Tangible Hope

In 2009, while still living in the Middle East, we were introduced to an extraordinary kid. To stand back and look into his life, it sure seemed he had a lot of strikes against him. Ethnic minority, religious minority, single mother, disabled sister, absent father, low income. Frankly, very little reason for hope. What made this kid extraordinary was his zest for life, outlook of hope and expression of real dreams he had for his future. My husband and I had the privilege of getting to know him well over the last three years as he interned with my husband, tutored our kids in Arabic and karate {he is a black belt!} and as we championed him to finish well in high school.

Well, his story only got better as he dared to dream big and apply to colleges in the States. He studied hard for his English language testing, SAT, and worked hard to save money. He applied, he wrote essays, he researched, and we all prayed. In early March he received amazing news that he was awarded a full ride scholarship to the very prestigious Hope College! {he forwarded the acceptance email from the college on to us with one simple question..."Is this a spam email?"} Sometimes, your 'dreams come true' are hard to believe!

These are some of my favorite quotes out of the essays he wrote as he applied to this school:

I was born in an Arab country and have lived in the Middle East all my life.  I’ve been through many tests regarding my faith both in living among people with a much different religion and temptations to immoral habits and thought patterns. During my childhood my mother has always been my shield and been my guide in the path of God.  She never gave up in planting seeds of faith that she always hoped would grow into my own relationship with God.

 

My mother, sister and I have been experiencing very challenging situations physically, mentally and emotionally in which without our faith in God we would have fallen from the weight that we have been carrying through these years. And thanks to him, we never slept hungry, never hated ourselves or others and kept our hopes high towards the future.

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After I started being more independent and mature, I realized life has a bright side. Unfortunately, there are many people in this world that look in the empty half of the cup, not realizing that life is worth living and that God created every person in this world for a purpose.  As an expression of my faith, I have started to feel fulfilled whenever I help a person put a smile back on their face, to help them find hope.  Faith is the motivation required to show as many people as possible their great value in this world, make them realize that God is always watching over them and taking care of them through this life as he did for me.

I would love to talk about the country I come from, the culture and the Jordanian community. Also because of some media sources telling about the terror side of Middle East, my voice and story can be some positive media that will tell the other side of the story.  I can help decrease the thoughts about Middle Easterners being primitive, violent or disrespectful and encourage those I meet to embrace and nurture racial, ethnic, cultural, and geographic diversity.

Well, last week, having left his birth country for the first time on his first trip traveling on an airplane, he arrived to the States. He has started writing down all his experiences and we are excited to share some of them on this blog. It is always interesting {and hilarious} how someone from the outside sees American culture!

Hope. Something amazing can happen if you hold on to it!