Two Cups of Tea

I recently read the book "Two Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson. It is an excellent book that speaks directly about the situation and lack of education in Pakistan and Afghanistan. I really enjoyed reading about his work and the progress his is making in that area. I would highly recommend it, I think that it helps everyone understand that one person can make a huge difference in the world.

Last night Greg Mortenson came to MU and spoke to the community here. It was a great talk about how education can change the way people are able to live and thus changing situations all over the world. It was very inspiring talk and I felt blessed to be there. Click here to learn more about his work. He also encourages children to start Pennies for Peace programs in their community so that they can make a difference while they are young. I would encourage you all to read it.

He shared a proverb:
If you educate a boy
You educate an individual

If you educate a girl
You educate a community

I sat there and listened to this man talk about educating girls and how hard the girls push for the opportunity to get to go to school. I can't imagine walking 3 hours one way to sit in the sun for hours to be taught. Of course I highly believe in education but I am not always as grateful for they opportunities that I have before me. I feel so incredibly blessed to live in a country that is free, have "free" education for everyone here, and get to chose to go to college if I want to.

The other thing that struck me hard was the things he talked about in working in the area and creating good connections are all things that I learned in the MTC. Number 1 - build relationships of trust, 2 - find common beliefs, 3 - take the truth you have in common and build upon it, 4 - serve the community and work with them to help themselves make a better life for themselves. As Kim and I were walking out we were talking about this and about how the gospel has the answer to every question - it is truly amazing and wonderful thing.