April 28th- Church and Guatemala

Sunday morning we got up early and headed over to the church (which we found with some difficulty). When we walked into the chapel they were singing a hymn ,which I recognized, and I immediately had this overwhelming feeling of being at home. There were probably only twenty people in there (we discovered it was Priesthood/Relief Society meeting). The lesson given by the bishop was about faith. He talked about Noah, Lehi, Christ, and Joseph Smith, all living their lives and accomplishing what they did by faith. I feel that we are doing as they did, living our lives by faith. I have often felt like Lehi and his family in the Book of Mormon, leaving all of their belongings, going into the “wilderness” and being led to the “promised land.” There are many stories in the scriptures similar to that; this is our own version of it, we are being led to our own promised land, which is nothing more than the fulfillment of our dreams.

Sacrament was two hours long because it was ward conference. The kids lasted for part of it, but we spent a lot of time out in the “hall” (which was only and outdoor corridor between the chapel and the building with classrooms). Of course everyone wanted to hold Aaliyah, and take pictures of her and all the kids with their camera phones. I spoke with two elders from Mexico City who told me there were four wards that went to that building, and two stakes in the city of Juchitan!

It was really neat to visit with the people and interact with them. I continue to understand that as human beings we are all the same, we are all children of God and branches on the same tree of humanity. My love for others is really growing- I love the people of Mexico.

After Sacrament we visited with a tall, handsome Elder Wesley from Orem, whose family moved to Hawaii while he was gone (his father teaches at BYU Hawaii). He will be going home in about a month (to Hawaii), then going to school at Utah State on a basketball scholarship. He has been trying to decide what to major in, but was very intrigued by what Greg is able to do (work on the stock market via the internet, and be able to do it anywhere in the world.)

He asked for some advice and we told him if he wants to be a doctor, lawyer, etc. study to do that. If he wants to make money, study people who have made money and do what they did. So we gave him a few recommendations of books to start reading, like anything by Robert Kiyosaki, Robert Allen and Mark Victor Hansen. We also told him to read The Secret- a must. It was neat to be able to share with him some of the “secrets” that have helped us to become successful.

Something I am passionate about is sharing with others ideas that can expand their realities and improve their lives. We emphasized to Elder Wesley the power of reading- when you read great books about great people and great ideas, it changes who you are. And when you change and grow and improve, success comes to you, in all aspects of life. I love reading, and I know that it is the one single thing that has made the biggest impact on my life and taken me from where I was to where I am today; where it will take me in the future is beyond what I can presently imagine.

After church, we went back to the hotel to get Parker’s beloved Pooh blankey, which he left there, and then set off for the Guatemalan border!

Livin’ the Dream, Baby!

4/28/2007 : view on map : permalink : add a comment