A Beautiful Ending To A Greater Journey Ahead

I am sad to say my time here is over. I have spent an amazing eight months here in India I will never forget. The time I have spent here has been one of the best times in my life, one of the hardest and one of great growth physically, mentally and spiritually. I have learned many things to prepare myself for the world out there and feel more than confident to face it now. Of all the lessons I have learned while being here, the most important one I learned was how to serve others. We all know the scripture from Mosiah 2:17 saying, "When ye are in the service of your fellow being, ye are only in the service of your God." I have received more joy and happiness while serving than in any other activities spent here. There is something magical about serving and helping other people. It may be always hard to do at first, but once in the act of doing it I cannot stop. Your heart will push you and at first you won't notice it, but when you do notice your life changes and continues to change in ways you never thought or imagined. Your perspective about life will change, your outlook on life will change and you will become more open-minded about life. A good friend of mine here told me one night as we talked,"If we change our thinking we can change our heart and if we can change our heart we can change ourselves and those around us and if we can change those around us we can change the world." To say I have completely learned this principle would be a lie, but to say I have tried to emulate my life after it everyday the best way I can is more accurate. I am still learning this principle and will continue to learn it my whole life. The beauty of knowledge and personal development is no matter how much we know or how great we think we are there is always more to be learned and we can always become better. I hope anyone and everyone who has read my blogs has sincerely taken to heart the words I have written and lessons I have learned. Whatever place you were in whether it was grief and you needed comfort or happiness and you wanted to read a few kind words of continual encouragement I hope I have touched, inspired, motivated and in some way changed your life. If I have done neither of these things then I hope the words I have written have in some way affected you positively. The wonderful experiences and memories I have had here will always be in my heart forever. This time in my life is a small beneficial chapter in an enormous book full of innumerable many more to come. Just because I have had this amazing time to grow and mature does not mean I am done becoming who I want to be; I have only begun. I hope each one of us can strive to continue to be better in every aspect of our lives, so one day we can all change the world for the better and those living in it. I hope all of you have enjoyed following me on this small wonderful journey I have just begun in my life; I hope each one of you can continue to follow me in the great journey ahead. I love these people and will miss them with all of my heart! I love each one of you and miss you all as well! Thank you for those who have taken time to read what I have written. It means a lot to me. God bless and take care!

Talking the Talk & Walking the Walk

I have been a little slothful these past few weeks and I have noticed it all the way deep down to my core. I have noticed it in my daily activities and with my schedule and other people around me have noticed my slothfulness as well. For awhile I kept on doing the monotonous routine of sleeping in late, being late to my scheduled responsibilities and staying in what I call my "Fortress of Solitude" or what some people call "The Cave" a.k.a. my room. I hate to admit all of this, but it has been unfortunately true. I have though, during all of this time, kept my spiritual morale up by reading great and inspirational words from Sterling W. Sill, C.S. Lewis and The Book of Mormon. I would not say my time has been completely slothful, but majority of it has been because I have not been completely obedient to my responsibilities. During this time I have noticed myself not only being isolated from others, but also not as happy as when I am around the happiness of others, and to me it is this very one thing which has hurt me the most during this time. In this great and wonderful journey, which we call life, we all make mistakes, but the greatest part of living this wonderful journey is being able to learn from our mistakes, discouragements, sorrows, griefs and hurtful pains. There is a wonderful quote I read while I was in my parents' apartment in New York from a little quote book they had sitting on a glass table in their living room which said: "Success is not defined by our position in life, but by the obstacles we overcome." We all face obstacles in our life, great times of adversity, pain, discouragement and sorrow, but if we never learn from these times in our life becoming better from them, then what good is it? We can always start over clean and it is never too late. Since being in this state of slothfulness I was recently able to talk with my mom. My mom always has a way of wording encouragement to really get to you in the most positive and constructive way possible without hurting you or making you feel bad, which is a trait I greatly admire in her out of her innumerable many. She was concerned, so she called me and gave me some words of encouragement I really needed to hear. She had heard I had sunk into this slothful state from updates via Skype and email. She told me now that I have this last stretch of a month left I should commit harder than ever before to make it really worth my experience so I can leave knowing I made an impact. She said something to me which really stuck out: "Success breeds success." This reminded me of something I previously read in one Sterling W. Sill's books on Leadership. He said, "Success comes out of consistency. We must make up our minds about values and directions and then concentrate all of our efforts to one end." I had not been consistent in my efforts of being obedient to all of my responsibilities. Hearing the words from my mother, which sparked the words of Sterling Sill, made me realize I have every capability to be successful as anyone else, but if I fail in concentrating my efforts consistently, then I fail in succeeding to obtain success. Another thought triggered into my mind about what Sterling Sill wrote about success. He said, "Success is not made up of fractional devotion or minimum performance. Success does not come easily to one who is disabled by every little discouragement, nor does it come to one who has a large degree of personal irresponsibility." All of these things I was at fault for and it was because I had lacked in my personal responsibilities. I had been what my mom said in our conversation as "Talking the Talk", but not "Walking the Walk". The reasons for why I had slipped into this slothful state was because my mind was distracted on unimportant matters. Satan always has a cunning way to distract us from our course and lead us to abandonement if we do not realize it soon enough. I was lucky to have realized it fairly quickly, but I should have realized it far sooner. No matter where we are in life Satan will always tempt us to stray off the path of righteousness. It is up to us to fight with consistent effort so we are not lost from the path. Our eternal salvation depends on it and we cannot lose. William James, a renowned philosopher and psychologist once said: "That which holds our attention determines our action." My attention was upon unimportant matters and as a result I sunk into slothfulness; I was enticed and gave in to Satan's cunning whispers and as a result I sunk into slothfulness. The reasons for why we all sink into any kind of slothfulness is because our mind wonders causing our attention to determine our actions in a hurtful way to ourselves and to God. God wants to bless us more than ever, but he cannot if we are not obedient in our responsibilities to ourselves and most importantly to Him. In the 82nd Section of the Doctrine and Covenants verse 10, the Lord says, "I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." Any of us can "Talk the Talk, but only a few of us can "Talk the Talk and Walk the Walk". I have learned it is not always going to be easy to follow the path of righteousness God has set up for us, but in the end it will be the path most worth taking because our eternal salvation depends on it. With anything in life causing us to work hard for something greater never comes instantaneously or with a snap of a finger, but slowly and gradually with consistent effort and concentration of our direction and values with maximum performance and devotion not being disabled by every little discouragement or falling into personal irresponsibility. Rome was not built in one day and neither was your personal success, spirituality, mental focus and anything in life worth fighting for. I hope each one of us can realize when we are slipping into slothfulness and be quick to catch it because if we do not we may lose our path to eternal salvation. I love my work here and I love the people! I love and miss you all! I pray for the safety for each one of you! God bless!

An Unforgettable Birthday!

