Fight For The Forgotten

How A Mixed Martial Artist Stopped Fighting For Himself & Started Fighting For Others

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I first heard about this book as I listened to Justin Wren talk about his vision to bring clean water and love to his family of pygmies in the Congo on Joe Rogan's Podcast (The Joe Rogan Experience). The video is embedded below, but also available in audio format. Joe Rogan is a great interviewer and this is Episode #603 if you want to download it on your favorite podcast device as well. This is the first of three appearances on the show for Justin and each one is equal parts humorous, heartbreaking and inspiring.

For the hardcore MMA/UFC fans out there, you will likely recognize Justin as the quarterfinalist on Spike TV's The Ultimate Fighter during Season 10

![TUF-10-justin-wren45e50.jpg](https://storage.googleapis.com/steemimgimgs/2016/10/18/TUF-10-justin-wren45e50.jpg)

Image Credit

I'm going to give more of a teaser than a thorough book review, because I believe each person should read it for themselves and see what emotions and inspirations it brings out in your own life

Justin had a rough childhood and was definitely not the "cool" kid. He was picked on and faced some deep emotional struggles that led him to contemplate suicide. Something I can closely relate to myself. He moved on to wrestling and while he started off with a lot of heart and a little talent, he moved up the ranks and became what I would consider a pretty elite athlete. He had the opportunity to be on The Ultimate Fighter Season 10, but was struggling with drug addiction and severe depression. He found that the fame that came from his MMA skills didn't satisfy what he was yearning for in his heart.

Thanks to some amazing miracles (I don't believe in coincidences and credit the things that happened to Justin to be divine intervention) he found a relationship with Jesus Christ. Not a man made religion or list of rules to follow, where you try to do enough good to outweigh the bad, but a true personal relationship that goes beyond church walls and buildings and moves into the heart

I'm sure Justin would tell you it's the last thing he wanted to do and even briefly touches on how strange it was to "submit" to Christ when in MMA submitting means giving up, and Justin is a natural fighter. After a retreat with some other men struggling with a range of different difficulties he came to the realization that when you surrender, you are born again. Justin is a devout Christian and this is very apparent through the book. He's not a pansy pushover or one who doesn't stand his ground, but a true warrior for God. Whether or not you believe in God, the stories that come next will definitely touch your heart.

Justin found himself being called to the persecuted pygmy people of the Congo in Africa. While his intentions were pure, some of those who helped them navigate took advantage of Justin and his friends and left the pygmy people with a negative view. The pygmy people are enslaved (slavery is more prevalent today than it has ever been in history) and their masters may pay them for a hard days labor in anything from a small amount of goat fur to two small minnows. It's heartbreaking to hear the atrocities that were forced upon this beautiful group of people. Clean water is more of a dream than a reality for any of them and infant and adult lifespans are incredibly short.

Pygmy woman carrying 120 pounds of charcoal for her master

Justin took the time to immerse himself in Pygmy culture and to build relationships to the point that he was given two special names and welcomed into the pygmy family as his own. They gave him two names: Efeosa, which means "the man who loves us," and Mbuti MangBo, which means "the big pygmy."

One especially heartbreaking story Justin speaks of is about an 18 month old infant who Justin saw die of a very preventable disease.

Andibo suffered from a parasitic infection all too common in the region. His mother, a widowed slave, had offered the local hospital eggs, a chicken and a bag of charcoal to purchase the treatment that would save Andibo's life; it equaled roughly $1. But the doctor in charge of the facility refused care, saying that he wouldn't waste medicine on a pygmy "animal."

It's easy to read this and think "that's sad," but if you take the time to imagine this life is a reality and how you would handle this situation if it happened to your family not just once, but frequently, you may be able to begin to imagine the pain that many pygmy parents feel.

Seeing his family die from lack of clean water inspired Justin to help to dig wells so fresh water could be a reality in the lives of the pygmy people. He partnered up with an awesome organization called Water4.org and more information can be read about Justin's own organization called Fight For The Forgotten by clicking the photo below.

I've only scratched the surface of this book. There are some incredibly and hilarious moments which are inevitable as you learn and experience other cultures. Justin had a baby named in his honor, describes his love for his bride to be "Emmybear", and shares from his big heart, both literally and figuratively. I'd highly recommend this book for anyone with a passion for serving others, but is worth the read by anyone with a heart.

You can order the book from Amazon HERE

And for those who don't know, through purse.io you are able to get 15% or more off most amazon purchases simply by using bitcoin. I have a detailed post about it HERE, but you can also follow the instructions on the website.

If anyone has already read the book or has been inspired to purchase it, I'd love feddback in the comment section below. I plan to tweet this to Justin Wren and show some support and purchase a few items from his site when I am able, so he can continue his mission to help his family.