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!