Many days have passed since I have written last, but this is great because I have so much to share with you all. Yesterday, I celebrated my 20th birthday. It was exciting for me because this birthday was the first one I have celebrated outside of the U.S. It was a great day filled with great and exciting activities, remarkable food, and amazing company of friends I will never forget. I ended up going to Ideal Beach Resort in Mamallapuram with Greg and Rachel, Tal and his wife Annita, who we unexpectedly met up with not originally planning to see them, but since their romantic weekend took a different turn we were glad to have them be a part of the celebration as well, Charity and her friends Sarah and Dani also came with us. When we first arrived to the resort we decided to have my birthday lunch since everyone was pretty hungry. It was nice to be together with everyone and have great company for my birthday as we all ate great food and had time to talk and discuss with one another getting to know each other better. Everyone around the table had a turn to say a few things they liked about me, which I was not expecting, but it was great to hear what people had to say. I found it pretty interesting to hear the things said about me. I never notice things I do, but sometimes we do not think about everything going on in our life because time just goes by so fast, but other people always notice things we do. It was a great moment for me to hear great things said about me from people who I admire and look up to. After eating lunch, we all headed down to the beach to relax and ease away all the great food we had just eaten. I had time to talk with Tal for a little bit as everyone else did their own thing. Tal is such a great guy, he's so fun to talk to and he listens attentively to everyone, really focusing on what the other person has to say. I have had a great opportunity to spend time with him as we have played basketball together or just talked getting to know each other a little better. I have also had the privilege to speak on several occassions with his wife Annita, who as well is just as great as Tal is. She has an interesting background coming from Switzerland. In her college years she came to the U.S to study abroad ending up in Utah of all places. She was introduced to the church and when she went back to Switzerland she joined shortly after. She is also a great person to talk to always full of wonderful and interesting insights making conversations very fun and intellectual. Both of them are great people and I have really come to admire and look up to them during the time they have been here. Tal is similar to me in a few ways, but the main similiarity is we both love basketball. We sat by the beach and ended up discussing basketball for about two hours. We both could have gone on, but as we talked we kept eyeing the water eventually giving in to its enticing nature. There was no better feeling for me in that moment than to feel the relaxing cool-warm water around me as waves made their way toward me dragging me further and further into the vast sea world that could been seen ahead mile after mile endlessly; out in the horizon fishermen in their boats patiently rocked waiting for their salty smelling supply of fish; the breeze was steady and calm feeling just perfect. I could not have been any more relaxed or happier in that moment. I love the beach and all its entirety wherever I go. On the beaches in India, I am surrounded not only by tourists, which is expected because "the beach" is one of those top-tier tourist picked destinations anywhere around the world, but I am also surrounded with a different way of life and culture I do not see simply walking around other parts of southern India. All of these feelings, smells, tastes, sights and sounds I have written about added to my experience of allowing me to have had a perfect and unforgettable birthday I could not have had anywhere else. I am always amazed as to how simply happiness comes by surrounding oneself around nature created by God, which allows happiness in infinite ways greater than any other substitute created by man. We all enjoyed our time together relaxing, sharing the experience of the beautiful surroundings and the quietude of serenity. Later that night we all had dinner, which was, yet again another big feast full of parothas, naans, puris and all sorts of mouth-watering gravy sauces. We may have ordered a little too much, but that is ok because we brought back what we could not finish. The ride back to R.S.O. felt so relaxing after eating all that food. During that ride back, I had the chance to speak with Annita, who as I mentioned before is a great person full of wonderful and intellectual thoughts making conversation all the more fun and interesting. We spoke about how Rising Star came to be and the growth it has made in the years since its establishment; we spoke about the tragedy of my sister's death and how even though it was a tragedy innumerable miracles and blessings have come forth since then. It is not often enough I find someone to speak with who can share ideas not only socially, but intellectually. When I do have the chance to speak with someone who I can have a great conversation with I feel like I got something out of it instead of just talking to talk. I had an AMAZING birthday, one I will never forget simply because not only were the memories I had great, but the people I shared them with were even greater. Everyone at Rising Star seems to be doing phenomenally well! The children love each day as they go about their consistent day-to-day schedule, the office workers are always cheerful coming to work in the mornings, playing from time-to-time with the children in the afternoon, and leaving at night to go home to their families hungry so they can eat, the cooks are still cooking awesome food, which I eat and love and everyone else seems to be in good spirits everyday! One of the new things I have started every morning at six instead of running is the P90X workout program, which I have now been doing everyday for two weeks. It is an extreme workout program consisting of 90 days, so just about three months. Everyday you end up doing an hour to an hour and a half of a certain body group eventually working out your whole body by the end of the week consisting of six different workout routines then resting on the seventh day. It is quite intense, but I have made it a goal to do it everyday and so far it is all well. I am a little sore at times, but my body is getting into awesome shape, which I cannot complain about. I have continued to keep reading some pretty awesome and interesting books! Right now I am reading C.S. Lewis' The Weight Of Glory, still trying to finish Anthony Robbins' Unlimited Power and Sterling W. Sill's Leadership Vol. 1. All of these books give me a great start and close to my day, allowing me to think of awesome thoughts and ideas to enlighten myself for further knowledge. Time spent here is continually day in and day out amazing in every aspect. Spending my time usefully and carefully to the best of my ability allows me to slowly seek the knowledge I desire. I love being here; I love spending time with all of these wonderful children who teach me something new everyday and whom I love; I love being able to spend time with wonderful people who are deep down to the core great and I love being able to be a part of an awesome unique culture, which adds spice to the world around me. All of this has added to the experiences I have had while being here so far and I am truly grateful and humble to be a part of it all. I love what I do each day! I could not have a better responsibilty! I want you all to know each one of you is capable of being happy and finding happiness as I am and have found in my life now. Many people read what I write and tell me I am inspiring to others, but I do not write to inspire others; I write to share thoughts, feelings, memories, experiences and ideas I have had while being here as I have grown and matured into the person I have always wanted myself to become. If I do inspire others I hope it is for the right reasons. I write mainly because I have been inspired by other people while I have spent my time here, I have changed what I represent to myself, I have gained a happiness I want to share with others and most importantly I have sought out role models of the type of people I wanted to become like. Henry David Thoreau said, "Things do not change; we change." I have seen myself slowly change and I know I still have a ways to go, we all do. It is interesting for me to look back and see the progress I have made to get to where I am today; I am much smarter, more knowlegeable, more aware, less selfish, more happy, less prideful, more appreciative, more caring, more courteous and many other things I was not before. There was no special trick I learned, no magic charm I took, but there was one simple concept I learned: How To Serve. There is a quote by Albert Schweitzer I believe to be completely true about service. He said, "I don't know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know; the only ones among you who will be truly happy will be those who have sought and found how to serve." I believe this quote to be the ultimate reason of why I am happy today. Other factors sure, allowed me to change and receive happiness as well, but not in the same way or aspect as learning how to serve did. I took one day at a time, "moment to moment as to the Lord" as C.S. Lewis writes in his book The Weight Of Glory, which I am currently reading. He states, "Happy work is best done by the man who takes his long-term plans somewhat lightly and works from moment to moment "as to the Lord". It is only our daily bread that we are encouraged to ask for. The present is the only time in which any duty can be done or any grace received." When I read this quote I was a bit surprised to find it worded exactly as I had done. I did not right away start to change and instantaneously become this person I had envisioned; I had to take each day one step at a time slowly changing and correcting all the wrong I previously carried with me. I tell you all these things not because I claim to be right, but because I have found all of these things I did not know before to be true with happiness if taken to heart like I did. Do not block out happiness like I once did! Life down that road is only endlessly torturous! If I inspire anyone of you with the words I write, I hope you take from what I write and not a minute to delay initiate what you read and I promise you will find happiness such as I have found! At times it is easier to read and feel good about what we read, then to read and initiate actually following what we read. I hope each one of us can strive daily to finish what we started by setting goals taking each day at a time, and if we have not started, then to start now and not a minute later before it is too late. I miss and love each one of you! I want you all to know I am truly happy being here! I wish the best for you all in everything you do! God bless you all!

Living Life With More Love

These last few days for me have been quite exciting. A few new people have arrived here as others are on their way. So far we have had Richard and Linda Eyre come along with their son Tal and his recently new wife Annita and a couple of nurses, who are good friends of Amy. In a couple of days we will also be accompanied by one of the Eyre daughters as well as some of her friends from college. It really has been exciting talking to Linda Eyre, the mother of the Eyre family. She is such a sweet person and someone so easy to talk to. After meeting her and her family, she and I got to know each other better, but mostly just her getting to know more about me. I told her a little bit about my family and myself, and how I came to be a part of all this exciting work I love. I am really excited for their son Tal and his wife Annita to be here for three months. I see them excited to be here and not just excited to be here, but excited about wanting to help build and add on to what we have here at Rising Star. They come from an amazing family and I know I am just as excited as everyone else is to have them join our family here at Rising Star. We now have three amazing couples staying with us: Greg and Rachel Denning, Steele and Sarah Hendershots, and Tal and Annita Eyre. They are just awesome people! Life is really exciting here in India. The weather is still amazingly perfect; the kids are all screaming with laughter and joy at being loved and cared for; the days go by fast because time does not really exist here for me at Rising Star. Each day is so exciting, and each is filled with happy moments, complete bliss, and undescribable ecstasy; time appears to be dead, but dead only because every day is filled with excitement. Time is dead because it flies by as if it does not exist. I simply do not care about time because each second of every minute of every hour of every day I know is spent worth while. Life, for me right now, feels completely like one of the best dreams I will ever have; I do not want to wake up; I simply want to keep dreaming until my dream becomes reality. In some ways I feel my life is already slowly transforming into the sense of reality I desire. Yesterday was a pretty historical day for Rising Star because we had our first sacrament meeting as of my knowledge to ever take place on campus grounds. Sometimes driving two hours to church is not always fun, so having an alternative option was quite nice. The Eyres shared a few thoughts of possibly one day setting up a church service here. They stated we have all the elements here, so why not put them all together? If this were to happen one day we would have to run it in a very cautious manner, but anything is possible if enough will and determination is set forth. Both Ron and Joyce shared wonderful messages as well. Ron spoke about our guard John, and how he has had a vision to share The Book of Mormon all throughout his ministries. He spoke from the fifth chapter of Alma describing how John might one day be the miracle for millions of lives because of his example to spread the gospel. One day the church might be set up where we are growing all throughout India like a wildfire that cannot be put out. What an amazing example John is to all of us! These past few days I have also had the privilege and opportunity to speak with Greg Denning, one of the people here with his family long-term. What a great man he is! As I mentioned in my previous blog about how I am surrounded by great examples well, Greg is definitely one of the many great examples here to me. As we workout together, or share ideas, he always teaches me something new to think about that blows my mind away in a way I never thought of before. He recently let me borrow one of his books because he noticed my interest in reading. He asked if I would be open to read some new material, and of course I was open to it. So far I have been reading "You'll See It When You Believe It" by Wayne W. Dyer. What an awesome book! He shares great messages and personal experiences in order to help people transform their lives around in the right direction. Greg also has given me some great gospel books to read, so I can get a good portion of church reading. Right now I am reading a book called "Leadership" by Sterling Sill, which is also another amazing book! In one of the chapters entitled 'Crossing the Rubicon', Sterling Sill talks about how Caesar, back in the Roman Empire Era, has just come to the Rubicon River with his army. He has to make a decision whether or not to cross. If he crosses it would mean he would be testing the law of the Empire, but if he does not well, then life would continue to go as it always had. Finally, Caesar looks back to his army and says, "The die is cast!" With any decision in our life, we should always weigh the outcomes. Sometimes we might not be so sure while other times we are, but if we come to the conclusion in our minds of not be completely sure, then the answer is already made up for you. In the book, Sill mentions the greatest sermon ever spoken consisted of just three words. Jesus said, "Come follow me." One of the most important decisions we ever have to make is, what are we going to do about it? Will we follow him? Sometimes we do not think about what we have made up for ourselves prior to the question. The important part is not the question, but making up our mind in order to answer. Sometimes we say yes, but when the winds of opposition blow, what about then? We should always stand firm under the pressures of life. Too many times I have made a decision feeling good about it being too confident, and when the winds of opposition blow, I abandon all my plans. It is easy to stagger and fall when your expectations are suddenly met with high responsibility, or when a challenging set of circumstances confronts us. In these times we should just push harder than ever before because success will always be the reward lurking around the corner waiting to be seized. Later on tonight we had a fireside where Linda and Richard Eyre shared with us some amazing thougths about life, their travles around the world, and other mind-blowing advice on how to live life better on a consistent basis. One of the many things spoken tonight by them hit me pretty hard in my mind. Richard Eyre said, "Sometimes truth comes knocking at our door, but we still ignore it by our inability to accept it for whatever reason. We end up living in a completely different reality, allowing our belief system to fog truth God wants us to accept." As I thought more about this statement, I came to know how true it was to me in my life in the past. I think back to my times of despair and adversity realizing how easily I ignored truth in ever aspect of my life. We often forget, or just may not think about enough, how important we truly are to the world around us. If people realized this concept of importance, believed in themselves, valued their abilities as great instead of good, or just mediocre, we could come up with great ideas helping to change and save millions of lives, but if we choose to ignore truth's knock, or become to prideful, blind and ignorant in our beliefs, truth will slip away as easily as it came. Another important principle we shared was the principle of going about our lives with more love. In the Eyre family, this theme has become their family mission statement. They turn to this principle when a family member is struggling in whatever aspect of their life, or when a friend is struggling; no matter what all of them as a family experience, they choose to live their lives with more love, which I think is just absolutely awesome! I have seen incredible change in my life because of this principle I have been allowing into my life the past six months. Living your life with more love and happiness will completely change you in ways you never imagined before! I promise you this! You will act different; you will feel happier; life won't be this dreading, repetitious and agonizing torture as it once was for me. Without realizing it instantly, an imaginary weight will be lifted off your shoulders allowing you to be completely independent and free from the negativeness of others. Two words from such a simple concept can change a life entirely, but if unwilling and uneager to allow this concept to work, life will continue in the cycle it is thought up as. Willingness to change and positive thoughts of seeing the result in our minds will change us if sincerely desired. Saying and doing are completely two different things. I hope all of us can apply this wonderful and beautiful principle in our lives, and not just our lives, but telling others about it as well. I love this work with all of my heart; I love these people; I love and miss all of you hoping the words I write can mean as much to you as they do to me. I love you all! God bless each one of you!

