I was shocked when I read the headline about the mosque shootings in Christchurch. I was reading an American news Website and my first thought was they must have gotten the city and country wrong. That sort of violence doesn't happen here. But sadly, hate and evil can be anywhere. Corrupting anyone's logic and morals.
This tragedy has really shook me up. I've honestly cried about it. I feel so bad for the victims and their families. I don't want others within the Muslim, immigrant, or any community to feel targeted and unsafe. Many of these people left their homelands believing they would be safe in New Zealand. Honestly, we too left America partially believing we would be avoiding these tragedies.
It's hard to know what can be done. Our family decided to visit a refugee family who I used to teach English to. They are also Muslim and came from Somalia to escape violence there. She is a single mother of nine. I figured food from our pantry would be welcome and useful in hers.
Then we stopped by our local mosque to give a card and show our respect and support for the Muslim community. It was a very humbling sight. The air was full of the scent of the flowers that covered the steps. A Muslim woman came and gave me, Mallory and Lucy hugs. She expressed how very thankful she was that we had come. It was touching to realize that as I thought we were at her mosque showing our love she was also showing us her love. It was a very peaceful moment.
New Zealanders have really been shook up about this, understandably. I believe it's the first time they have ever had such a hateful act occur. To me it feels a bit like after the World Trade Towers attack in USA. Everyone really wants to come together and combat the evil with love. As we drove home from the mosque I noticed two walls nicely graffitied with phrases like "NZ Stands United," and "We Say No to Terror." Last night there was also a vigil in Wellington. I believe over 12,000 attended. They had to move to a lager location because so many wanted to come and support each other.
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| The thousands who came to the vigil in Wellington. |
Our bishop began our sacrament meeting with a moment of silence in honour of the victims. Thinking of them in that peace and silence made me cry. Thankfully the sister missionaries in the pew behind could give me a tissue. One of the sacrament talks was so perfect for the occasion. She said she wrote most of it before the shootings, but her words were quite fitting. She talked of service and being there for others. She talked about our baptismal covenants of promising to mourn with those that mourn. She ended with a beautiful passage from Winnie the Pooh. It was about a time when Pooh and Piglet went to visit Eeyore. They visited him because they hadn't seen him lately. When they got to Eeyore's house he told them he hadn't been out because he was sad and thought no one would want to be with him. So Pooh and Piglet sat down with Eeyore to be with him. After a while Eeyore let them know that he was still sad, but it helped to have friends with him. It was such a simple act, but it helped their friend. So, in sad times like these, we can't change the past or make others feel happy, be we can be with them through their sadness.
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