The past few months I (Joy) have been really interested in learning more about WWII, and especially about the Japanese-Americans and their experiences during that time. It's been something that has been on my mind a lot lately. When I mentioned this to my friend and said I didn't know why I'm suddenly so interested, his reply was "it's the hearts of the children turning to their fathers." As he said that, I realized that it's true. As I have been working on family history, I really have felt my interest grow and I especially love feeling connected as I hear personal experiences and stories.
Today as I was sitting in church, the instructor began reading the parable of the Good Samaritan. The first thing that popped into my mind was the Browns and families like the Browns. The Browns were neighbors with my grandparents in Rockport, Utah during the war. My grandma always talked about how kind they were, and how well they treated them. She really loved and respected them. It was a difficult time when there was a lot of discrimination and hatred towards Japanese-Americans.
The reason that the Browns reminded me of the Good Samaritan was because of their choice to reach out to someone who needed their help when the rest of the world was looking down on them. There was no expectation for them to be kind, yet they chose to be. Some people chose to look away, they were not outright mean, but they chose to act as if they were not there. Others seemed to kick them when they were already down. We all have choices to make, and the Browns chose to accept and love my family regardless of the state the world was in at the time. They were the Good Samaritan.
This video was taken on January 1, 2013. My cousin Taryn, just go home from her mission that day. Uncle Ron invited Brother Brown and his wife to come, and we was able to share a few stories with us about our grandparents. In the video, he talks about this, but although my grandma questioned why Sister Brown never shared the gospel with her, she knew of her big heart and her great example of Christ-like love that she showed. I believe that down the road when it was time for my grandma to learn of the gospel that the example of Sister Brown played a big part. My grandma always had good things to say about the Browns. The way we live our lives can be a powerful testimony of what we believe and sometimes that speaks to the heart much stronger than our words do.