A New Year, New Goals and A New Direction

It has been a little over a month since I have written. I want to apologize for all those who have kept up with my blog anxious to read my updates. I guess you can sort of say I went on a hiatus. I do not know why I stopped writing, but now I am back and I promise to you all I will keep writing even through whatever rut I am in. Whoever reads my blogs, or has read my blogs, I want to say thank you because you all have taken your time to read them. It really means a lot to me even though it may seem like something little. Recently, I was in the states celebrating Christmas and the New Year with my family and friends. I had the chance to spend part of it in Atlanta and the last part of it in New York. It was great to see family and friends I had not seen in such a long time. Christmas is one of my favorite holidays because it gives the world a spirit of doing good for a little time, which is sad, but also good. Meaning, it is sad to me the time has to last for such a small period of time, but good in the sense the spirit of it happens and people recognize it. Wouldn't it be nice if the world could recognize the spirit of good all the time? This is quite a wish. It is like wishing for world peace. It just will not happen until the Second Coming. New York was definitely different, but in a good way. It was sort of intimidating seeing this huge city with tons of buildings being closed in with such little space, but in a way it was kind of nice. I thought I wouldn't like the idea of walking everywhere I needed to go, but now having done it for the experience I can say it has grown on me fairly quickly. Despite the freezing temperature outside, something about walking to and from everywhere made me appreciate the world we live in a little better. It is nice being able to smell the fresh air every once in awhile, or having a closer look at our surroundings. Both Jolanta and I had a great time. We went to many mueseums, saw both Stomp and Blue Man Group, and had some good food; I think we enjoyed our first taste of New York. The apartment where my parents stay could not be in a better location. They live right in the middle of it all in Manhattan on the Upper West Side. Everything we need is right there and not too far away if needed to walk. The day of my departure from New York to India I was riding in my dad's company cab and had a chance to talk to my driver, who happened to also drive my mom after I was already in India. This story is one of those God-working-in-mysterious-ways kind of stories. Really interesting and sort of amazing. So, I had a chance to talk to him driving to and from the airport after dropping off my sister Jolanta, who was flying back to St. George for school. He asked me the usual conversation questions and I replied with the usual conversation answers, but the coolest part happened when he asked why I was going to India. I told him what my mom does and how she started Rising Star Outreach, why I decided to be involved, why I am there and how it has impacted my life in the few months I have already been there. He was just blown away by how remarkable it all was. I told him, "Well, it is to me, a living proof that God exists, and not only exists, but works to make his mysterious ways happen for the good and beneficial purposes for people that matter in this world." I also told him, "God never ceases to stop good things from happening; if this organization was corrupt it would have already fallen." He got more and more interested as our conversation kept moving forward, so I gave him the website address and told him all about how we fund money and help to keep it growing. He told me his financial situation was low, but he was eager to help regardless. I was just amazed at his willingness to help when he has so little, yet he is still offering to give to people who have way more less than he does. I was blown way not just because what this man was willing to do, but also because somehow what and how I was telling him seemed to influence him beyond reason to me; I could not understand how instantaneously he jumped for the cause. So, a few days pass and I get to India safely. Phew! I stayed with the Mitchell family for a few days before returning to RSO because all the children had not gotten back from the holidays. One of those days I checked my email and saw I had received an email from my mom. I opened it and about halfway through it I started to tear up. I just could not believe it. Out of millions of cab drivers in New York City how was it possible she got the same one I had? She got in and the driver told my mom he was honored to be driving her. My mom was completely stunned because she was clueless as to why he was so impressed with her. They started to talk and as the conversation progressed he mentioned he had driven me a couple of days ago. He told my mom what I had told him, and he said to her, "I have decided after talking to my wife I am going to send $35 a month to your organization." What a miracle! My mom of course replied in her enthusiastic reply, "That would be great!" It always amazes me how God works good people to help in whatever situation they are in. Whether people are rich or poor it does not matter to God because he does not care about position or wealth. He cares about good people with good hearts willing to give and help with what they have; when the day is over He looks at those people who have given smiling knowing we are happy just as much as He is. I just could not believe it. So, let me tell you all about what has been happening so far here in India and what I have been doing: I have been back now for about a little over a week; my mom is here with me doing one her lightning visits, which always lasts a few days; I have been chosen to be RSO's Athletic Director, which is by far the best job I could have been assigned here. I have to tell you all honestly life could not be any better at the moment. I thought coming back and transitioning would be tough because it would take forever to get me a real responsibility, but it took all of one day and now I am rolling quite smoothly. I have set up for myself a rigorous schedule to keep focused and disciplined to the max while I am here for my last five months. The schedule seems to be working, so I am going to keep following it. A new family arrived shortly after I returned with four of their children. This is the first family to stay in our new volunteer block, which was completed before I left in December. It is so nice! I am kind of anxious to move in, but I won't until after my mom leaves because she is staying on my side and I want to be spend and make the most out of the few days she is here. I love being here and I love what I do more than anything! I remember saying to myself when I landed in India after being home, "Wow! It feels good to be home!" I truly love it here. The kids are awesome and happy to be playing sports on a daily basis, and I am happy to be staying active and productive doing what I do best! I could not ask for more in my life right now. Now that the new year has come and passed, I hope we all have set goals to make this year to be totally better than the last. Writing down my resolutions was pretty tough for me because I have always been used to just "going with the flow" as some people call it. It is way easier to just go with the crowd and be a person like everyone else, but it means so much more to others when you are a living proof of something completely different standing out setting a better example for those struggling. Now do not get me wrong because I am not a perfect person by any means, and I am no person standing out, but hopefully in time I can be. I just thought to myself as I was writing down my resolutions that I can totally make the most out of this year if I truly put what I want into it. I hope we all made good resolutions for this year, and if you haven't don't worry because it is never too late. We can always make resolutions or goals to better live our lives. Do not ever think it is too late to improve yourself in any aspect of your life. I have been in both low and high places in my life; if I ever thought it was too late to improve then I do not think I would be trying as hard as I have been this year. It is never too late. I realized I only get to live one life, so why not make the most out of it by improving it each year. The things I write I tell you all not so I can preach or boast myself up, but to try to tell you all that anything is possible. If times are rough and life seems to be going against you well, you can either let it affect you in the worst way possible, or let it change you. I decided six months ago when I suddenly and unexpectedly came to India knowing I would spend a year living there that I could either dread each day of it walking through the motions, or make the most of it letting it change me. I decided six months I was going to let this experience in my life change me; I decided I was going to make the most out of each day; I decided I control my life and I let it affect me in whatever way I choose to; I decided no one else can choose for me how my life goes. All of these things you all are capable of doing as well. If I can turn my life around in a different way then who is to say you can't? Do not let yourself be deceived for one second because in one second your life can take a turn leading you down a road traveled by many people today, but a road I know you all do not want to be on. I have been there, and not only have I been there, but I have traveled pretty far down that road to know the things waiting for you are not as fun as the people on that road make it out to be. Let this year be a year of change for all of us in whatever aspects of our life we are struggling in. We do not have to change our life only because of certain extremes leading us spiraling downward; life can be changed for the better even if it seems perfect. I love, miss and think about you guys every day. I want you all to know I love being here and I love being a part of this amazing work. I love these people with all of my heart. It is like having a second family here being surrounded by such amazing people. Take care and best of luck to each one of you wherever you are and whatever situation you are all in. I love you all!

