Organizations

Since last week I was able to email and receive emails from a couple of connections I've made and in so doing have accumulated a list of about fifty different international organizations that have locations in many of the countries I will be visiting and as far as I can tell as I have briefly visited various of the websites the majority of them do have volunteer opportunities in things ranging from construction to taking care of orphans. I, of course, will be happy to do whatever they need me to do for as long as I deem sufficient in each of the locations. My next step will be to contact some of these organizations personally, preferably by phone and find out which ones are okay with someone just showing up without an exact set time of arrival. I certainly have a lot of locations to contact, hopefully I can find at least one per country. If I cannot find organizations to work with specifically then I will at the very least find people I can help in some way, even if that means just talking to someone in need. Unfortunately I won't have the funds to just be giving people money or buying food for people, but I'll figure something out. I have also had another idea presented to me by one of my professors who has been involved in a lot of field research in the field of zoology. If I can, I will make some contacts with scientists that are working in those areas that may need a hand in the field and offer my services. Needless to say I have a lot to do and a lot of people to contact. Sadly though, the next two weeks are riddled with various tests on top of the extensive reading assignments and homework in my classes. This will make it difficult to accomplish much else. However, if I just keep in mind the message President Thomas S. Monson has given in the Jan. edition of the Ensign magazine when he spoke on the ABCs of living an abundant life. A stands for attitude. Having the right attitude with the given circumstances in which I find myself can make all the difference, "We can't direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.". I can't control my circumstances, but I certainly can control how I react to them. The greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our disposition and not our circumstances. B stands for believe. Thomas Fuller said, "He does not believe that does not live according to his belief." Live what you believe and you may find that you believe in yourself. People will try to bring you down as they have with me by saying, "You can't do this." or You're not good enough." or even "It's too dangerous, you shouldn't try." their intentions may be pure or they may stem from jealousy or some other source and it really doesn't matter. What matters is that you stand by what you believe, especially if that belief is in yourself. If you think you can, or think you can't, you're right. The C stands for courage. I know that if I can just have the courage, God will provide me with the strength. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires some of the same courage that a soldier needs. Peace has its victories, but it takes brave men and women to win them.". I have always defined courage not as being fearless, but rather by pressing forward even in the face of your greatest fears. Pres. Monson said, "Courage is required to make an initial thrust towards one's coveted goal, but even greater courage is called for when one stumbles and must make a second effort to achieve...Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says, 'I'll try again tomorrow'". This combination of ABCs is infallible for accomplishing anything, but most importantly for pushing through our everyday challenges and trials which can often seem more daunting than an apparently insurmountable mountain. With these always in mind we can pursue our dreams.

Donations

So, since last week, I have not taken the time to search out specific places to visit or things to do in the sequential countries, but I was able to get some new information in regards to fundraising and such. As it turns out there are laws regarding the raising of money for charities and the like. Aside from that, I have not been able to figure out any ways to guarantee the security of donations which could cause potential problems for some people. Not to mention I would prefer the money go specifically to the groups or locations/charities I find that are in most need of the funds. So, to save on confusion and hassle I will instead post during my trip ways that you can donate to the organizations with which I will be volunteering my time. This way you can choose which organizations or people you would like to help through your donations along the way and I will not have to be a middle man. This will not only ensure more security for your funds or other donations, but I will also be able to provide you with specific pictures and info of what the donations will be doing for the people I visit.

Mexico and Central America

I haven't fully decided whether I will just be leaving from here in Utah or from Nevada after working on the farm for a couple of weeks. There is also the possibility I might even begin my journey in Canada just to make it a full western hemisphere coverage minus the islands. I have however, made some plans as far as places to visit in Mexico and Central America. My mother has made a request that I visit the Sotano de las Golondrinas (Cave of Swallows) which is the deep cave that I'm sure most of you have seen or heard about on National Geographic that people base jump into. Now, I am no base jumper, but I am a very experienced mountain climber and rappeller and as I understand it, that is allowed though it may be the rainy season when I get there and my studies have shown that it has a lot of waterfalls during that time of year so I may just have to settle for the spectacular view, we'll see. We will then make our way over to Veracruz to do some surfing, after which we will head south to Mexico City mainly to visit the ruins of Teotihuacan. It was also suggested to me to visit Oaxaca. We'll be snorkeling in Belize and visiting the famous ruins of Tikal in Guatemala along with taking in the sites of the awe-inspiring Lake Atitlan and climbing the nearby volcanoes. You'll join me as I visit the famous cities of Antigua and Chichicastenango. These are a few of the places on my list for these countries and I'll leave you with that for now. I will continue with the sequential countries next week as I do some more research on places I think I would find interesting. Now it must be said before I leave you this week that amongst all of the locations I am planning to take you to, the most important and main reason for my adventures is to find places to volunteer and serve along the way. This information of locations will come after I do some research and communication with a few connections I have. Hopefully I will find the time soon to do this, but for now I will continue to get us all excited about the other adventures we will be having.

