Flashback!

This: 

And this:

both happened approximately ten years ago.

Tonight for mutual we are having a cultural night. Several people were asked to talk about the culture of another country they lived in. The youth (particularly the girls aged 12-15) asked for this activity, but as leaders we thought it was important regardless of whether or not all youth in attendance go on missions. Everyone meets someone from a different culture at some point in their lives, and it is important we learn to respect and accept ingrained differences.

This is part of why I love the International Baccalaureate program. I wish I had the option of sending my kids to an IB school!

Anyway, as a missionary the most important thing I learned was to love people. Christ loves us all, and the only way to successfully help anyone on their path to conversion is to hep them feel Christ's love. I do think it is vital to understand and respect people's differences. Without doing so, we can't show a true Christlike love. Christ understands that people who commit sin are "living a different culture" than the one He proclaims, but He loves them anyway.