It's Just a Short Moment.

Here is an awakening I had one late night.
(I think that the African kids get the idea across better.)

Since coming home I've been staying up late a lot. Part of all that staying up late, is going to Sonic to get some drinks, then drive around wondering what to do next.

My favorite place to drive around is my neighborhood. There are a good number of lookout points. One night a friend and I stopped at a favorite spot of ours to enjoy our drinks, the view, and the beautiful Utah summer nights.

That's when This awakening hit me. I'm Mormon so this scripture came to mind.
D&C 121:7
"My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity
and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment."
Here is how that works: Lets say you have to drive from Spanish Fork to Orem for a super hot date. Not a bad drive right? Well now lets say it's a super hot summer day, your AC isn't working, and you are stuck near the back of grid locked traffic with nothing good on the radio. Now that is a crap drive. That drive takes can feel more like a lame road trip through all of the ugliest roads in America. That is a situation that would send me off the walls.
(This is the cool part)

Now when you go to that look-out point that I like so much and look at the distance between the two cities, it really doesn't seem that far at all. And with all the city lights on, It is a really stunning spot to be.

So next time your not having a good time, remember, it will pass, and when you look back on what ever trouble, it won't seem as long as it felt like it was.

So can you think of how those kids relate to this awakening?
I am Storm of Peace
and I have spoken

We are all just people

The reason for my lack of posting is that I have been in Zambia Africa for the last two months.

I go to Zambia every summer because my step-mom is the founder for the NGO, Mothers Without Borders. At MWB their main mission is to help OVC (orphaned or vulnerable children). An amazing organization. Changing lives not only in Africa but here in America as well.

While in Zambia I've had some amazing awakenings. The one I would like to share now is that we are all people.

Every volunteer group I've been with have all at one point praised the Zambians for their kindness and beautiful spirits. I found that they are only half right.

Zambians are very and beautifully spirited people; when the mazungus (white people) are around. They are like that for the same reason you don't yell at your kids when company is over. Same reason you clean up before a dinner with friends. You want to leave a good impression, and be a good representative for your house and family. Zambians do the same thing for their country because -this may sound negative- they want your help and money. And it works. They show us how kind and loving they can be and we feel more inclined to help them out of the hell hole that is their life. I'm not saying that is a bad thing, its not. That has just become a survival mechanism for most Zambians. Now how sad is that.

Zambians are not out of the ordinary kind. They have secrets like us, they have passions like us, they laugh and cry, they all want a better life for them selves, just like us. Some of them really are kind to our fellow man, just like some Americans. Some have done truly evil things in their lives, like some Americans have.

We Americans have a reputation to be loud, lazy, and rich. That's not fair to say. We are not all loud, lazy, and rich. Some are, but not all. Just like not every Zambian is kind and beautifully spirited people. How can you be beautifully spirited when you get drunk with the money that should be feeding your family. How can you be kind when you rape a little girl or boy. Both happen much too often in Zambia and other third world countries.

I don't know about you but I see that as an even bigger reason to help them. I think that when we help them with that in our minds, we are serving them with true love, not pity.

So next time you have the opportunity to serve someone either in your own community, or out in the world, remember, they are people too. They don't need your pity, they need your love.

While playing soccer today, (more like a week ago) I noticed a few planes flying by over head. That's when I remembered how much I love being on those planes landing in SLC. Not because I love flying, but because I love that feeling of coming home. Home to the mountains, green grass, blue skies, OK blue when the air isn't so bad. It's such a heart warming feeling. It brings great joy and relief to my travel achy body. Then I thought "Why does it just gave to be for Utah? Why not feel that way when I land in Zambia? I feel like Lusaka is my home at times." So far i just feel relief because the flight is over and I can stand and walk again. I really hope I get that feeling this time even if my Zambian brother Chiloba won't be there. What will I do with out him? I have no idea. Most likely read a lot, watch movies with the fam, and hopefully write every day so that when I do get to use the world wide web, I can post lots for you rare readers.

On Tuesday the twelfth of May at six in the morning I am off on a jet plane. I will be home July Fifteenth.

Wish me luck!!

No day is a given

As the bell rings the students slowly mosey out of their seats and, like a herd of cattle, make their way to their next class. This has become the life of Parker Miner. Gray, lifeless, painfully boring, and a depressing excuse for a blessed life.

For almost two months now Parker has been frustrated because of his exhaustion. He is pissed because he can’t figure out why he is so excited. The school year is just about over. Just six more weeks to go till the freedom of summer break. This would be great amazing news to other teenagers, but this only makes Parker even more frustrated. Even after nine months of school Parker feels as though he accomplished nothing, and learned nothing. He has read more books in one school year than any year before, and wrote several short stories and papers, but still feels as incomplete as a plane without wings.

It’s not just affecting his school life, but his everyday life as well. All his favorite things in life that made him happy, no longer make him happy. His favorite foods all lost their popping, tangy, spicy taste. His favorite movies no longer wow his eyes. Even his girlfriend’s kiss is loosing its tingle.

After thinking long and hard about this situation, Parker decided that he needs to get out and do something with his life. He has been just been letting life drift by untouched. He made a goal to get up and take his old, active life back. He is going to go biking in no particular direction, and make his own hiking trails. When his dear friend Katelyn died of a freak accident, at the young age of six-teen, he learned then that no day is guaranteed. Tomorrow is not a given. He wants to keep that close to his heart, and live by it everyday. To make memories and take advantage of this time in his life where ever he may be. All Parker has to do now is figure out what is holding him back from his god given life, and send it away.

What happened to my little boy spring days?

What happened to the days where I would play in the mud and not worry about my clothes or shoes getting dirty? What happened to looking for the biggest puddle to jump in? I'm not complaining about my spring time now... I'm just wondering where those times went. Now all I really do is be cooped up inside doing homework, be inside watching Lost or a movie with my girlfriend, go on walks in the rain (also with Anna), and then there is my schools two team soccer league that I play Keeper in. Those are all fun.
I also find that mowing the lawn relaxes me greatly. So the other day I mowed my lawn (which is THE HARDEST lawn to mow), and then noticed that my neighbors lawn needed mowing. After doing a kind deed, (well, half a kind deed. I only finished half their lawn because it got far too dark) I saw what had happened to my favorite pair of shoes.
These were the most kick butt shoes ever. They were so white that they practically glowed. They fit almost perfectly (I have the same shoes in brown swayed that I've had for a long, long time. They fit perfectly.) But now they have green all over them. Now I could wash it off, if I knew how. But for now my flashy dance shoes are ruined. To try and redeem myself from sounding gay, I like to use these shoes for when I break dance, or go to dance parties. OK. I still sound gay. I blame the fact that I hang out with girls far far too much. So It rubs off on me a bit. Now i really wonder why I can't just not care about my clothing anymore. I mean come on, I don't even buy my own clothes yet! I should be able to do what ever with out worrying "wait, this could rip my pants" which has happened while dancing. So worth it. I'm a dude!! Come on! I need to get some guy friends.

So is anyone up for some Frisbee, soccer, or a really gnarly hike? Preferably a guy.