Plans

So, I said I would update each week and unfortunately I haven't got a whole lot to add right now. This last week, while my schedule was considerably free, my heart was not in a place where I was motivated enough to pursue certain things I need to pursue such as talking to the State Dept. to find out which countries will require me to have visas and how much they will cost, or talking to banks and figuring out how to go about getting pre-paid debit cards to bring with me so I won't have to carry too much cash on me at any given time. So those updates will come later. For now it is sufficient for me to say that I need your feedback on what locations in the different countries that you as my readers have wanted to visit or see. I would love any kind of feedback so you can post it on either my facebook page or email me or whatever you find convenient. Once I get a decent list put together of places to visit I will then begin to piece together a map and hopefully be able to post it or if nothing else just give a literary description of my route. So please help me out with that.
Also, I will try to figure out a way that you as my readers can donate into some account that will go to charities along the way. I have had some offers from people to donate to me to help pay for my trip, but for this particular trip I have vowed to not benefit financially and so I must graciously decline, but please give that money to my charity account when I get it set up. As for me, I plan to sell my Jeep Grand Cherokee and my beautiful motorcycle before I leave and that will be how I pay my way through this trip. So stay tuned and I will get more info soon, I hope.

Pre-trip

Have you ever dreamt of traveling the world, seeing the awe inspiring ruins of the ancient American civilizations, scaling live volcanoes, getting lost in the Amazon (Hopefully only figuratively and not genuinely), surfing black sand beaches, or hiking the majestic Andes Mountains? Dreams can inspire greatness, create hope for the hopeless, bring freedom to the oppressed, strengthen the weak, lift the heads that have bowed down in sorrow or they can leave us with a sense of defeat or despair. We all have dreams. They are a part of us as a race. They can lift us up and raise us to our Godly potential or they can be the cause of a self-deprecating downfall and drive us to a state of depression when for one reason or another we don’t have or take the means, ability or opportunity to live and make them a reality.

I am no exception. I too have dreams that have pushed me to pursue a variety of interests. They have driven me to dabble in martial arts of various forms over the past fifteen years. I was a dancer in various styles for over fourteen years. I became an experienced and nationally certified rock climbing/rappelling director and have lead thousands of people safely up and down cliffs over a period of eight seasons as a professional. I practiced as an emergency medical technician for several years. I earned my Eagle Scout award at age fifteen and at nineteen I served an honorable two year mission for my God and my fellow brothers and sisters in Guatemala as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a church to which I am still a faithful member, I testified of the truthfulness of The Book of Mormon as a second witness of Jesus Christ while on my mission and I still stand by that statement unshakably. I am an artist, singer, cellist, and love to perform. I am an outdoorsman, survivalist, wild life enthusiast, and will graduate this spring with a bachelor’s degree in biology. I love to play most all sports including snowboarding and surfing and have even dabbled in bull riding and sky diving. I have summited multiple 12000 ft mountains and visited eleven different countries while living in four of them including Chile, Mongolia, Guatemala, and of course the U.S.A.. I am a man who loves deeply and passionately. This can be a blessing in that it is one of the reasons that when I have my sights set on something that I have become passionate about I do all in my power to obtain it, but it is also my curse, for when we love so deeply we become vulnerable to a more incredibly intense pain and let down when for some reason it is kept from us. The difficulty then becomes opening myself to the very real possibility, (and in my experience, probability) of a pain and sorrow that is indescribable and to those who have never experienced it, unimaginable. To do this and take that risk is true courage. To be brave or to be a hero doesn’t mean to be fearless, but rather to press forward in spite of the fear you feel. I am a man of many interests and a dreamer, but what sets me apart from so many other dreamers is that when I ultimately awake…I do all in my power to make those dreams my reality.

I have always loved travelling and as I mentioned I have been blessed with the opportunity to visit and learn about so many cultures and people, perhaps more than my share. I have a dream to travel through Central and South America and not only see the sights and experience the culture, but to serve the people in the countries I visit in whatever ways I find possible. Perhaps you are someone with a similar dream, but for some reason cannot or will not have or take the opportunity in this life to complete or experience such a dream. Stick with me and together we will not only fulfill those dreams and more, but we will change lives by so doing. This I promise you.

I have begun this blog months before I will begin my trek partially to share in my preparations for this expedition so that you might be able to follow me from the start, but also for the reason that I might be able to get feedback from you who are my readers. The kind of feedback I am looking for is ideas on how I can serve or benefit charitable organizations, such as using this blog in some way that might bring a revenue that I can donate or if you are familiar with locations along the way that I might be able to volunteer my time with. Also I wouldn’t mind suggestions on locations to visit along the way or things to do. The kind of feedback I am not looking for is you nay-sayers trying to convince me not to go. I know the risks probably better than you and am entering this with my eyes wide open. I know the dangers and willingly face them. Also, don’t bother asking me if you can come along. The answer is a definitive NO. I have several reasons for this answer, but mostly lets just say this is something I must do alone. No offense to anyone. If you desire to do something similar then do it yourself and on your own time.

I will try to update this blog at least every week, from now until I leave which will be immediately after my graduation. The next time I write, I will try to give a more detailed account of my intents. For now, I leave you with this to ponder…dreams are Gods way of showing us our potential.