Left to Tell Review

     
          "Left to Tell" written by Immaculee Ilibagiza tells a story of genocide and forgiveness. To the millions who suffered similar tragedies, Immaculee's story teaches them how to forgive their persecutors and live a normal, happy life. Her story reaches other hearts, as well, who haven't experienced a genocide but needed help forgiving a family member or friend. In Addition, her story is one of faith, of giving your heart to God, of prayer, of healing, of purpose, of dependence, of humility, and of God's love for his children.
           Immaculee is so unique because she made the choice to not lose her faith. She fought her doubt, fear, hatred, and disgust from the beginning and learned how to combat these feelings with God's love. Immaculee's story teaches us all how to remain faithful through any trial and promises that we are all capable of conquering the mountains in front of us with God's help. The story of the genocide of Rwanda shows how strong Satan's influence can be: strong enough to lead men and women to kill innocent people, including young children and babies without hesitation. Immaculee's story shows us that God is more powerful.
          Immaculee fights every fearful and hateful thought with prayer. Several of her days spent hiding from her killers in the bathroom of Pastor Murinzi's home were filled with prayer. She prayed for these thoughts to leave her; she prayed for the strength to forgive her killers; she prayed for those that were fighting to end the war and save the surviving Tutsis; she prayed for family; she prayed for her enemies. Immaculee tells us that God will help us to forgive our enemies if we ask Him. After she is rescued, Immaculee continues to use this power of prayer for good. Her faith is so strong that she believes that God will and must answer her prayers in his own way.
          It is often hard to understand why a girl like Immaculee would be saved by God while others are allowed to die. This is not because God doesn't love those that died. Immaculee learns that God is allowing her to live in order to fulfill a purpose. She is left to tell her story. Although God does not save Immaculee's family, He does comfort her and helps her to know that they are happy and that they want her to stop crying for their death.
          Immaculee is an inspiration to me. It amazes me how she held onto her faith throughout those months living in the bathroom. It amazes me how she turned such a horrible trial into a blessing for her and for all who hear her story. It amazes me how strong her faith in God became. I don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't read it yet, but my favorite quote is "Mountains are moved with faith, Immaculee, but if faith were easy all of the mountains would be gone". I love this quote because it gives me the courage to keep trying. I hope that I can learn to rely on the Lord as Immaculee does. I am grateful for her example to me and for the opportunity to read her story. I recommend this book to everyone. Each page will touch your heart and change your life for the better.

The picture that struck me this week was one of a crowd of refugees surrounding a man lying on the ground dying from cholera. They were stationed at the Kibumba refugee camp where disease and starvation were taking a toll on the refugees that didn't die from the genocide. The crowd of people just stands around the dying man, who several of them may know, traumatized by the horror scenes surrounding them. I think that several questions were on their mind: "Why does God allow this to happen?" "How much longer will I make it?" or "Will my family ever live peacefully together again?"

I can't imagine watching people die around me with no way of helping them. I have had several close friends experience the death of their parents and understand somewhat how hard that burden is to bear. In our society, these deaths are usually caused by traumatic accidents or illness. Except in the case of accidents, the family often has time to prepare for the death and there is at least some fighting involved. They are able to see several doctors and have some opportunity to try to save their loved one. In the case of these refugees; however, there was nothing they could do to stop the genocide or to save the victim of disease or to stop their family from starving. All they could do is pray.

As a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a christian, I firmly believe that there is a purpose for everything. I believe that in God's plan it is necessary that we have agency. I believe that if God were to take away the agency of these killers, He would cease to be God. I do believe; however, that God is there for each of us if we pray to Him and wait for His answer. I see His hand in my life every day. Miracles happen today just as much as they did in Bible times. I believe that we can live with our family again if we obey God's commandments. He loves all of His children and wants us to be happy. Like any parent, He is sad when we are sad and when we sin.God is just. God is mercy. God is love.

Wasteland

                                                     http://www.wastelandmovie.com/gallery.html

My writing class recently watched "Wasteland", a movie that tells the experience of the artist, Vik Muniz, who spends nearly three years in Rio de Janiero, Brazil at the world's biggest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho. Vik's ambition was to help the people living the life of a garbage picker in a desolate place. His plan was to make pictures of the people out of their garbage and then sell them to raise money for the dump. What he found changed his opinion of these people entirely.

These people were not only happy, but they were proud to be a "catadores". They remind everyone that they do not pick up trash; they pick up recyclable materials so that they can be used again and to limit the build up of trash in the landfill. It amazed me how strong these people were considering their lifestyle. The movie was another reminder to me of how much I have been given. Mr. Muniz went into this situation thinking that he would be the one to help these unfortunate people. What he discovered is that they are doing okay without his help and that they had a lot more to teach him than he could teach them.