Humility

The past few days have very humbling for me. Thursday and Friday I had the opportunity to go out with the medical van and help our leprosy patients. I always enjoying going with the medical team because I always have the best experiences. Thursday was far more busier than Friday because of the size of the colony. I was there for such a long time, but it was all worth while. My task that day was to help wash the patients' feet. Washing their feet in itself is always humbling for me. Some of our patients cannot wash their feet due to the lack of hands. It really is such an amazing experience to participate it and I am always grateful to have the opportunity to do so. Thursday I was the only one washing, so at times it did get a little stressful. I will never forget my last patient of that day. He was the barber of the colony and a really nice man. He smiles at everyone and seems to be very grateful for our help and very optimistic about his life even in the circumstances he has had to go through. He has horrible wounds on both feet near and around his ankle area. I was pretty tired and ready to throw in the towel for the day, but I noticed this man needed washing, so I came over to him. I was not prepared for what I was about to see. He took off his bandages and laid them on the ground beside him. For a couple of minutes I sat there and just stared almost out of breath. He finally spoke in tamil saying he was ready; I somehow managed to snap out of my trance and began on washing his feet. The smell, the damage and the sight of maggots in his feet made the task at hand almost impossible. I could not help but wince myself each time he did as I slowly and carefully washed his feet. When I finished with his first foot he kissed his hand and tapped my forehead saying, "Thank you." I looked straight into his eyes with a smile and said, "You are very welcome." The five minutes I took washing his feet seemed a lot longer. I had never seen anyone affected as bad as this man was before, so I was totally shocked when his bandages slowly came off. After we cleaned up and were ready to go, I sat in the car with a feeling I have never had. I was just speechless and dead silent the whole ride back to RSO. I do not know what it was; I cannot put into words to describe how I felt. The rest of the day I remained in my dead silent state. Friday was not as gruesome as Thursday. The colony we went to was a lot smaller and took half the time. I was prepared to expect anything this time, but unfortunately my feet washing abilities were not needed. I was disappointed because I was looking forward to having another experience similar to the one I had with the barber, but no worries I was put to good use using my friendly nature to speak with the colonists helping them feel comfortable and loved. Today was Children's Day all over India, so we had a lot of fun with our children as they had a chance to participate in various games. At one point we had to stop due to rain, but thankfully for the kids the rain passed by fairly quickly and Children's Day was able to finish. It was great to have the rain again after a few days of somewhat hot weather. It would continue to rain throughout the rest of the day. Tonight I had the chance to go to Uthiramerur with Vikram, one of our office workers. Vikram is a very interesting guy. He is always happy and has a good sense of humor. He is getting ready for marriage, so before dinner he had me go with him to help pick out some wedding pictures he would present to his future wife's family. I think he appreciated my opinion, but I just hope the family of his future wife likes them. If he does not get married he can always blame me for selecting bad pictures. At dinner he asked me some pretty interesting questions. The topic was on love and what love meant to me. I was sort of shocked with his questions and I had not been planning on being asked about love. I gave him my most sincere and honest definition and of what it meant to me. I used great examples so he could understand what I was talking about. His response threw me off a little as he tried in his best way to tell me that I had been sent from God to help him and that it was God who sent me to answer his question, which he had been meaning to answer for several years. He had asked all of his family, people he worked with at RSO, and many RSO volunteers, but somehow the answer to his question still remained unanswered. He told me I was his angel and that finally after several years his question had been answered. I told him he was very welcome and if he ever had any other questions he should not hesitate to ask me because I would be more than glad to assist him in whatever way possible. I do not know what to say. I am very grateful and so appreciative of someone to look at me in that regard. I have never been told before I am somebody's angel, or that I have sent by God to answer someone's question. I do not feel worthy enough to be looked upon in that sense, but I guess we truly are sent by God to help people only He knows we can help. I was very flattered and blown away, but I felt more good in the sense his questions have now been answered and I now know Vikram is happy, which is what makes me happy. It feels good to know someone can look at you in the highest respect. It really was an honor and an amazing privilege. I will never forget my experiences in the past few days. It seems no matter what I do, or where I go God is always watching out for me. I cannot deny it because I keep seeing it repeatedly. I love the work I am doing and I love the people here. I love and miss you guys! You are all in my thoughts and prayers! I hope all of you are doing well!

Importance of Mothers

With my new alarm clock that my mom gave to me as her departing gift I was able to wake up on time to be ready for the day. With this alarm clock I cannot simply sleep right through it because it has many stages of sounds progressing louder and louder after a few seconds of each sound. It starts off with a simple buzz, then it gets a little bit louder, and the final buzz is so loud it not only wakes me up, but poor Matthew who sleeps next door to me is probably also awake as well, so I guess if I cannot escape sleeping in late neither can he. After I was up and showered, Lucy had me go to Chengalpattu with her to break open the RSO cash box, which had quite a bit of money and a myriad of other important things. I was wondering why we had to go break open the cash box, so I asked Lucy; she told me she had lost the key in Sri Lanka over the break. I guess that explains why we had to break open the box. While Lucy and I were waiting for our driver she noticed a shop across the street which repairs broken shoes and sandals. She needed her sandals repaired, so we walked over there and asked the women and man working there if she could have her sandals repaired, which was only fifty rupees, so a little over a dollar. It was pretty cool how they repaired Lucy's sandals. The soles of the sandals were thinning out, so they put another layer of rubber underneath them and sowed them on adding half an inch to what was already there. They took her sandals, layed them down on the piece of rubber they had, traced an outline of the sandals, carved out the outline, and then they sowed the rubber outline onto the soles of her sandals. It was such a cool process to watch. Lucy and I laughed with amazement about how if you were going to work and your shoes broke on the way you could just simply stop by a shoe repair shop and in twenty minutes have your shoes repaired. No sense in purchasing new shoes if you can repair the ones you got right? Now I know where to go to salvage my shoes if possible. I always love it when Veil is our driver because he loves to blare his Tamil music making it almost impossible to talk to anyone. I had a chance to talk with Lucy more, who I do not get to talk to as much, but since we were the only ones in the car it was nice to talk with her as she asked me questions about my life and family. Later in the day I went out to the junction just outside of our village with Annie, Nicole, and Madi to get some ice cream, parotha for dinner, which I got for myself, and samosa's, which the girls got for themselves. I always love getting parotha as you all know from reading my blogs. It is by far my favorite food in India. On a more serious note, I know these past few entries I have mentioned my mom quite a bit, but it is because I have realized the importance of having a mother and a family while I have spent quite a time away from mine. After finishing Angela's Ashes, a poem from the book stood out to me, which I will quote. "A mother's love is a blessing no matter where you roam. Keep her while you have her; you'll miss her when she's gone." I read this last night after my mother left RSO and I thought about what it meant to me. Mothers are so important in our lives; they care deeply about us; they want us to succeed; they pray for us each night before going to bed; they support us in whatever we do; they encourage us when times are rough; they hurt inside when we hurt inside; everything we do affects them whether we realize it or not. There is no greater friend in this world to have than our mothers. My mother's love has been the greatest blessing in my life and I miss her every single time she is gone. I pray for her every night before I go to bed; I care deeply about her; I want nothing more than for her to be successful; I will always support her in everything she does even if I do not understand it right away; I always encourage her because I know she deserves the best; I hurt inside when she hurts inside; everything she does has an effect on my life and I always look to her as the perfect example of someone I want to become and marry one day. Mothers are the types of people who make us better, which are the kinds of people we should surround ourselves with. We should all have close relationships to our mothers because if we have a close relationship to our mothers then we can come to have a happy relationship with our future spouses. I know from looking at my two brothers who are married today that they have happy lives with their spouses because they have had a close relationship with my mother. They set a perfect example to me in all they do, and I hope one day I can have a happy family like they do. I hope all of us can realize the importance mothers have in our lives, and if we do not already have a great relationship with our mothers I strongly urge you all to do so. It is never too late to tell your mother you love her, to give her a hug, to tell her how grateful and appreciative you are of all she does for you; time is never too short, but rather too long wasted away in pointless affairs. We all have ten seconds now with modern technology to write an email, send a text, or dial a number on our blackberry's or iphone's and say three important words, which will change our relationship with one of the most important people in our lives. I love being in India! I love the work I am doing everyday and the people here! I love and miss you all! I want you all to know you are in my thoughts and prayers each night! Remember it is never too late to tell your mother you love her!

