Saturday, June 19, 2010

Petty Things and the Love of God

As a lot of people know, I have started working at "Brighton LDS Girls Camp" and this will be my 3rd year working up there.

This week was amazing. I absolutely love working at Brighton Camp. Someone at camp this week said that the difference between camp and being in the Valley, is that you learn to not think about or care about the Petty things in life. And I believe that yes, that is definitely true about camp, because all you concentrate on is the Lord's work, and building his kingdom. In the past summers, I've honestly felt like I was living in Zion, because everyone works for the same thing: Love each other, and work to build his kingdom. It is wonderful! No one cares what other's think about them, because no one will judge you. You act as crazy as you possibly can imagine and you are completely comfortable with yourself and everything around you. Nothing can stunt your growth. That is what I learned this week at camp: Forget the Petty things, because the things of God are so much more important, and he will always provide a way for things to work out... why? Because of His immense love for us.

I was talking to my sister on Friday as I drove back from the Canyon to Provo. She's actually in Jordan right now for an Internship, and she told me about an experience she is going through right now.

She was with some returned missionaries when a man asked them how we, (Mormons) define God. The Returned Missionary proceeded to tell him that we believe that we are literally children of God. To most people this comes as quite a surprise, and my sister proceeded to tell me that this man was almost offended, because "how could you be equal to God?" which to me totally makes sense from an outside perspective... God is all powerful, omniscient and omni-present.. so why could we compare ourselves to and say we can become like God? But that's the miracle behind it... because it is true. Yes, it takes faith, but nothing good (knowledge in this case) comes without a little work, right? We really are children of God, and when someone understands that, then truly they can start to begin to comprehend his immense and whole-perfect love for us, His children.

The cute part about the story, is that my sister told me that she's been working at a center for 14-18 year old girls who have been raped. Some of these girls are pregnant, some of them already have their babies and just hold them with them, but all of them, she basically told me, hate their lives. She said some of them are so miserable, they'll lay on the floor for 4 hours at a time doing nothing in their despair. They feel like they are nothing. They feel like the have zero worth, and that not a single person cares about them. What is most touching about this, is that she told me that when she goes and see them 3 times a week, the moment she walks into the room, they run towards her and surround her in a circle, almost suffocating her with the closeness of their bodies....... because she makes them feel good. Because she pays attention to them, and asks them questions, or compliments them in the simplest way. "Oh you look pretty today" or other small things like that. She told me that it really breaks her heart because if only they knew that they DID have worth, that God truly and sincerely loves every single one of them with a fullness of Love.. that even though they have had terrible things happen to them (not because they did anything wrong or because God doesn't love them, but only because of the free agency of others) she wishes they knew that God still loves them with an unbreakable love.

Oh, if I could have one wish, it would be to let every single person on the planet come to understand of God's great individual love for that person. I know He loves us, and I know he's listening and watching. Through my own personal experiences and watching God's hand in others lives, I know that if it matters to you, it matters to God. No matter how small or menial the thing you care about may be to another person, no matter if you're the ONLY person on the planet who cares....... if it matters to you, it matters to God; and that is the truth.

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Funny Story and the Importance of Kindness

So, I have a funny story that I wasn't going to post, but my sister Rhiannon told me I should, and then i'll share an insight I picked up. Both of these happend on my way travelling back to the US just a few days ago...

So my first flight from Saudi was to Dubai. I had a 5 hr layover and just hung out and walked around.. when the time was nearing for my flight to take off, I went and sat near the gate. An older man came and sat next to me, and we started chatting. I learned he worked for a company in Iraq for the military, and there actually were a LOT of military guys on my flight going back to the states for a summer vacation.

In the Dubai airport, there are security check-points in front of every gate. But because on this particular occassion, they weren't working, everyone just walked through, they scanned you with hand scanners (because it's the middle east, women also go into a separate room to be scanned), and then you were to continue on into lines where people behind the counter would look through your stuff as you stood and watched them.

So the guy I lined up in front of, didn't speak English. Based only on his appearance I think he was from Indonesia, but I'm not sure. He started going through my bags, and pulled out a tampon. By the look on his face, I could tell he had no idea what it was. So he holds it up in the air, and I kid you not for almost 2 minutes straight is staring at it, playing with it trying to figure out what it was. I was so embarrassed! Usually I don't care about these things because I know that everyone knows what they are. I knew I couldn't just say the word "tampon" because I was nearly surrounded by US military men, and they would stare in my direction! And I couldn't explain to him what it was, becuase he didn't know English! I had no idea what to do, and just sat patiently waiting, hoping he'd give up and put it back into my bag...

Finally the lady next to him who was checking bags, looks up, starts laughing, looks at him and says the word "Napkin" (which is the word they use to describe those feminine things, but I guess it had slipped my mind because I usually don't use that word...) the guy, clearly embarrassed, stuffs it back into my bag and gives me my stuff back. It was so funny! Embarrassing for a few minutes, but nonetheless funny!

As for the lesson learned, I also thought about this because of an airport experience.

Something I've learnd about Arabs, more especially Saudis over the years, is that they are very sensitive to people's emotions. For example, let's say you're having a bad day. They can tell whether you're just stressed, versus if you're angry... like they can name the exact emotion.. and for someone like me, who generally likes to hide my negative emotions, that is crazy! In the past actually, it's upset me a lot because if I was having a bad day, they'd sit there and argue with me, it can get really frustrating.

So when I got to the airport in Dammam (a city about 40 min from my hometown in Saudi) I put my stuff through the scanner, and honestly I will admit I had a souvenir in my bag (that was framed) but when looking through the image in the scanner, makes it look sketchy. So the Saudi guard wanted to know why I had it, and I could tell he was ready to put up a fight if I put up a wall and argued with him, as so many people usually do argue with them...

Because of my experience though, I know that if I want to slide past the situation smoothly, I act chill and happy. So that's what I did, "Oh it's just a souvenir! It's framed" in the sweetest voice with a smile on my face and an understanding expression of why he's asking questions. He smiled back, said, "ok ok ok" and let me go. No problem. Done deal. Anyone whose lived in the Middle East for a time knows that this is how you get past any sort of trouble. Just act happy... even if you ARE having a bad day, you have to force yourself to get over it, and smile, or you will end up having to deal with a lot more than you want.

I guess as I walked away and thought about it, the connection I made was about kindness. All anyone wants, is kindness. In the years past I've learned that if I suck up my pride for at least 5 min I can get past angry security guards, passport officials, or the motauwas (religious police) and move on. But I realize that I can choose to do that anyway, even if I'm not in the presence of an authoritative figure. Even though I've known that I can choose to be happy and kind for 5 min when communicating, I think for the first time the impact of that lesson really hit me.

I think to myself, "Muriel, if you're upset... stop. No one, including yourself is benefiting from it." And as hard as it can be when frustration sets in, I know it is possible to stop, and I've seen many others do the same. (I mean yes, I believe there is a time for sadness and mourning or being upset/angry/frustrated or you'll bottle everything up and explode, but I also recognize it is unwise to stay there for too long, especially when you're with other people) I know it is possible in every situation in life: choose to be kind, choose to be happy, and you will therefore make others happy... no matter how you're feeling at the moment; it's surprising to me though that it is possible at how quick those emotions can evaporate! Showing kindness to another will erase all negativity within. Just like the saying always goes, "It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice" as cheesy as it would be for me to end on that note, I know it's true. Kindness goes a long way, especially when you're upset.