Islamophobia?

This week Arkansas State University had Zahra Billoo, J.D. speak two nights in their Lecture-Concert series. She gave two talks; the first was titled "Know Your Rights," and the second "Islamophobia." I was only able to attend the second lecture, however, I walked away feeling more knowledgeable. So I want to share some of that with you, whoever you may be. I wish I would have been able to attend Zahra's first lecture, however, I am only able to report on what I have heard and the research I have done. 


So what is Islamophobia? Islamophobia is the closed minded hatred toward Muslims/Islam. Pre-9/11 Muslims did not scare most Americans the way there mere presence seemed to frighten us post-9/11. I have come to realize, after having worked with students from over 70 countries and various backgrounds, that just because someone's skin color or religion or birth place is different from my own I should not fear them. Many of my friends are from different parts of the world. Some of my friends are from different parts of the U.S, yet I am not afraid of them because they are like me ... they have had similar experiences with religion and education and family dynamics. For some reason when it comes to people from other countries we tense up and begin to worry. They are different from us, yes this is true; they are not to be feared, just like they should not fear us either. 


Think back, way back. Think about the treatment of immigrants when they started coming to the U.S. Think about the treatment of blacks. They were treated differently by whites based on the color of their skin. There is so much to be learned from people of different backgrounds and they have so much they can learn from us as well. The U.S. is a cultural melting pot, we have people from every country, background, and religion you can think of (and some you probably didn't know existed). We discriminate because of a difference that internationals, immigrants, blacks (and anyone else I have forgotten) cannot control. They cannot control their skin color or heritage or culture just like you are not able to control those things. This is how they were born and what they were born into. You were born the same way, yet somehow we have come to the conclusion that one race is better than another. 


Zahra reminded us, "Muslims have been in the U.S. since the slave trade." When we go back and look at the history of slavery and the history of the slaves in the U.S. it is easy to see that Muslims were brought over just like everyone else. Islam is very common in Africa, so having slaves from Africa we were bound to have Muslims in the mix. This should come as no shock to me, but for some reason I had to sit and soak this in and remind myself of the truth behind her words. Islam is not a new concept, however "the most talked about religion in the U.S. media is Islam" (Zahra Billoo, J.D.). Islam is seen in a very negative light in the U.S. As a Christian I have read about and have been taught Jesus' ministry. Jesus loved people and had compassion on them. One of the worst things we can do as Christians is treat people as though they are not worth existing. For example: children were walking to the Mosque one Sunday, people lined the sidewalk and stood across the street (some brought their dogs to bark at the children) shouting "Jesus hates you." Zahra said from her studies she has not seen where Christ said he hated anyone. I, too, agree with her statement. Christ had compassion on the crowds. He saw their sin and He knew they were lost. He did not shout obscenities at them as they walked to the Mosque. 


Zahra made a very powerful statement, "No matter your religious belief or skin color, we have to get to know each other." Christ has commissioned those who follow Him to "go into all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that He has commanded us," (Matthew 28:16-19). The nations have come to us, yet we are afraid of them and telling others to fear them. This does not show them love or respect in anyway shape or form. There are several things going on in our government right now that do attack religion, Zahra commented on this saying "An attack on anyone's religion and rights to practice that religion is an attack on all of us." She is right, if an American Muslim has their religious freedoms threatened it means a tighter reign on all religions. We may be praying to different gods but they still deserve to be treated with respect. 


We are only doing ourselves a disservice by choosing to be ignorant and push such people away. They have so much to teach us about the world and we have so much to teach them. Make friends with internationals, ask them questions, find out about their background ... I dare you. This is something I have been doing for 3 1/2 years and it is nothing less than rewarding. If you never step out and take the chance you will miss out on something truly great, knowledge. 


So I dare you to change your ignorance into intelligence. Learn something new today, tomorrow, and everyday after. What do you have to lose?

Taking a Chance and Making Some Changes

For some reason, my whole life I have wanted to just uproot my life and travel the world. There is so much to be seen and so much to do outside of tiny city (compared to the rest of the world). This week I read an article or blog post or what-not titled Stop Delaying That Big Trip. Stop it. (click here to read it). Reading it made me really thankful for some recent changes in my life and  has encouraged me to look at some things in a different perspective. 

