Dream For Darfur: A Testimony

This past Sunday a handful of MAYAs got to participate in an Interfaith Service co-sponsored by Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon in support of the "Dream For Darfur". We got to hear from several survivors of genocide from all over the world including Mohammad Yahya, founder of Damanga Coalition for Freedom and Democracy and a survivor of the Darfur genocide. Below is a testimony from one of the young adults of the night.

A Testimony From Nick Carroll

Unfortunately, I know very little about the conflict in Darfur, so it was nice to learn about it firsthand through this church service. The keynote speaker is a survivor of the genocide in Darfur. He was heavily accented and got hard to understand when he yelled part of his speech (in anger against the Chinese-backed government and the lack of response from the international community). But it was touching to hear his story. The service itself was awesome. It featured various faith communities, integrating them into one service. The LDS Church had a choir that sang a couple songs; another group had a Trombone Quartet; people from the Catholic Church, the Baha'i faith, the Tibetan Buddhist Community, a Synagogue, an Armenian Apostolic Church, and a mosque gave various reflection moments. They illustrated the world's promise after the Holocaust: "Never Again." Yet, it happens time and again. We learned nothing from Rwanda.

After the service, we filed outside with our candles for a vigil in the South Park Blocks (my favourite place to walk three or more times a week). They had a torch that was lit, and went around to light everyone's candles. Survivors of the genocides in Armenia, the Holocaust, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Darfur all spoke about "Never Again" as we held the candlelight vigil. It was kind of windy, but my flame wouldn't go out...even after the vigil was over and we (the MAYAs) headed to Starbucks. My flame would keep getting lower but never go out, then grow again in size. The other four people in MAYA had their candles blown out by the wind, but mine wouldn't go out, even when we were at Starbucks. I waited outside for mine to go out naturally, but it wouldn't...so I kind of waved it until it went out so I could go inside and get my Chai Latte.

While my candle was fighting the wind, a thought played in my head. I don't know where it came from, but it basically said: "The flame is you. Though you think there are times when the forces are too strong and your flame burns low, you'll never go out, because there are times when your flame grows large. Remember this. Your flame is strong enough to endure, your moment will come. Don't ever give up."

After we got our drinks and everyone else piled into Rachel's car, I walked back to my apartment, just ecstatic over what I experienced, over the message I had received while watching my candle flame fight against the wind without going out like I wanted it to. I made it home in time to catch a couple of my shows, including my absolute favourite, which I watched absolutely riveted: "Brothers and Sisters" (my favourite show at the moment...and it just keeps getting better and better). It was the perfect end to a perfect day to a perfect weekend.

In fact, I had trouble falling asleep because I was too euphoric over the events of my weekend. When I looked at my calendar and counted the weeks on rotation and off rotation if I had taken the Alaska job a couple months ago, I realized that I would be on the Alaska rotation this weekend (up in Prudhoe Bay) and would have totally missed out on what was probably one of the best weekends I've ever experienced. That only reinforced my gratitude that I didn't get the job, that my hesitation came from a place that is wiser than I. I finally fell asleep with the mantra in my head: I am blessed, I am blessed, I am blessed