The Pioneers

In my last blog post, I said I would return a little more to the topic of "why do we send out missionaries". I answered it pretty simply in my last post, but I really don't feel like the authority to give a complete answer to that. Instead, I do want to share some of the life lessons I learned as a missionary.
 
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On Facebook, a friend shared this picture

Captioned: Lui è Bakari Coulibaly, il primo laureato migrante dell’Università di Sassari. Una persona arrivata con un barcone. È più colto della metà degli italiani. Mettetevelo in testa, non sono tutti criminali. Bisogna dare una possibilità a tutti. Ogni essere umano vale uno. *Translation*: This is bakari coulibaly, the first migrant graduate of the university of sassari. A person that arrived with a boat. He is more educated than half of Italians. Put this in your heads, they're not all criminals. You have to give everyone a chance. Every human being is worth one. -Valerio Capraro

I loved hearing this story! It makes me so happy to hear about this man's success. 

When I was a missionary in Italy for a year and a half, I learned that "immigration" is an even hotter topic of discussion there than it is in the United States. With the current border crisis of families being separated, I know that is hard to believe. 

Different from the U.S, Italy has open borders. As a missionary I loved asking people where they were from and trying to learn a few phrases in their native tongue. I kept a list in my journal of the different countries people were from, and I got up to 64 countries! In the area of Rome we lived in, my companion and I could go an entire day without meeting a single italian. For me, this wasn't an issue because I was a foreigner just like them. We instantly had something that we could relate on. But different from them, I knew that at the end of my 18 months I would be returning to my nice plushy home in the United States. 

We REALLY don't know how good we've got it.

It was painful to hear their stories. I could talk to them, listen and try to comfort them but during that time there was not a lot I could do to help their physical state. These people didn't want to hear about Jesus, they needed physical comforts before their soul could be fed.
 

I remember one day we were walking down a street and it was a very hot day. There was one man from Nigeria selling socks on the street and he started yelling at me because I didn't stop to buy socks. He said, "You are an African girl! How can you not stop to help your people?!". 

His statement hit my heart like a dagger. He was right. And even if I hadn't shared similar African ancestry with him, how could I not stop to help my people- my brothers and sisters that were all from the same God?

Not everyone trying to come to Italy or to the United States is a criminal. 

I knew one family in one of my wards in Italy who was also from Nigeria. They didn't come to Italy as refugees, their lives in Nigeria were actually very good. They had good jobs, but once they learned that their oldest son had leukemia and that he wouldn't get the medicine he needed in Nigeria, they left everything behind and came to Italy and received the blessings of healthcare for their son.

They faced discrimination in the city and even at church. They struggled to find jobs and to keep food on their table. They struggled learning a new language. 

This family was such an incredible testimony to me. They were very active in their ward in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nigeria. The husband was even a member of the bishopric, and after coming to Italy even though it was a tough transition, they never lost their faith.

Their son's name was Lehi. If you have ever read the Book of Mormon, then you know that the whole book starts with and revolves around a family of a man named Lehi. He takes his family, and leaves everything behind to journey to a new land. They related this story to their son, and believed that God had big plans in store for him even if things were tough now.

It's kind of wild that I had to live on the other side of the world to learn this things. I grew up in a pretty diverse place, and now I recognize that a lot of the people in my neighborhood probably had similar struggles but as kids and teenagers you don't discuss these things with your friends. It wasn't until it was my life's 24/7 job to open my mouth and talk to people, that I really got to hear their stories.

Honestly, it blows my mind even more that people can still look around and think that these people are just criminals. For some people, they fear that people immigrating will just come and take advantage of government assistance and not contribute to society.

You know, I'll be real with you, I've witnessed that those concerns people have are sometimes true. But do we ever stop to question, what is going wrong in their life that they feel like they have to be involved in illegal activity to survive? What is burdening them that they feel no motivation to work? How can I help my brother?

I don't mean to sound preachy because I know that giving more service to others is something I always need to work on too. Witnessing different exchanges among people, especially on social media these days, I've just recognized that we are often quicker to judge than we are quick to listen.

Today it is Pioneer Day in Utah. People celebrate the Mormon settlers who came here after facing persecution in Illinois. I'm not from Utah and I've never really felt a particular bond to this state holiday but it is nice to not have work or school.

Maybe I am not doing Pioneer Day right, but I think it is so important to recognize the modern day pioneers we have all around us. It really is a celebration that these people were able to find a place of refuge. So, happy Pioneer Day!