After I graduated high school in 2006 I went on a 1 week mission trip to Venezuela. Since then I have been dying to go back outside the country and never seemed to be able to go. The next two summers (2007 and 2008) I went on a Christian training project called Orlando Project with Campus Outreach. It was great but just fueled my desire to travel even more. We worked at Universal Studios our first summer and then we worked at Sea World (that summer we worked at a resort and it was AMAZING). I continued to meet people from all over the world everyday both summers. In 2008 I started working with international students. Once again, it just fueled the fire in my heart to drop everything I know and move thousands of miles away where I could see cultures, religions, and people for what they really are. So in November (2011) I started talking to a friend of mine who lives in Italy and decided in March I would go visit her. So in about 3 1/2 weeks I will be getting on a plane headed to Rome. There will be a few stops in other countries as I change planes (Canada, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland are all the airports I will be visiting). It is almost a thrill to know I am about to travel half way around the world with no plan. When I say no plan, I mean I have nothing scheduled; no meetings, no deadlines, nothing is required of me except to go and enjoy myself. I get a real vacation, I get to do what I have been waiting for my entire life. 

Most people are what is holding them back from their dreams. My friends know me as the safe one, the man with the plan. They know me as Business Bailey or Fanny Pack Mom. I am the one who doesn't take big risks or chances because there are so many things to be cautious of, but if we caution ourselves to the very point that we get in the way of ourselves we have lead very boring lives. Think about the craziest thing you have ever done. What was it? What did you do to get there? At this point of my life I have traveled outside the country without family and swam (and surfed) in shark infested waters (New Smyrna Beach, Florida is in the top 10 list for most shark attacks in the world), in 3 1/2 weeks I will be traveling out of the country completely alone for holiday. Reading the article I mentioned earlier, it brought up things I have heard others say and things I have said or thought to myself.

"If I don't do it now, I probably never will. - I couldn't live with that."

I too could not live with the fact that I have not done what I have always wanted to do, travel. So travel I will. My goal for 2012 is to travel outside the US twice. In March I will be going to Italy. Hopefully in May I will be going to India, if this trip does not work out I am all but begging my boss to let me go with the other recruiters to China. There are also some other trips I am looking into, but that is for another post another time. 

"To act as though traveling- especially when you're young - is some kind of insane luxury that is utterly unattainable unless the stars align perfectly and God hands you a couple hundred dollar bills while no one is looking is ludicrous."

With each new year comes new friends and new places and new-ness in general. I didn't make any new years resolutions or anything, however I did decide I am going to be myself and live more. These are two things I often forget to do because I have become so cautious of everything around me that taking chances pretty much went out the window. I viewed traveling as an "insane luxury that (was) utterly unattainable" until it suddenly hit me ... I am not married, have no kids, and nothing truly holding me back but myself. The adventurous spirit I once had was somehow gone. God did make it possible for me to go on this trip and continues to open doors for future travel. But I started making changes in my life to make this possible. If you want something you typically do something to make it work. Well, I decided to get certified to teach EFL (English as a Foreign Language) and finish my degree. This will allow me to eventually move outside of the country and travel to where the next job takes me. Told you, the adventurer in me is back :). 

“You’re so young. Go see the world, then come back and build your life."

So go, figure out who you are and what you want to do with your life. You only get one, so choose to live it well and with purpose. 

For the most part, jumping out and taking the chance to do this has reminded me of what I want to do with life. God has made it very clear to me that my current city will not be my home forever. The US is not my home, and ultimately the Earth is not my home (not that I am going to live on Mars or anything). My heart is to move overseas to share the gospel and fulfill the purpose God has given me. 

Oh and don't you worry, I will be posting about my trip(s). :)

My Heart Belongs to a Stranger

It has been over a month since I have written anything not work or school related and it is hard to know where to start. My mind has been in overdrive the past couple of weeks and has caused me to be extremely exhausted about 85% of the time. Not fun, let me tell you! However, God has laid some things on my heart and putting pen to paper is a bit slower than typing. Currently my brain cannot handle slow; like I said it is in overdrive. The Lord has reminded me today that although I have not been spending as much time alone with Him as I would like, my heart still belongs to Him.