Reach For the Heavens

Right now in India it is monsoon season, so it rains constantly throughout the day and sometimes even the whole day, which is pretty depressing, but in a way also very beautiful. The rain brings out a different kind of beauty that lies hidden during the normal and miserable hot weather climate. After the rain, everything looks more lucious and colorful leaving everything in a breath-taking state. The rain is always important for India because this time of year the Indian people rely on the rain for a myriad of reasons ranging from personal use to agricultural. Well, having said that about India outside of RSO, let me take you to what life is like in India at RSO. It is a little muddy and difficult to get around, but we are still having the most fun as always and making the most of what is thrown at us. The last couple of days I have had a chance to tutor some of the many adorable kids we have here. It does get a little frustrating every time I tutor the younger ones because they are more shy than the older kids and their English is not all that well, so they have more work to do, but they are still smart and they just need a chance to be helped. The kids are getting ready for their exams, so we are helping prepare them to be 100% ready. I always love tutoring the kids because knowing I am helping them gain something so valuable makes me feel great. Tonight, I went out to Uthiramerur with Radhika, my mom, some of our office staff, and I for dinner. Parotha always hits the spot for me. It was so great having my mom with me because she always knows how to make a crowd smile and laugh. I am sort of bummed to know she is only here till Tuesday, but I am so grateful she is here and I would rather have her with me for the time she is here than to not be with her at all. I feel like I do not thank her enough for how great she is and for how much she has done for me. I am so blessed and privileged to have her in my life and I am so honored to say to people she is my mother. She is one of the most inspiring people I know and it is because of her I push myself to become great because being good is not good enough. She is my biggest role-model and the greatest mother a son could ever have and ask for! I am so grateful for having such an amazing family and wonderful parents who have given me so many amazing opportunities! God really has blessed me and it is so evident. Everyday I think about you guys back home. I love and miss each one you! I love the work and the people here! I have a soft spot in my heart for India and I always will. Make the most of every opportunity that comes along your way and never sell yourself short because you have more potential than you think. We are capable of so much more than we give ourselves credit for. God did not create us to fail; he created us to succeed making us capable of having the world in our hands if we believe it. I hope we can all keep sight of the road in front of us always moving our feet forward never moving backward. I love you all!

Finally Back!

So I am finally back in India with all my Indian friends and the adorable children. I have to say though my break in the states was quite amazing. I was able to have the opportunity and privilege to accompany Padma, Amy, and my mom as we traveled around the country speaking at different universities and other various places about India and all the work they do to make RSO what it is today and what it will become in the future. During all of this, at each place I went to, I had the opportunity to meet some phenomenal people, so I was blessed and very fortunate to come along. It really was a treat to see my mom doing what she does best with the help of God making miracles happen: soliciting about India in a positive way of course. It would be rude of me to say she was seeking for her own, but we all know that is not the case, but rather she does it with love and that is why RSO is so successful. Coming back I almost forgot how long the plane ride was, but I surely survived. Twelve hours to dubai plus another four hours to India making it sixteen, but with all the waits it is really about twenty, so almost a day. For the first few days I have to admit it felt strange, but after another few days of living the typical routine I was so comfortable with for two months, it all came back to me. The kids are just as adorable as I remembered them to be with the constant crave of love and attention and smiles that rip your heart from your chest. It feels good to be back home in that sense; India, my safe haven of love, excitement, and experience. Today, Ron and Joyce finally made it back! I am so excited they are here because having them around is like having the best second parents anyone could possibly ask for. They truly are one of the world's greatest people alive! So a lady named Macarthur came by from Chennai for one night. She does business here with a designing company and she knew of Rising Star through my sister Dianna when she was living in D.C. for a little while. She is pretty cool and I had the chance to talk to her for a little while before it got too late. I felt bad I was keeping her up, but eventually she had to go because of her jet lag. I know that feeling! We all went out to dinner in Chengalpat, which was very nice because it felt great to have a full stomach in India again. The funny part about dinner was Macarthur telling us she had a brilliant idea and we all had to say yes to this idea. We all ask what this idea was and she says, "I am going to pay for everyone's dinner because I have a job." Some of us smiled and agreed, but I could not let her pay, so I said I will pay, but she insisted and so I let her do it. I said, "We kind of have jobs!" All in all it was a great night and I am just so glad to be back! I am also glad Ron and Joyce are back because they really make things so much more comfortable here. They bring with them an amazing spirit of love and joy making the work we do more enjoyable! I love India, the work I am doing, the people here, the culture, and everything about India! Everyday I thank God for allowing me to have this opportunity to mature and to experience life in another culture with such an amazing people. Being here has been one of the best blessings in my life and I am so grateful! I really have learned happiness comes from serving others and freely giving love to those in need. I hope all of us, wherever we are in the world, can give service to those in need of it. We do not have to give a lot because even if we have nothing we can give love, which is something all of us posses. Everyone has something to give to others and we truly are blessed immensely from doing so. Mahatma Gandhi, one of the greatest people to have ever lived said, "You must be the change you wish to see in the world." There is nothing further from the truth than this statement. All of us talk about wanting different things to happen in the world, but saying and doing are two different things, and if we want change we have to be willing to make it happen. Look at my mom and all she has done for India because of her influence and want in change. She wanted change and she slowly became the change she wanted, and today millions of lives have been changed and some are still slowly changing for the better because of her Mother Teresa and Gandhi alike attributes to care for the world we live in. We all can be a positive change in the world, but it definitely does not happen overnight. It takes time like anything else needing to be changed. I leave these things with you not to preach to you, but to give you examples of great people who envisioned change, and like them, we too can change the world we live in for the better. We may be one person in a crowd of millions, but I bet the only ones to actually be brave enough to change the world we live in being the world to those millions of lives. I love and miss you guys! I think about you guys everyday and it is because of you all I am able to do what I do here! Each and every single one of you is in my prayers! I love this work and I love these people with all of my heart! Remember you can be the change you wish to see in the world!

Defining Who I Am & Who I Want To Become

Today was an Indian holiday, so we had no office staff or any drivers. It was a very relaxing day, but we all still managed to have fun. I woke up for our morning meeting, which went well, but in the mornings I do not seem to remember much of what goes on in those meetings, which is ok because they are not really all that important. We just go over basic announcements like where people need to be and such and what goes on during the day. It was a short meeting because we all realized it was a holiday, so we spent our time cleaning things which needed cleaning and making up projects to do. I had it pretty simple because I just worked on my art stuff all day. For lunch we had Ron drive us to the junction just right outside of our village where we all caught a bus to Uthiramerur for parotha. Parotha is always an excitement for me, so I always try to go when I have the chance. One of the great pleasures I have had while being out here is time to myself. I get thinking about life and where I see myself in the future. I have had time to really get to know myself better and appreciate certain aspects of my life I had not before, or not as much as I previously had. Happiness flows within me more frequently and I think part of it is due to having time by myself, but also having that time in an atmosphere where I can succeed to my full potential. The upcoming years are going to be the most pivotal years of my life. School, hopefully marriage, but not too soon, and finding a career that suits me comfortably in something I am passionate about. I am so anxious for these next few years to unfold. I wish I could fast forward time to be in them right now. I really have had better insights to my future and where I want to be in life. Some of those things I listed above are achievements I hope to one day make, and it feels great having some direction in my life being able to focus on important goals I know will one day make me happy. I do not know if time by myself anywhere would have made me realize what I realize now, but I am truly grateful to have had these insights. Life in India has truly brought out a different perspective in my eyes of the person I want to become, but do not fool yourself to think it is just simply living here in India which has made me see this; living here has played a small role in my experiences, but it is far more amazing in what I have accomplished and done so far. The work I am doing day in and day out, the people I have an honor to meet and speak with ranging from volunteers who come to people in the colonies, the opportunities I have where I would not have anywhere else, and time to myself to think about my life, my goals, the person I want to become, and what I want to achieve make up all the wonderful reasons of why living in India has so far changed my life. It is not so much of what I seek to become or what I want to do in the future that makes my life different, but who I have become and who I am slowly becoming. I do not want to fool anyone in believing what I have written, for it is different reading words then actually seeing something in real life. I hope to one day show you all my success, share my motivation in life, which has gotten me through my toughest times, be an example to you all and others, share my inspiration with you all, which I have acquired throughout my life and various events I have had the privilege to participate in, and most importantly to use all I have acquired in changing other people's lives for the better not just mine. There is a quote, which I think defines life perfectly. This same quote shadows over my blog with its intent to grasp readers delineating its theme."Life's splendor forever lies in wait about each one of us in all its fullness, but veiled from view, deep down, invisible, far off. It is there, though, not hostile, not reluctant, not deaf. If you summon it by the right word, by its right name, it will come." Life, which is essential to all of us, can be reached to a degree we want if we seek it out. Sometimes what we want in life does not always turn out to be, or what we expected it to be, but somewhere it waits for each person patiently. Life happens everyday. Life changes fast. Life changes in the instant. How we want our life to be and what we want in our life is only up to us and no one else, which is why I love this quote. I hope my thoughts I have shared can give you all a better meaning of who I am becoming. I love the work I am doing and I love these people with all my heart. I love you and miss you all! I hope each one of can strive to become better like I hope to. Never lose sight at where you are going and always keep your feet moving in the right direction.

