Final Thoughts

Summary: It’s now Monday, and school has begun its cycle again, and most of us have come well adjusted to the jet lag and the daylight savings. If there is one thing this trip has taught me it is that I am now passionate to support those who want to impact the world around them here and abroad, and I’m passionate to keep my friendships going with my new friends overseas. The general consensus before I left for this journey was fear; fear of the unknown culture and its people. Let’s not kid ourselves, when 9-11 happened and we saw those planes hit our homeland, we were all filled with fear and some form of hatred towards a region and their people who we knew nothing about, except the belief that they had targeted us like a deer in the forest. Going over there into a Muslim world and the Middle Eastern region really opened my eyes. Sure what we might have experienced was a mild case wrapped up in the time of a week, but we interacted with the people and saw their spirit and their hearts. And what we saw wasn’t hatred towards us, but a misunderstanding on both sides. It was like we were two players in a game of chess, and we had forgotten the rules of the game and decided to just move pieces wherever we wanted. Rooks, pawns, and bishops just danced all over the board, smashing into each other and fighting over territory and space. That’s how I see our nation and the region across the world. We’ve lost our focus and our respect for one another. When my friend spoke about 9-11 and I heard the sincerity echoing from his heart it really got me thinking about everything going on around me. Not just on the war in Iraq. It has nothing to do with that. In my mind I kept thinking about the homes and lives of my friends. This has nothing to do with our worldly war, but a war on a much higher level in our souls. Am I rioting for peace in the world? No. I’m just trying to let my passion ring through that not everyone in that part of the world is an extremist with the sole intent of putting harm on our doorstep. People kept telling us how amazed they are that Americans were there on the island, because they had all just stopped coming. We don’t need to live in fear. On of the men from Jordan told us how at his home they all keep doors unlocked and they are unafraid, while we here at home lock our doors and fear intruders of all kinds. I’m not saying they have it made there, nor am I saying we should take note from the ways of those we came in contact with. I’m saying we need to forget our fear of those we don’t know and remember that there is huge world around us that needs to be outreached in the emotions of love and friendship as we tried to do on this journey, and it was met, I believe, with great success. It was an amazing time that I will never forget, and will never try to. Continue to support those like us who travel the world locally and abroad to take a similar message to the unknown peoples of this world.