Camp Jesus

Forgive

I was in tears as mom told me someone tried to kill Aisha and her family. My first thought was that it was my sister. It could not be Eva! I know that she hated Muslims and was going through some born again experience. I knew deep down that it could not be my sister. It must have been someone that hated Muslims. How can the world be so cruel? I was so happy that mom told us that we would go to the hospital. Eva did not want to go. This was disappointing. It was probably also for the best, as she never treated Aisha the way she should.

As we were driving to the hospital, I asked mom how anyone could start a fire. Mom answered that it must be because of their religion. When we saw Muslims on TV, they were terrorists or they treated other people bad. Mom explained that people did not understand there were only a few bad people that gave the wrong image to everyone. When people were afraid of others and did not understand others, they went to extremes themself. Mom whispered slowly that hatred ends with people getting hurt.

"It could have been us!" I told mom, "If we lived in a Muslim country, they could be afraid of us. They could have hated us so much that they would want to kill us. They would not even know us! Yet they would want us dead. I do not understand it!"

I was worried about Aisha but pleased when I did see her. She was sitting in the bed and looking at the TV. Aisha was smiling and pleased to see me. I did not know what to say. She could see that I was uncomfortable. She told me to sit on her bed. This showed that Aisha was no monster. She was the one that suffered and yet she was worried about how I felt. It did not take long for Aisha and me to speak as we always do. She admitted the fire was scary and she had a problem breathing after the fire. The hospital wanted to keep an eye on her and she was being released today.

Aishas parents told us that they rented a trailer home. They would live there until they could repair the damage. Mom hugged them and said that they should visit us and have some homemade food. This made Aishas more cry as she said it was so nice that some people were so kind and helped so much.

When we got home, there was a commotion. The police were in the front yard with Eva in handcuffs. Mom told me to go to my room as she tried to figure out was is happening. I could not hear a lot except crying and yelling. This lasted for some time until everything went quiet.

Mom came up to me and was in tears. She told me that Eva was arrested because it was her that burned the house of Aisha and her family. Nothing more was said. I think that we were both in shock. Every fear that I had that Evas new friendship with God would hurt someone. I should be grateful that Aisha and her family were not badly hurt. This could not forgive my sister. My sister wanted to harm a family and even kill them because they were Muslim. Eva wanted to kill my best friend.

A few days went by, and it was an emotional rollercoaster. It was only my mother and myself at home. This was a constant reminder of what my sister had done. On the other hand, Aisha was now out of the hospital. Her family now lived at a trailer park. They have lost everything and yet they were so brave.

Mom and I invited Aisha and her family for dinner. Everything was fine until Aisha's dad had asked me if I visited my sister. I answered honestly that I had no wish or intention of visiting my sister. She tried to kill my best friend. Eva thought that she was a born again Christian, but her heart was full of hatred. She made her choice!

Her dad said, "Your sister is very confused. She has the wrong idea of Allah, as so many do. She considered us her enemies and tried to kill us. We lost a lot. We could be bitter and hate your sister and even her family. This will not help anything. It means that we will just be as bitter, angry and afraid as she is. We must understand why she has become like this. We must be grateful for our health and only material things were lost. We must also forgive your sister and pray for her."

I wanted the world to swallow me up. I was not as good as these people. I could not forgive my sister. She had been mean and judging since Jesus Camp. She constantly told me how bad I was. She destroyed my clothes and she tried to kill my friend. The problem was that I was under pressure from everyone that I should forgive her. I was beginning to lose my mind.

I did not even understand why my mom would visit her. I got so mad one day that my mother was so worried about Eva, that I ran out of the house. I ran and ran and ended up outside the Church. It started raining so I walked and sat in the Church. I prayed to Jesus and told him that I was sure he could understand me.

A man sat next to me and said, "Your sister was a pain. She destroyed your clothes and tried to hurt your friend. She thinks she knows Jesus. She does not. She thinks that Jesus hates and wants revenge. She thinks that Jesus wants to hurt others. It is quite human for you to say you want nothing to do with Eva. She is a sinner!"

Who was this man, and how did he know so much? How could he agree with me without knowing that my sister was just brainwashed by the camp lady?

"Of course," he continued, "you can choose to be an instrument of Jesus. You could be compassionate and forgive her. In this way, you show her a side of Jesus that she has forgotten! Besides that, she is your sister. You are bound to her for life."

I was looking down while the man was speaking. When I looked up he was gone.

I must have fallen asleep myself because when I woke up, mom had my head on her lap. She was stroking my hair as she was praying. I could see tears in her eyes. Mom loved Eva and was worried. She was worried about my sister's fanaticism and how far she went with it. She was worried about my sister's punishment and her future. She was also worried about how bitter I was.

I looked up at mom praying. She looked down at me smiling.

I told mom that I loved her and I wanted to visit Eva the next time my mom went to see her.

The end

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