Life In India

Well, honestly I am pretty anxious to be writing another blog. It has been about four days since I have last written and letting you all know how I am doing has been on my mind these past few days. Today was a pretty fun day; the Marriott associates came over to the campus to see all the kids; Radhika had her UKG kids, which is kindergarten in India, and the eight standard girls perform their dance pieces, which were fantastic; we all had a great lunch provided by the Marriott associates, and then a few volunteers including myself took a trip to end our day in Mamallapuram. It was so cute to see our little UKG kids dressed up in their cute little outfits Radhika purchased as they danced for everyone. I wish you all could have seen it because it was beyond adorable. Our eighth standard girls performed a piece from a movie and they too were phenomenal. Mamallapuram was fun as always; Brett and I stuck together as he and I went looking for skirts for his business, which is a pretty interesting idea. Later in the day we met up with Nikesh and it was great seeing him again. I am just going to share a litle background with you guys about Brett Caywood and Nikesh because most of you do not know who these people are. I met them last year when I came out and we became pretty good friends through my idea of the bomb-dot-com-sandwich. It all started with my amazing sandwich making skills, which really is not all that amazing because it is too simple of as task to do, but since everyone was lazy in making food last year I got the credit for making sandwiches. Brett recently finished business school in Arizona and has decided to do some business in India, or with India. His idea is to have people here make indian skirts, which he can sell back in the states, so today we spent a good amount of time looking at different patterns and such for his business, which was not all that bad because every once in awhile we would ask some cute girls traveling on their opinions and advice. I mean we had to have some fun while we were doing something so feminine. Nikesh, one of our volunteers last year as well, is an awesome guy! He lives in Chennai and is my priesthood teacher, which is great because there is no one better for the job. This past week has not been super eventful, but I did get a chance to go out one day to a colony I had not been to since last year, so I was pretty excited seeing how much the colony has changed. I believe the name of this colony is Vilayajabad, but my spelling is probably not accurate. I helped build two goat sheds for them last year, which was a very tiresome and bloody task due to working without gloves. Ron Gunnell has come out for a few days, so having him here is great because he is also a phenomenal person! I had the privilege to speak with him going back to the campus after riding into the city to pick him up from the Marriott. I love talking to people as you all may know, but something I love doing even more is having opportunities to speak with very influential people; Ron is one of them. It has been great being out here because I have met so many successful and influential people. I met one lady by the name of Tony Swarson, who is an author of several books. She had a crazy life growing up and talking to her I learned a lot. Her words, how she expressed herself, and how appreciative she is having gone through what she went through was phenomenal to listen to. I could have listened to her for hours. I plan to look her up in Barnes and Noble when I get the chance and read some of her books. I would list all of the amazing people I have met here, but it would take up too much time, so I thought I would share only those who I thought had a bigger impact on me than others. It truly has been an amazing privilege coming here. I find myself saying it constantly, but I would not say it in my blogs, or to other people if I did not think it was true. A few other cool things I could mention are I am learning Tamil and I kid you not, but I am actually picking up on it very quickly. Thanni, one of our accountants for RSO, helps me everyday for half an hour. I also have a book I look at before I go to bed, which helps with memorizing phrases and new words. It's tough, but the staff is surprised at how much I have learned and how much I try to speak with them. I figured if I was going to be here for a year why not learn the language as best as I can? Learning Tamil is probably my coolest news. My other news is I have gotten another haircut and I have shaved for the first time in 2 months. I was completely shocked when I looked into the mirror because I have not seen myself the way I am in so long. I had to clip some of my facial hair with scissors because parts of my hair had grown out so long. I wish I had taken a picture so show you guys what I looked like. It was great because I have never had an audience watching me as I shaved before, so this was something new and quite hysterical. Some children would stand in awe, others would laugh, and a couple kids would take the scissors and start cutting each others hair. Who knew shaving was so interesting? I am glad the children had a good time though. I will end sharing with you all some thoughts I have conjured while being here. I guess one of the most important lessons I have learned here is how to spend time wisely. I know sometimes time flies by so fast we do not even notice how we are spending it, but the times we do notice are times we should really grasp ahold of our attention and divert our thoughts from wanting to spend it unwisely and rather aim to spend it in ways most beneficial to us. I heard someone once say, "When we are doing things in the right place at the right time we have less of a chance of getting into trouble.." I have found this to be a true statement. When we are constantly moving with full momentum and using our time wisely it is harder to get ourselves caught up in situations we should not be in. It is better this way and I have found it to truly work. I hope we can all spend our time wisely and hopefully this way we will not be distracted by the worldly life, but rather seeking out our spiritual gain and realizing our value of who we really are in life. I truly believe and testify to you all when we are in the service of our fellow man we are truly in the service of our God. King Benjamin could not have said better words. I love the work I am doing and I love these people with all of my heart! I love and miss you all so much! I hope you all are doing well!

Two Months!

What’s the biggest challenge you’re having to face over there? What will be the biggest opportunity you get to pursue? These are just a couple of questions my brother Scott asked me in a recent email. Honestly the biggest challenge here is just waking up everyday knowing I am in store for something new, and asking myself how I am going to focus my day right so I can make myself useful as well as the day ahead of me. It is always hard waking up and starting my day, but once I get moving I find myself not wanting to stop. I have been unable to write for a few days due to internet problems here. Our internet has been down and today it has just started working, so I, in my spare time, have been letting everyone know I am still alive and doing well. I do not know if there is only one answer to "what is the biggest challenge I am having to face" because it changes daily, but if I were to pick one right now I would say the experience I had with Arumagam. Arumagam taught me a lot about myself I did not know. What made it a big challenge for me was for the first time in my life I had to search within myself feelings I never knew existed. I had to forget what I saw in my mind, and look at what I truly saw in my heart. The experience I had with Arumagam may be the greatest experience I will ever have here, but I know everyday I am faced with a new challenge, a new task teaching me to humble myself, or physically push myself; everyday new obstacles are set in front of me. It is hard to answer that question knowing many more are yet to come my way, but I am preparing myself each day for those yet to come through obstacles I somehow tackle. I learn something new through each obstacle I encounter. The biggest opportunity I have gotten to pursue is probably coming to India. These two months have been extremely wonderful. I have learned so much and I am still learning. I thought being here for a whole year was going to be so long, but honestly time has flown by with what I have been doing. I truly am in the service of my God serving these wonderful people. Just like King Benjamin said, "When you are in the service of your fellow beings you are in the service of your God." I feel the Lord's blessings daily and I know he is comforting me when I need comfort, watching over me when I need protection, and guiding me safely to where I need to be at the right place at the right time. He allows me to help those only I was chosen to help. Just like being on a mission we serve and help the people we are destined to help that no one else can. I am truly proud of all the sacrifice my family has made to get me where I am today. It is through them I find my motivation to succeed and determination to persevere. I could not have better examples in my life of people I someday would love to become. Each person in my family has become extremely successful and it is because each one of them has kept their eyes on the path God wants them to be on. God has blessed our family immensely; miracles have occurred to keep our family together; miracles have occurred to start new adventures in far away places; miracles have occurred to bless our family when other families were struggling. I have noticed it is always easier to do good when other people around us are doing good, but the minute we are by ourselves is what really defines who we are. What we do when no one is watching defines the true character within us. I have struggled with this concept my whole life, but slowly I am learning to be the best I know I can be. I love this work I am doing and I love these people with all of my heart! I miss and love each one of you! I anxiously look forward to hearing from you all!

Live Like You Believe

Life in India is getting more and more comfortable as each passes. I don't know, but for some reason it doesn't hit me I am actually in India until I look at my surroundings. Odd as it, but it feels like home here. Sometimes it gets hard because I think about being home, but at the end of the day I am glad God gave me this opportunity to be here and to serve these people. I have been extremely busy the past few days. I have been assigned many projects, which seem to occupy my time, so this is great. One project I have been assigned to do allows me to do something I love. I get to paint a mural on the new volunteer block. I have been researching many ideas, so if yall have any ideas be sure to email me some. Another project I am working on is again art related. I am working with Lucy, one of our girl volunteers staying here throughout the year, to make new RSO t-shirts. The idea is to get all the kids to draw their self-portraits, so we can put them all together on a t-shirt, and on the back somewhere we will put the RSO logo and website. Lucy decided to start this project because she thought the other t-shirts we have are too depressing, so she wanted to make t-shirts to show RSO as being a happy place. I personally love the old t-shirts, but making new ones are always fun. So, with all these new projects I am constantly busy day in and day out. I am excited about contributing to RSO in a way allowing me to do something I love, which is my art. I also have sad news to tell. The old man with the broken hip has passed away. Knowing that he was probably not going to get a funeral service of some sort, Nicole and I went to show our respect for him. We bought a huge flower wreath and brought a picture of him glued to a blue construction paper to bring to the colony so the people there could have a little memorial of him. We wrote his name at the top, which I still don't remember, and the years he lived on each side of the paper. Nicole and I were hoping to have plenty of time to interact with the people there, but we came when they were painting, so we just spent a little time there. It's sad he had to go, but at least he is now in heaven and in a better place. Unfortunately, I do not have a lot of news to tell you guys other than the main ones I have written. These past few days I have not really had a chance to go out as much as I would like to, but this is just because I have now begun my projects. Everyday just gets better and better. I have really developed a strong sense of who I am, I feel as if I am maturing in a way I cannot describe, my perspectives are slowly changing as each day passes with the myriad of remarkable affairs I have the opportunity to participate in; my life could not be any better at this moment in time. God truly has blessed and watched over me. Numerous times I have felt His spirit touch my heart and I know His spirit lingers here. I want each one of you to know He lives and He loves each one of you. My path in life has always been a little rocky, but coming here it all has seemed to smoothe itself out a little. As each day continues to pass I hope I may continue to do well and have the strength I need. I leave these things with you not to be puffed up in the things I am doing, but to inspire and motivate each one of you. Each one of you is capable of more than anything I can imagine, but it is up to you to search within yourself to find out how. Live like you believe, do not worry about making miracles happen; you will be the miracle. I love these people and everything I am doing! I love and miss each one of you guys!

