Assalamu Alaikum

My Dear Friend,

I’ve just attended the Tarbiya and Ilm Camp 2003. I had an amazing experience. You don’t know what you missed. I just spent one of my most wonderful weeks of my life, most memorable. It was the first time I did something like this and I hope insha Allah that it won’t be the last. Let me tell you about it. The camp took place in a small town somewhere in Massachusetts. When we got there it was beautiful. It was all nice and green, a beautiful and peaceful peace of nature – away from the crowded and noisy calls of the city. It just reminded me of my childhood because I grew up in a similar environment. The sunset was every day more beautiful. I enjoyed and contemplated the nature of Allah (SWT).

And the companionship, my dear friend! I met wonderful sisters. We did everything together, from worship, having fun, eating, sleeping. There was that bonding with other sisters. It was so precious. We got to know about each other and increase our sisterhood. We also had the opportunity to increase our knowledge. I know about some Fiqh now, and some Seerah and other important aspects of our religion that I lacked knowledge in. I took good notes, I will share it with you insha Allah.

The whole week with pious believers. I did my prayers on time, Duhaa prayer, Sunnah, Quiyam. We reminded each other about our intentions, about our du’as. Really the perfect environment. I don’t even want to leave. I like it here.

The most important thing my dear friend is that I really strengthened my relationship with Allah (SWT). I increased my knowledge and increased my closeness to him. Everything in the camp contributed to becoming a better Muslim. My Iman is different, my heart is different. You know that feeling! I hope you can experience it one day. At the end I came up with a personal development plan. I’m serious, I need to abide by it insha Allah. I’ll show it to you, maybe you can try to do one too. May Allah accept my deeds and keep that internal fire burning. When you come here you change, your heart changes and your focus is your relationship with Allah. You forget about little things. I took showers with spiders, I got bitten by mosquitos, ants. The first day I recall feeling uncomfortable with these insects especially in the shower and then you just completely forget about it. Your mind is somewhere else, your heart is translucent and these small things don’t matter anymore. My dear friend I feel different now and I hope it’s for life.

Your Sister in Islam,