This video taught me that it is not our situations in life that determine what kind of person we will be. Rather, we choose who we will be regardless of our lifestyle. It reminds me of the hymn, "Because I have been given much". I believe that we can all help the world one person at a time no matter where we come from, what we look like, or how much money we have in our pocket. I am grateful for the life I have been given, but I don't think that has to define the kind of person we are. As I've gone to Hser Ner Moo to volunteer or play with the kids, I've realized that it's not all about the service or about feeling good about oneself by helping others. It is more important that we expand our boundaries and understand people that are different. It is through this process that we realize who we all are, children of our Heavenly Father.

visit the address below to find out more about this powerful movie:
http://www.wastelandmovie.com/synopsis.html

A Second Birth

 http://arts.byu.edu/calendar/eventdescription_v2.php?eventid=31

My class was recently assigned to go watch A Second Birth, a play put on by Brigham Young University's theater students. The play told the story of a young Afghanistan girl and her family. The family only had girls and so money was tight without a son to go to work and gain an income for the family. In their culture it was not uncommon for families like this to dress one of their daughters as a boy and treat her like a boy so that she could work for the family. These girls were called bakka push and were in danger of being discovered as a girl as this would mean immediate death with no mercy. The girl in this story became a bakkah push at a very young age. Unfortunately once puberty hit it became dangerous to continue living the life of a boy without being caught. Because the girl had lived most of her life as a boy, the transition back to being a girl proved to be very difficult. She could no longer study math and science, she couldn't leave her house without an escort, she had to stay home and learn how to sew, cook, clean, and take care of things around the house. Nasima didn't adjust well. She missed her old life and didn't feel that it was fair for women to have to live the way they do. Her mother and sisters tried to teach her that it was not a punishment but a gift given to women by Allah, it was the life that they were given. To make matters worse, her parents arranged a marriage for her. When she found out that the boy she was marrying was her long time friend things got complicated. He knew her as a boy named Nasim. At first he refused the marriage, the worst thing you could do to a family. Nasima decided it was best for her to run away. When her father went to the boy in desperate need of help in finding his daughter, he agreed to find her, but not to marry her. In the end when he found her and they talked about the situation he decided that he could love her. The story ended happily with their marriage. This story touched me because I couldn't imagine having limitations because of who I was. I feel fortunate to live in a society that allows me to go to college, to get a degree in whatever I choose to study, and to work in whatever profession I choose. I can do all those things and I can still be a mother and teach my girls to sew and take care of a home. I am grateful for the people that aided in granting equal rights to women. I grew attached to this family as I watched their story unfold. I forgot that these were college students acting a part. It all seemed so real and I could feel the emotions they were feeling. I knew that they cared about each other and that was the most important thing. Although I am grateful for the opportunities that I have, I learned from this play that no matter what path we are given in life the most important thing is that we make the most of it.

Strength and Happiness No Matter What

 

When I first heard about the service opportunities that my class would be participating in, I honestly felt a little overwhelmed. My professor explained that we would be going to a refugee center a couple times throughout the semester to help the kids with homework and after school activities. I couldn't imagine what I would say to them or how I could help them in any way having come from a much easier home in my opinion. Then we were told about a chance to go play soccer and other games with the kids from Hser Ner Moo. I thought that maybe that I could do. I love kids and bringing joy to them through simple means such as jumping rope. When we first got there the kids seemed a little shy, but I decided to go up and introduce myself. In a matter of minutes they wanted me and the other girls to play with them. I immediately forgot that they were refugees. I didn't worry about what I would say to them; I just played. This is one thing I love about kids. No matter what is going on around them or what trials their family is facing, kids are always able to stop worrying, let it go, and just play. When we played duck, duck goose one of the girls wanted to sit in my lap. This was such a touching experience for me. I had known her for only an hour, she didn't know my name or anything about me, but she already trusted me and thought of me as a friend.

These kids had so little in comparison to the things that I had at their age, but they smile and laugh just the same. A lot of their clothes didn't quite fit them and were obviously hand me downs or from the good will. This experience taught me a lot about appreciating the things that I have. While I always thought the 2 day drive to visit my cousins was a bother, I couldn't imagine moving to another country and leaving all of them behind. I can't imagine not seeing the most important people to me for so many years. These are just a few differences between these girls and myself.

Later that week, I had the opportunity to go back and help the kids with homework during "Teen Hour". When a boy of about 16 years came up to me and asked me to help me with his math homework, I was worried that I wouldn't be any help to him. We sat down and started to look at his work and although I haven't taken math for 2 years it all started to come back to me. Still, it was somewhat difficult to teach him how to do the work without doing it for him. Whenever he was able to do it on his own I would get so excited. I became very conscience of the words I was using. The concept of absolute value bars was difficult to explain without confusing even myself, but these are smart kids. They may be a little behind because of having to learn a new language and start school in America, but they have come so far I'm sure from the day they arrived. I look up to these kids for the composure and strength that they maintain in the face of challenges. I am so grateful for this opportunity and the times to come that I will be able to visit and work with these kids. They are such an example to me of courage.

Here is a website you can go to in order to find out more about Hser Ner Moo. http://hsernermoo.blogspot.com/

If you can find a refugee center in your area, I promise that it would be a worthwhile experience to get involved there and to do your part to help these wonderful people. The Alliance for Multicultural Community Services is a good place to get involved if you are from Houston, Texas as am I.
http://arts.byu.edu/calendar/eventdescription_v2.php?eventid=31