Days I Will Never Forget

I will begin by telling you all about yesterday and what a fun day that was. I did not write because I was too tired and exhausted from my day doing absolutely nothing requiring hard labor, but sometimes I have noticed myself getting tired just because. Weird right? Well, I went to the colony with the Bindu Art School again to visit my old friend with the broken hip. For some reason he was in low spirits and by the look of it when we came in did not want to be seen, cared for, touched, or even looked at. We brought him food, but he said he did not want to eat. We brought him water, but he did not want to drink. He said he was full from milk. I looked over to Paul and asked him to translate if he was happy, which he said he was, but all the emotion given off by him did not look like it. I asked Paul if I could bathe him, and at first the man said no, but after a few seconds he shook his head and said ok. Kristin, Nicole, and I all bathed him, and as we bathed him we sung a few hymns we knew hoping he would regain his happiness. I don't know why he seemed so melancholy. I asked myself several questions hoping I could come up with an answer, but nothing came. Was he lonely because he wasn't with his friends? No, his friends came and saw him when they had time. Was he humiliated or possibly embarassed? I think a part of him was whether we came or not, and the humiliation and embarassment he felt would probably be of one I could never fathom. He was more so the first few times we came, but after a while he seemed to let it go. Every question I could think of I had an answer to it, but these answers were probably not ones he would give, for mine were just from a few minutes of contemplation and hypothetical assumption. I finally thought about one question I did not want to know the answer to, for it was too depressing to think about. Had he lost hope thinking it better to give up? From the looks of him it seemed the question was rhetorical, but I did not want to believe it. Nicole looked to Kristin and then to me softly whispering, "Do you want to say a prayer for him?" I felt a little bit overwhelmed, but in what seemed to be one motion, I slowly bowed my head, closed my eyes, and put my hands together. Thoughts were moving at a thousand miles per hour; words were uttered I was not forcing to say. I felt as if I was learning to run before I knew how to walk. I prayed words of comfort, so he would not feel alone or abandoned, I prayed for strength, so he might be able to do certain tasks better, and most importantly I prayed words of hope, so he might feel happiness and joy in however long he has left. Words cannot describe how overwhelmed I felt praying to this man, but somehow I knew he would be happy. After staying there for what seemed like two minutes, we left to go back to the campus where I got to talk to Padma. She was there speaking with Ron and Joyce, but also glad Nicole and I went to visit this man, so she wanted to catch Nicole and I to appreciate what we had done. I did not know Padma tried to get people to come visit him to a point of offering a thousand rupees, which is about twenty dollars, to go visit. I thought Ron and Joyce one day felt it was great if Nicole and I went, so for me to be appreciated felt great, but I was more honored to have the opportunity to go. Padma told me out of any experience so far she has had in India it would be this one she would always remember. She gave me a hug and told me she was very proud of me. I have never felt more honored in my entire life than I did in that moment. It came time for Padma to leave and a few of us came along because we had to make a few errands in Chennai. It was great talking to Padma about her life and RSO's success and how she is excited about its future. It also was very cool to see her many awards inside of her home. Today was a very quiet day. We had three new volunteers come, which is nice because now we have more people to add to our group. I hope it is not so quiet anymore. One of them was Sharon Thompson, who apparently remembered me from when I was little, but I had no clue who she was, but we talked for a little while and she seemed really nice. Today I really just spent cleaning and organizing things around, so not a lot really happened. Dinner was Chappathi, which is one of my favorite meals here in India. It is this huge tortilla looking bread thing similar to parotha, but has more of a thicker consistency, and you wrap it up like a burrito with this chunky sauce with rice. Sorry my description is not too great, but it is the best I can do. It is one of those things you just have to be there for, so come to India and try it! I promise you will not regret it! Well this is what is happening out here in India! I hope all is well back home! I miss and love each one of you! I love the people here and I love what I am doing! Please try to be great in everything you do and count your blessings everyday because I know for a fact each one of you is blessed beyond what you may think! I love you all!

A Mark, A Brand, A Statement

I had a very calm and rather relaxing day as I had the opportunity to assist Nicole tutoring kids, go on a walk listening to my ipod pondering about life and opportunities I would love to have in the future, look out at the beauty of India admiring its serene feeling along with its picturesque views, and go out to eat parotha with everyone. Tutoring kids can be a handful as I have mentioned before, but today was not. I tutored Karthik, one my favorite kids, which is Mani's son, who is one of our drivers and in charge of our land. I know I am not supposed to have favorites, but Karthik, to me, is one kid I connect really well with. It is not his huge smile or how smart he is, for all the kids have adorable smiles and brains to cure cancer, but it is his example to all of the other children making him more special in my eyes than any other kid. Everytime I look I see him helping another child. Karthik always leads by example, but not in the self-righteous way thinking he is better than others, but in a positive way making others better. He does not use his age as a way of belittling other children, but as a helping tool showing others his maturity. Karthik, to me, is a perfect role-model for other children and I know through his example others will want to become just like him. I am proud to sit here and tell you about Karthik because his example to the children has significantly impacted my views of how I want to represent and carry myself throughout the future. "The children here can be a guide to you and each child has something to offer if you just let them in." These were words spoken by Amy Antonelli at a devotional one night here at RSO. Amy is an amazing women and someone I look up to immensely. Everytime she speaks at RSO I feel as if her words reverberate thousands of miles, and all of India hears what she pours out from her amazing heart. I figured this out slowly, but surely by letting the children teach me instead of always trying to teach them. It always amazes me how much children teach me. I never thought by looking at a child so much could be seen, but it is the same with anyone we admire or look up to. If we watch them closely there is always going to be something interesting. After tutoring, Nicole asked me if I wanted to come along and walk with her through the village. She said she always takes walks back at home listening to her ipod just pondering about life, and so, I came along. Walking through the village we greeted many people with Vanakkam, tamil for hello. It was great to see smiles as we walked through. It felt so serene listening to music as I walked looking out into the beauty of nature God created. In the horizon, clouds were swiftly moving together to form one huge ominous mass of violet-gray. Behind us, clouds remained in its clear blue state seen on a perfect day. I felt as if I was in a painting depicting armageddon. Earth itself was not ending, but the beautiful picture nature sometimes paints can be beyond beautiful; awe-inspiring is an understatement describing what I had seen. I always enjoy taking time for myself pondering on life's mysteries and how truly blessed we are to be living a life of great opportunity. For dinner all of us went to Uthiramerur for parotha! How great is it to eat a meal less than a dollar? I would have to say FANTASTIC! After dinner we all had ice cream, which in India is so good! I always get the choco bar, which is chocolate on the outside and vanilla laced with dark chocolate inside. I would have to say today was a great day! I saw more of India's beauty, learned to view people around me and myself in a different way and I noticed how blessed I truly am to be living life. Life, to me, is a privilege and opportunity not a right. How we decide to live it is up to us. Do we want to go about it just walking through the motions not getting anything out of it, or do we want to make a mark, a brand, and a statement to the world letting each person see the light all of us possess? I know I want to make a positive statement to the world leaving behind a legacy full of greatness becoming better when good is not good enough. I leave these thoughts with you, so you, like me, can ponder them and search for the answers you seek. I miss and love each one of you! I love these people and the work I am doing! Continue to do the best you can in all aspects of your life!

We All Can Do Great Things!

