Since Mike and I've been married we've lived in some unique places. In New Orleans, we were exposed to fabulous food, music, people and beauty. It was truly one of the best experiences of my life; however, I had a experience this morning that I will never forget.
We live in Woodbridge, VA, which is roughly 20-25 miles south of The District of Columbia. It is a melting pot of people. The majority of people that live here commute to DC for work and/or the many military bases. This summer at the community pool we were fortunate to meet so many wonderful people. The life-guards are from Serbia, our neighbor is from Turkey and so on....
Last night I received a phone call from Imren. She is my friend from Turkey. She is also Muslim. She has three girls ages 8, 6 and 3. They are beautiful children, and Lette loves to play with them. Anyway she called to say she was hosting a breakfast for some of the women in our neighborhood. I was thrilled, but didn't know what to expect.
We all arrived at 9:30 AM. There was a total of 9 women making up the following countries; Turkey, Lebanon, Nepal, Panama, Afghanistan, Germany and the US. Languages spoken: Hebrew, German, French, English, Turkish, Lebanese, Arabic and Spanish. We decided to go around the table telling each other about our heritage, religion and other customs. Let me just say FASCINATING!!!!! We talked for 3 hours. It was so enjoyable. Many of them have taken their US citizenship exams (and passed of course), but they expressed their deep love for their mother-lands. They also have a unique perspective on the Iraq War...things that I would have never thought of, but that's an entirely different post.
The food was FABULOUS. Turkish/Lebanese breads, olives, cheese, juice and fruit. It was more than I can say in words.
In the end, I felt so blessed to be in the presence of such great women/mothers. We have many things in common and are different in many ways. I learned what the Savior meant when he said, "Love Thy Neighbor As Thyself." It was a spiritual experience for me. I felt such love for each of the women and most of them I just met for the first time today. I look forward to many more community breakfasts.
**Note I would've taken my camera, but I didn't know whether it would be appropriate in Imren's home. We are having another breakfast in October, and I'll include a picture of these amazing women at that time.
8 comments:
What an amazing experience! Sometimes I wish for a little more diversity, and you are so smart to be wide open to new people. You are definitely a citizen of the world.
That is so neat! I have had many of the same type of experiences living her in LA and I have enjoyed it SO much!
Lucky Girl! I LOVE Lebanese food...oh, my mouth is watering just thinking about it! I wish that I could have been there to hear about their personal political insights.
What a neat experience. I don't know what your Relief Society does about sharing gospel experiences. We have that here in our ward. It tends to be hard for me because all my friends are members. Yet I did give a Book of Mormon away two weeks ago.
Mel- I think I can honestly say that I'm jelous of your experience. How amazing! Gosh, just last week I had breakfast with my neighborhood and we talked about Utah, living in Utah, and Still living in Utah. DIVERSITY at its finest! Wow!
Happy Birthday!!
That is so great. I'm very envious.
Mel, How wonderful you and your children can have such experiences. Maybe it takes a little bit of hurt away from missing your family. Please give them my love from your Mom.
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