But the character's conversion is not the climax; it's just the beginning of his story and the film's raw, honest exploration of messy faith (Hertz, 2011). After coming to Christ, ex-convict and drug addict Sam Childers founded a church in Pennsylvania and felt called by God to become a freedom fighter in East Africa (Hertz, 2011). After seeing firsthand the tragedy of children caught up in Sudan's civil war, Childers built an orphanage (Hertz, 2011). Not content, however, to simply shelter children targeted by the brutal Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), Childers went on the offensive (Hertz, 2011). Together with hired Sudanese soldiers, Childers conducts dangerous military missions to recover kidnapped children (Hertz, 2011). Kony took charge of the Holy Spirit Movement, which would later become the LRA (Craine, 2015). In its early years the LRA enjoyed support in northern Uganda, but as its resources dwindled, the militia began to pillage the local population (Craine, 2015). The movement gained considerable strength in 1994, when it received support from the government of Sudan, which sought to retaliate against Kampala for its support of Sudanese rebels (Craine, 2015). Kony was armed with prophecies that he said he received from spirits that came to him in dreams (Craine, 2015). He ordered the LRA to attack villages, killing,