Well it's been about four days since I have last written and I am anxious to tell you guys about everything. Friday, which was the 28th, was a very interesting day. From the time I woke up to about 6 in the evening it was pretty calm, but when I had the chance to go to Uthiramerur again it got very interesting. Entering the small town of Uthiramerur eyes cannot help but look at a huge tower that stands high casting its eyes down upon the people. During the day this tower, which marks as an entrance to the temple behind it, stands shining in the sun, but during the night is when its true beauty can be seen. Standing tall as a pillar in the night its lights in each one of its crevises glows lighting a path to an ancient temple still used for people today. One of our teachers is a very devout Hindu. She wanted to come with us, but to go pray, and of course we tagged along because we were curious. Inside the temple were many locked cages of what looked like Hindu Gods. At each one our teacher would stop and pray. I just did the usual indian salute of respect by putting both hands together and bowing my head. I felt I could at least respect the Gods, but worshipping them was too much for me. The priests inside wore white skirts wrapped around them like towels and all of them had prints on their foreheads as respect to their Gods. It was a great experience to be inside an ancient Hindu temple and to be a witness among people as they worshipped. After the temple, I had parotha for dinner. Since I come to the diner often I am now known as a local and the cooks always greet me with a warm welcome. Saturday the 29th I had another chance to go visit the old man with a broken hip. I came with Radhika and Nicole to not only check up and take care of him, but this time hoping I could learn more about his earlier life and who he was as a person. I could not believe how hard his life was. He had been married, but his wife died trying to give birth a long time ago. He said he was fine and doing well after the loss, but it was his accident that changed his life forever. He was on a bus and had fallen off breaking his hip. I could not imagine the pain it would cause me breaking my hip and never fully recovering. The hospital he was in saw no hope for him and threw him out with nowhere to go. He obtained leprosy at some point in his life as well. All these moments in this poor man's life slowly ate away his hope. I made sure he would regain it. It was great seeing this man smiling, laughing, and living like he should have been. I hope I get another chance to visit him before I leave here. Sunday the 30th was Swathi's engagement, which I did not have the opportunity to go to because I was in bed all day feeling pretty awful. I knew my time would shortly come when I would get sick here, and I guess being here for a month already was long enough. The rest of the day nothing too exciting happened. Monday the 31st, which was yesterday, happened to be a rather cool day. It felt nice to have cool weather for a change. I am still preparing everything for my new project, so yet again I am left with nothing else to do, but during the kids' playtime I am helping them learn a different sport. Each day I spend thirty minutes with the kids teaching the basics of whatever sport I decide for that day. The kids are great and love to learn anything new! Today was also a cool day and I loved it! I wish India was like this everyday! I got the chance to teach another family home evening lessson, but this time it was on goals. I had three rows of dominoes laid out each one different than the other. One row was divided by a gap and could not connect to be a perfect line, another line had one dominoe jutting out making it again a not perfect line, and the last line was completely perfect. I told three different stories about kids who had goals. One kid wanted to do well on his science exam, but decided not to do his homework. I had a kid knock down a line of dominoes. The line still had a few left and I explained how we need to do all the small things in order to make our goals come true. The next story was about a girl wanting to become a dancer, but decided she did not want to practice. I had a kid knock down another line watching all but four dominoes fall down. I explained to them we still have to practice if we want to become great dancers. I explained to them the importance of doing the small things again. Finally, the last story told was about a boy who wanted to finish all his homework so he could play outside. He checked every subject twice to make sure it was all done. I had another kid knock down the final line watching every dominoe fall. I told them once you have obtained your goal you will feel better and want to continue to make new goals. I explained the importance of never giving up and even though we will get discouraged it is still better to keep pushing forward. Learning from our mistakes is where we truly become a better person. The kids loved the lesson and I felt great to give it. I think family home evening was a perfect way to end my day today. Eventhough my last few days have not been too eventful I want you all to know there can always be lessons taught as you go about your day. Sometimes I have noticed small things I do end up being some of the biggest things. Somedays we are too blind and cannot see opportunities crying out at us, but if we truly look I bet we could find a myriad of opportunities. My mother once said, "You do not have to be great to do something great, but if you have love anything great is possible." I did not fully understand what she was talking about when I first heard her say this, but now being in India I think I have come to understand what my mother was trying to teach me, and for that I am truly grateful. Mother Teresa quotes, "It is not how much we do, but how much love we put in the doing. It is not how much we give, but how much love we put in the giving." With love in anything we decide to accomplish the outcome will always be greater and more meaningful in our lives than simply doing them. I hope each one of you can share love to someone who is in dire need of it. Mother Teresa quotes,"There is a terrible hunger for love. We all experience that in our lives - the pain, the loneliness. We must have the courage to recognize it. The poor you may have right in your own family. Find them. Love them." We all know what it is like to hurt from not being loved and we know how badly we long for love in those times, so why not share love with people that truly need love and give them the feeling we at times desire. Open your eyes so you are not blinded from opportunity, open your minds so you may be mentally ready, and most importantly open your hearts so your love is not locked away, but ready to be given. I pray for each one of you back home and I miss every single of one you guys! A day does not go by where I do not think of you! I love what I am doing here and I love these people! This work here is truly amazing!

One Lesson Learned, Another Taught

The past two days have been so amazing and unbelievably touching! Yesterday I didn't have a lot to do. I was sort of getting tired and about ready to shutdown for the day until Joyce asked Nicole and I to go visit an old man who had been thrown out of the hospital with a broken hip. This man is 84 years old and all I knew was the hospital he was in did not want him there because the doctors thought it pointless to keep him alive. When I heard about his situation I was shocked! How could the hospital act so cruel to actually throw a man who was dying out into the street? My heart ached for him and I gladly went to help. He had been sent to the Bindu Art School, an art school for leprosy affected. I did not know, but this had been his home for quite awhile. Thoughts were rushing through my head not knowing what to expect, and all I could think about was this poor man who was in complete despair and misery. I shortly arrived with Nicole and our nurse. Nicole and I had brought food and water for him thinking he would be hungry, and he was. This man was laying down on a mat with his head comfortably placed on a rice bag. His whole body was completely emaciated. It was difficult looking at this man, but for some reason unknown it did not bother me. Paul, his art teacher at the school, told both Nicole and I he has no hope, and looking at him I noticed it. The nurse treated all of his wounds while Nicole and I helped out with as much medical knowledge we knew, which was close to none actually, but somehow it got the job done. After the nurse left, Nicole and I sat with him holding all that was left of his hands. Humming silently I prayed for this man to receive comfort and hope. For the longest time I sat there pondering to myself how lucky he really is. As each day passes, this man gets closer and closer to celestial glory. Paul came over to where I was sitting and we had a short conversation about how it would be better if this man died, so he could go to heaven instead of suffering in pain and agony. I told him if he is alive there is a reason God wants him alive. Maybe he needs to learn one more valuable lesson before going to see God, but whatever is holding him back from being in heaven I know is all through the Lord's plan. Nicole and I wondered what he was like in his youth as we sung silently the children's hymn "A Child's Prayer". Tears raced down my eyes as I sung, and the feeling of the Spirit was so powerful. I cannot describe in words how I felt, but the feeling was one of comfort and joy, and I knew this man would be ok. There is a line from "A Child's Prayer" I really like, and it seemed to suit this occasion. "Some say that heaven is far away, but I feel it close around me as I pray..." This line hit me powerfully as I sung because heaven for this man did not seem so far away, but actually within reach. I asked Nicole if she wanted to pray for this man, and as we began to fold our arms the man seemed to understand what we were doing, and slowly he did so as well. We prayed that he would find hope, comfort and joy in this time of suffering, and we told him God has a plan for him. Our time to leave slowly sneaked upon us, but I did not want to leave this man alone with no care. On the way back home, Veil, Nicole and I stopped for parotha in Uthiramerur to ease our emotional evening. The rest of the night I was in a state of peace, but not the kind of peace usually felt being at ease with yourself, for this kind of peace was one words cannot portray. I hope one day you all may be able to feel this feeling I struggle to express. Today I had the opportunity to go with the medical van and check up on the man. Walking into the school, Paul saw Nicole and I coming in, so he kindly came over to greet us. Paul was shocked we came again, and all the words he could utter were God bless you two! Nicole and I brought him breakfast, and again we sat with him for awhile. I asked Paul how this man was feeling, and Paul said, "Yesterday there was no hope, but today he is happy, he is laughing, and he has hope." God had answered my prayer, and in that moment I felt the same feeling come over me again. As Nicole and I sat there with him I noticed an awful stench coming off of him. Smells of urine and infection stung my nose. I asked Paul if we could bathe him, so he would not have to feel so ashamed and humiliated. At first, Paul looked at us like we were insane, but after awhile he got us a bucket of warm water and a bar of soap, and surely enough we began to bathe him. It was really sad because any small movements made would hurt him immensely, so we had to be extremely careful making sure we were fragile with every touch. Paul could not believe what we were doing, and every so often he came to tell us God was going to bless Nicole and I. To see him happy and laughing was amazing! He even sat upright as we fed him! I could not believe how much improvement he had made in one day! I do not know the next time I will see this man, but he has a special place in my heart and he will always be in my prayers. The rest of the day Nicole and I helped with the medical unit. We gave out different medicines as people one by one came up to our van. One man outside of this building, in the colony we were in, with the only English he knew told Nicole and I the same thing. He told us thank you for the medical services we had offered to the people, and God is always going to be watching over us. The gratitude of these people always amazes me! Small acts of kindness I see as nothing are huge to them, and because of these acts their lives will be completely altered. I held the hands of this man and told him God will always be with him. Today, again, was another remarkable day! Everyday is a remarkable day for me, but these past two days have completely altered my life. The experience from this man, the feelings I have felt and the overall joy I have attained while being here are incredible! I can never portray my feelings about what I feel here sometimes as well as I would like to, and for that I apologize, but hopefully the times I do explain my feelings well can give you all an idea of what it is like to be fully immersed in an amazing work! I never thought about life and certain things the way I have seen them here, so hopefully all of this will stay with me when I come home. I miss and love each one of you! You guys are always in my thoughts! I love this work and I love these people with all of my heart! Goodnight or nalla thoungunga, which is Tamil for goodnight and I love you all or naan unnai virumpukirén, which is I love you all in Tamil!