voices talking about tunnels and treasures. And then … they were gone. He could hear the noisy group. But when he called out, they couldn’t hear him. He kept moving, feeling his way along, but the sounds only got farther and farther away. Did he take the wrong tunnel? Should he turn around?

That was, what, a day ago, Josh figures. At first, he had the light from his wristwatch to help him along. But after a while, that died out. Now he’s here, on the edge of what he’s sure is a high ledge. It’s so, so dark. And he’s afraid to move.

All Josh can do is pray and listen for any sounds of rescue. Surely somebody is searching for him, right? But he hasn’t heard anything. Not a sound. He just keeps thinking about the Bible’s story about a mustard seed. Even a mustard seed worth of faith can move a mountain, Jesus said. He has at least that much faith, he reckons. He can pray. Listen. Wait.

What Josh doesn’t realize is that the search has indeed been going full steam. When they discovered him missing, the campers rushed back in to search. Then they brought in the police. Then they brought in a professional search team.

But despite the team’s diligence, mapping miles of tunnels, marking every turn, every route, they found nothing. Heard nothing.

As they enter into day three, the efforts are looking pretty bleak. Even a search dog comes up empty. The local sheriff is pretty sure how this will end. He takes off his cowboy hat and wipes his brow. He’ll need to figure out the right words for Josh’s anguished parents.

Oh, and there’s also a guy named John Skinner who’s at war with himself. Several nights back he had been camping alone in the woods of Montana and distinctly heard a whisper in his ear. He startled awake at the words: Help them see.

Help who? he thought. See what?

John wonders what he can possibly do to help someone, somewhere, see something! But the whispers won’t stop.

Any outside observer would likely think it’s impossible to make all of these disparate things work together for the good of one lost boy in a maze of blackness. Especially since precious time is ticking quickly by.

Young Josh, however, continues to cling to his mustard seed of faith.

The post Faith of Angels appeared first on Plugged In.

Moana teamed up with Maui to find and return the heart of Te Fiti. In so doing, they calmed Te Ka (who, it turns out, was just who Te Fiti became without her heart). And the ocean was finally safe to traverse again.

Well, Moana’s been doing just that. As her village’s Windfinder, she’s been sailing across the sea, searching for new islands and new peoples.

As of yet, she’s had no success. Sure, there are plenty of other islands in the area. Some even show evidence of other tribes having lived there once. But nobody has responded to her conch-shell calls.

Then, Moana receives a vision from her ancestor Tautai Vasa, the former Windfinder of her island. According to him, Moana’s mission is doomed to fail unless she can find the legendary island of Motufetu. In ages past, the island served as a central connection point, a place where all the currents of the ocean (and all the peoples) met. Unfortunately, Nalo, the god of thunder and chaos who hates humans, sunk the island to the depths of the sea, cutting off the currents and preventing passage from one island group to the next.

Moana learns that unless she finds Motufetu and breaks Nalo’s curse, her people will eventually wither away and die alone in isolation. And not just her people, but the people of each island she’s yet to discover.

The voyage will be long and dangerous. In fact, it could take a lifetime to succeed—if Moana is indeed able to succeed at all. But she won’t let her people down. And so Moana chooses, once again, to leave all she loves behind to learn what lies beyond the horizon.

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Totsuko, for her part, is fascinated with the various hues that exude from others. But she also learned rather quickly that other people think she’s weird, since they can’t see what she sees.

And then, Kimi passes by, covered in the most brilliant blue she’s ever seen. It’s so beautiful that when Kimi suddenly drops out of school, all other colors seem dim. That’s why Totsuko sets out to find her.

It’s not long before she locates Kimi behind the counter of a bookstore, practicing on her guitar. And once again, there it is: that dazzling blue color.

Caught staring, Totsuko quickly pretends to have been looking to buy a nearby piano book, which sparks a conversation about their mutual interest in music. It’s overheard by another customer in the store, Rui (exuding a lovely green), who asks if the two are in a band.

Totsuko, enraptured by their colors, fumbles out an answer.

“Actually, we’re looking for band members,” she mumbles, before realizing what she’s said.

Still, Rui and Kimi agree to it. Pretty soon, the trio is jamming out on a mixture of guitar, keyboard and theremin. And Rui challenges them all to start writing original songs.

And Totsuko knows exactly what she wants her song to be about: Kimi’s beautiful color.

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For years, spirits in the Big Apple have groaned and moaned and rattled their chains relatively unrestrained. After all, they’re not setting up illegal hedge funds or mugging people in Central Park. Most ghosts just want to be left alone to haunt their favorite haunts.

But then some flunky parapsychologists set up shop in a dilapidated fire station and market themselves as spectral exterminators who’ll catch and store restless spirits. “Our courteous and efficient staff is on call to serve all your supernatural elimination needs,” one of them declares in a television commercial.

So let’s say this straight, for the ghosts’ sake: In a country proud of being a global melting pot and founded on the idea of intrinsic liberty, these Ghostbusters are rounding up innocuous spooks simply because they’re dead! And then they’re going to incarcerate them in a red metal box without so much as a trial—for all eternity or until the power goes out, whichever comes first. How is this permissible in this day and age? How is this ethical? How is it—

Um, they’re also eradicating extradimensional demons, you say?

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