The Lord
My heart belongs to the Lord, first and foremost, yet it is the relationship I seem to be working at the least. The Lord is sadly becoming a stranger to me because I am slowly but surely lusting after the world (material things I don't need, laziness, etc.). He has given me a heart to work with women from other countries and share the Gospel with them, but in order to be useful I need to be spending time with Him. I have allowed myself to be extremely bogged down with school and work. Rather than take things at a slow pace I am rushing through to finish faster in order to be on a foreign mission field (tell you more about that in the next little segment). I have put my wants and desires ahead of those of the Lover of my soul. The one who paid a price so high I could never repay, He is the one I have neglected. My heart belongs to a stranger named Christ. He holds my heart no matter how close to Him or how far away from Him I make myself. He continues to show love and grace and mercy everyday, even though I do not deserve a single serving. He also reminds me of His love and promises in His own unique way; whether it be waking up to a much needed encouraging text from a sweet girl friend or through the rain (I <3 rain ... I really do).

I heard lyrics from a country song once that say, "she wants to love a stranger, but not the one at home." This song really has nothing to do with anything other than illustrating my point. My heart, I claim, belongs to Christ first; however, I have not been doing a very good job tending to this relationship. The relationship with the Lord is growing distant and cold, which is of no fault of my Lord. It is of my own fault that I have allowed this to happen. I have to fight my selfish desire to be lazy or do what I want to do (which currently means eating, sleeping, or completely vegging out in front of American Idol). If this were a relationship with a physical man of even a normal amount of patience ... I would be out of a relationship really fast! God has been merciful with me and is pulling me back into sweet fellowship with Him. This is not an easy road but definitely one worth taking. My prayer is to fall back into love/fellowship with the Stranger I call Lord, Savior, and Father.


The Mission Field
There is something about the unknown that allures my heart and deepens my desires. Working in another country with women from non-Christian, non-westernized backgrounds has been my desire since coming to know Christ in 2007. Almost instantly after coming to know the Lord, He made it very clear to me that this is what He wants me to do with the time He has alloted. Foreign missions is just that to me, foreign. Working with internationals all day Monday through Friday for the past 3 to 3 1/2 years has fed into the passion and desire I have to see them come to know the Lord. Yet, working with internationals in America is far different than that of working with them in their home countries. My heart belongs to a stranger I call Lord and to that of the mission field. I know and understand not what it takes to work day-in and day-out in another country loving and serving them and learning new ways to die to self (also learning I am not good at dying to self).

Since I love this and day dream of this and often look at jobs in which I can do this, I have put my education in rush mode. I have also increased the amount of debt I have by taking on more loans to pay for this rushed education.  Along with the Lord telling me to do foreign missions, He also let me know He wants me to go overseas debt free. This came a year or two after coming to know Christ. When I was spending TAWG (Time Alone With God ... cheesy but it works, just saying) I came across a couple of passages that basically put me in pause mode for quite sometime (Proverbs 22:26-27 and Romans 13:8). After reading these I did not feel the least bit comfortable with going overseas with debt. The Lord has been kind enough to give me a job that allows me to "put my money where my mouth is" and labor daily with the students until He calls me abroad. My heart belongs to a stranger ... the mission field (this I day dream and wish for about as much as young girls dream and wish for husbands and weddings).


These are the two largest areas built up in my heart. There are others but time does not allow to write about them this evening. My goal or wish or whatever for 2012 is to travel as much as I can. Which, as I see it, is traveling outside the US at least twice. In March, I will be going to Rome, Italy and I am almost certain everyone and "they mama" in my life knows I am going. Excited much? Why heck yes I am! A few other goals include growing closer to the Lord (spending TAWG daily), graduating (currently looks like December), and learning how to use chopsticks (this is silly but true ... ask my friend Nakeli, she tried to teach me and it is harder than it looks).