I am so thankful that my sweet daughter in Jesus-Temi- agreed to let me interview her for my Let Their Voices Be Heard series. Temi shared her story with us during a blogger chat and I was so impressed I told her that I wanted to adopt her. I won’t tell you her story. As she answers the questions-unedited- you will learn more about her.
Temi’s blog is christianmommas.com. It is a wonderfull blog where she shares about being a mom, her faith and more. Temi is also an author of the book A Christian Mothers Creed.
- Have you experienced discrimnation because you immigrated to the U.S.?
How did you deal with it?
I would like to thank papa Matt for the opportunity to share my story, journey, and experience with you all. If discrimination means being made to feel like an outsider, then yes I have and I still experience discrimination.
Sadly, my most recent experience with racial/immigration discrimination happened in my local church.
A guest minister called out people for prayer and I went just because my spouse asked me to. When the guest minister looked at me, he said “you are not from here”. I replied, “I live here”. He went on to ask where I lived before moving here, I said “Germany”. I had just moved back to the U.S. after living in Germany for four years. Military service took me to Germany.
The guest minister went on to ask where I lived before moving to Germany. I lived in Texas before moving to Germany but I did not tell him because it suddenly dawned on me that he wanted to know where I was born. So, I told him I was from Nigeria.
I thought there was going to be a correlation between my medical condition and his persistence about knowing where I was born. There was no correlation. I came for prayer only to be unnecessarily probed about where I immigrated from. Even worse, the minister did not address the medical condition I came to receive prayer for.
I was wearing an African print dress, so I was not ashamed to be associated with Africa. However, being told “you are not from here” was not necessary. Is it impossible to be African-German or simply be an American wearing an African print dress? In the world of that guest minister, maybe not.
Honestly, I was offended and wanted to quit attending my newly found church. However, I forgave the guest minister for my own sake. His action was rooted in ignorance and I realized the enemy was trying to hinder my prayers with the spirit of offense. I still attend my local church and I am glad I did not leave. God wanted my family to be established there, but the enemy did not want it to happen. The ability to analyze situations and human behavior from a spiritual perspective makes it easy to forgive.
Spiritually, discrimination is designed to sow seeds of bitterness, hate, unforgiveness, and rejection. When we allow these seeds to grow, we become victims of discrimination. When we see dont allow these seeds to grow, we defeat everything discrimination is truly designed to accomplish.
My prayer is that we will all be like Jesus, the one who is rich in love and mercy. He prayed for the forgiveness of those who mocked and crucified him (Luke 23:34). Some may say it was easy for Jesus to forgive because he was “Jesus”. In Acts 7:58-60, Stephen asked God to forgive those who were stoning him to death. The Holy Spirit in Stephen gave him the extraordinary ability to forgive. That same Spirit is ready to help us forgive, see through the eyes of love and compassion. We can forgive those who offend and hate us by asking God to help us.
Thank you for reading. God Bless
The guest minister showed poor manners.
This kind of probing is considered to be rude, even outside of a church setting.
As Christians, we should show impeccable manners, and never cause others to feel uncomfortable.
We are from Ontario, and when we moved to NL, it was obvious that our spoken accent is very different from that of rural islanders.
The first few times I spoke , people said : ‘You don’t belong here, do you ? ‘
That means : ‘You’re not from here, are you ?’
It made me laugh.
Temi was right not to take offense, because, for sure, ‘the enemy’ uses misunderstandings to create division.
Let us always move with grace, and give people the benefit of the doubt, and let us train ourselves not to ask too many questions of strangers, since this can feel threatening and intrusive . 🌷🤗
I admire Temi’s service in the military.
Thanks, Matt for sharing this post, as we can all learn from it.
Temi has a lot of wisdom
I can see why you said you want to adopt her. Such a bright light. Thanks for sharing. What at first made me feel sad gave me a smile in the end. God turns everything for good to those who love Him.
I want to adopt you too. 🤗
😂 Thank you. I will get the paperwork ready. 😂
🤗😇🤗
Remember that because you are a daughter of God that makes you a princess 👑
Thank you. 😊
🙂 🙂 🙂
Thanks for sharing. Temi set a great example of showing the love, mercy and forgiveness of Christ in her circumstances.
Yes she is and so are you little sister 🤗
God please give the grace to always forgive unconditionally. This is so inspiring to read. I have a Christian fiction on https://m.okadabooks.com/book/about/lost_then_found_/32936 do read and share your thoughts. 🙏
Thanks for interviewing her and sharing this big bro.
I love her heart of forgiveness and choosing God’s word over the actions of the said minister. And her emphasis on forgiving the guest minister for her own sake. ❤
I love her and her heart. She is a precious daughter of the King of Kings- Jesus- just like you are 🙂
Smiles. Yes she is. 💯
Aww. Thanks big bro. 🤗
Thank you for sharing this, big brother! Temi is so wise. I love how she says she forgave for her sake! And how she talks about sewing those seeds and letting things stew. I’ve been thinking a lot about this lately and how I want to be a peacemaker and a peace-bringer. And yet some things require action, too. It’s a tricky balance!
Temi is a wise young woman 😇
Agreed 🙂
Temi, I am so sorry that a minister treated you like that. Unempathetic ignorance can stir up some very unladylike feelings in me. We are called to love & respect all people, not just the ones that are like us. I appreciate your strength & your vulnerability.
“The ability to analyze situations and human behavior from a spiritual perspective makes it easy to forgive.” – this is a very salient point and reminder for us al.
Temi is a wise young woman 🤗
Absolutely! 🤗
“When we allow these seeds to grow, we become victims of discrimination. When we see don’t allow these seeds to grow, we defeat everything discrimination is truly designed to accomplish.” This is so true! And it can speak to those of us who have experienced other types of abuse as well. All kinds of bullies have a goal of building themselves up by crushing others. I have been guilty of allowing these sorts of seeds to grow, and then it is that much more difficult to get rid of the “weeds” that grow in the heart.
Thanks, Matt, for sharing Temi’s story!
Glad to share it. Temi is a wise young woman 🙂
Yes!
Wow! I can’t even imagine dealing with that…her heart is so inspiring.
I’m reading through her book right now and it’s warming my heart.
Temi is a wise young woman 🤗