I Was A Stranger

My mom began volunteering at the Asian Association refugee center, called Sunnyvale, when I was still in Orem. She told me all about the kids she worked with, and I wanted to go volunteer with her as soon as I could. She has a gift of really seeing people, so her descriptions of their little personalities, challenges, likes, dislikes, talents, and persona were vivid and true.
After the LDS church made powerful statements on aiding, accepting, and loving refugees, my mom got a tidal wave of donations, offers to volunteer, and questions regarding the specific needs of Sunnyvale. Our porch is hardly ever bare of kind and generous donations.
It was so neat to see individuals be so service-oriented and charitable. They gave in whatever capacity they could. My mom is good at offering time. Does she have time to run me down to Salt Lake? Yes. Does she have time to stop at every neat-looking rock on a road-trip? Yep. Does she have time to volunteer for three hours five times a week while raising 7 kids, and teaching ballet and violin? Of course!
It's definitely a gift of hers, one she uses.
Anyway, the day finally came that I was able to join her at Sunnyvale. The center was quite small, and very busy. Adults were in class learning English, kids were speaking in Russian and Farsi, babies were crying, and kids were yelling. All the kids were adorable and eager and full of energy. As preschool began, the letter M was introduced and everyone began making a craft with the letter. I was so impressed by some of the kids' English. They were so young and don't have much (or any) English at home. The alphabet must have seemed incredibly foreign and confusing at first, and I could tell a few of them were still lost.
Amidst the chaos and the teaching, I reminded myself constantly to see the individual. As I heard them talk, interact, smile, laugh, learn, and question, it was so easy to see them as children of God. Of course I always see others as sons and daughters of God, but these kids' aura seemed absolutely royal and the potential I saw in them made me teary-eyed. Heavenly Father allowed me a glimpse at their divine nature, and the fact that I was in a refugee center was trivial, if not forgotten.
It can be tricky to navigate the political side of aspect, and the balance of helping and accepting with such a limited knowledge of their religion, culture, and story.
But I have learned that all those minor details will work out and disappear when charity, the pure love of Christ, is involved.
The talk by Elder Patrick Kearon explains best how to have charity and help in your individual capacity. I *strongly* invite you all to read it. Here is a link

FOR GOD HATH NOT GIVEN US THE SPIRIT OF FEAR, BUT OF POWER, AND OF LOVE, AND OF A SOUND MIND ~~2 Timothy 1:7

Volunteering at Sunnyvale was simply another opportunity to reinforce a truth I have always known: that we are children of God, and He loves us. I have no doubt that Heavenly Father will continue to give us opportunities to serve and be served by our brothers and sisters.
Here is a link to the church's refugee program I Was a Stranger