 Assalamu alaikum and Ramadan Mubarak to everyone who's watching this video and to sister Loda who we have here with us today. Alhamdulillah, she's going to reflect on some of her Ramadan experiences as a convert. Alhamdulillah, this will be her third Ramadan, inshallah. So, we wanted to use this opportunity to share with everyone who's watching some experiences and reflections from the convert perspective, inshallah. So sister Loda, thank you so much for being here with us today. Thank you so welcome to everybody. Can you tell us about your first Ramadan? Did you have any expectations going in and were there any surprises for you? Yes, so my first Ramadan, Alhamdulillah, it was 2018. And I really did not know what to expect, but Alhamdulillah, I had one of my best friends, Liz, who's also a convert. She was the one who actually guided me through my whole process and she's actually being a big support still now. And so we went together to different mosques and I remember actually the first iftar that I went to was at your house to start living. And it was a very humbling experience for me, I would say. Although I at moments that felt a little bit maybe like, you know, am I going to feel out of place, you know, because I didn't speak the language and most of the women were speaking I think Urdu, if I'm not mistaken. You know, but Alhamdulillah had Liz with me so we were, you know, we were each other's support so it was actually a very sweet experience. But definitely I think it was very life changing for me. Mashallah. So, can you tell us more about your experiences with the community during your first Ramadan? I mean, your experiences at the masjid, did you have, how did you feel there? Yeah, so I think that it was amazing how welcoming MCC was for me and also the other converts. I remember they had a iftar there and that was very nice at least for me because I was able to speak to other people who were probably feeling the same nervous as I was. You know, and we had our little, you could say a little group, you know, that it was our own. So I would say definitely MCC was extremely and continue to be extremely helpful for me, as well as, you know, other places like Tali, which is a place also that Liz brought me to so she introduced me to them and I also spend some of my time there. I was the first Ramadan, you know, so I was going through a lot internally because I was an adjustment, not just for me, but also for my family, you know, because none of them are Muslims except for me. And so being around, you know, my brothers and sisters in Islam, then, you know, gave me some comfort and so I really appreciated finding that at the most. How do you manage being the only one in your family who's practicing observing Ramadan and celebrating Eid? Yeah, so I think that, you know, like I mentioned a while ago, it was, it was challenging. I think the first, probably the first two years, because I, you know, dealt with a lot of like making sure I wasn't hurting their feelings and maybe getting even angry at times that they wouldn't understand what I was going through or, you know, or the times when I, because it was an adjustment, you know, because I had never fasted before and so going through the whole emotional of like times not waking up, you know, early enough to eat so I would go the whole day without eating and so my mood, you know, wasn't the best. You know, but Hamdullah, as time went by, you know, things are getting better. I definitely have my family support in that aspect now. Hamdullah, you know, my husband is now here. So this is actually our first Ramadan that we're spending together. And, you know, when I converted to Islam, I was actually the same day we got married. So Hamdullah, we're able to do that. So now he's also my support system here. So, yeah, so it's gotten better. One thing I wanted to ask you about, I know you're a proud Latina. So I wanted to know if you are able to bring in some of your cultural traditions or, you know, any family traditions that you grew up with into your Ramadan experiences so far. Yeah, so I am Latina from Nicaragua. I was born in Nicaragua and we came here. I came here when I was a baby in San Francisco. So I would say the food, you know, I think regardless of the culture or where you're from, food always brings people together. So I'm able to cook, you know, those dishes that we typically eat, which is like gallopinto, which is rice and beans, or maduro frito, which is, you know, fried plantains, or queso frito, which is fried cheese. So now, you know, my husband who's Pakistani, we tried to incorporate his food and my food together so we could all enjoy it a little bit. Mashallah. Over the past couple of years, do you have any favorite of Ramadan experiences? Anything that sticks out to you? I think having the get-togethers at MCC, I think, are really nice for me again, you know, like I mentioned earlier too. You know, because I think as converts, we sometimes go through things that somebody who was born Muslim might not understand, you know. And so just having that community, you know, getting the reminders through our WhatsApp, you know, chat that we have, you know, a lot to you for setting that up for us and all the support, you know, that you bring us as well as everybody at MCC. You know, so I think those are during this time, especially now going through this COVID-19, I'm sure there's a lot of, you know, converts who are, this is probably their first Ramadan, you know, and are feeling lonely or are feeling a little bit scared, you know, but just having those reminders and having that community, I think it's very important during Ramadan. Subhanallah, it's so hard. I mean, this year we're not able to get together. I mean, just as a wider community and as a convert community as well. So it's really important to be able to keep those ties at least virtually, inshallah, inshallah we can do the best we can. And I mean, you guys are doing it, you know, Hamdullah, that everything has changed so much and technology is, is our friend now, you know, especially during this time when we actually are able to bring the mosque, you know, into our homes, Hamdullah, you know, so that's a big support. Okay, so, well, we're already in Ramadan, but I was wondering if before Ramadan started, was there anything that you were looking forward to, especially in Ramadan? I think, well, this, this year I was really looking forward to, you know, that the last day, you know, of getting together. I know that they do the E prayer at the parks and stuff and and I was really looking forward to that because this would have been my first year being able to do that. All those other years I was working. So I had told myself that I wanted to take some time off work to do that, but you know, given the circumstances, we won't be able to do that. But I just, you know, again, I guess spending this specifically Ramadan with my husband and sharing that with each other being each other's support. So I think this Ramadan was something that I was really looking forward to that. Alhamdulillah. Okay, well, one last question for you. As a convert, do you have any special words for other converts, especially converts who this might be their first Ramadan or just their second Ramadan? Do you have any thoughts for them? Yeah, I think that, you know, just take it slow. You know, I, I've learned that, you know, Islam is meant to be easy. It's not supposed to be something difficult for us. We don't feel like we or you are competing with anybody who was born Muslim or because they know how to pray and we don't and we're still learning or because maybe we're not wearing, you know, hijab yet, you know, I think everybody, regardless of being a convert or not, everybody's in their own path within Islam. And as long as Allah knows your intentions and you're doing the best you can, you know, Allah's Allah's always watching. And so he knows, you know, and so just, you know, reach out if you have questions, you know, don't feel like you can't ask anything because I'm sure that the same way you're feeling. Maybe some of us are feeling the same way. You know, you're not, you're not alone in this, you know, and so reach out and ask for help or ask for guidance. You know, there's a there's a large community out there that it's, you know, so helpful within answering our questions or guiding us through the right the right way if they cannot answer our questions, you know, so you know, it's things will get better, inshallah, you know, it might be difficult and even me, I mean, it's, it's been three, this would be my third Ramadan, but you know, there's still sometimes when some things are still hard for my family, you know, and so I just keep in mind that it's a process for them as well as for me and so you know, just taking one day at a time and just have faith in Allah and, you know, he he guided us to Islam. So, you know, he's always going to be there for us. Alhamdulillah. Mashallah. That was really beautiful. Sister Loda. Okay. Thank you so much. And inshallah we will all gather again soon. Inshallah. I'm looking forward to that. I hope you have a blessed Ramadan inshallah. Keep us in your du'as. Thank you. You too. Thank you. So like everybody and we'll talk about it.