When Tonga’s Baron cleans the beach, who can litter! “Eternal gratitude towards the past. Unlimited service in the present Unbounded responsibility for the future.” – Dr. Huston Smith-Scholar, served as an RYS Senior Advisor A Touch of Tonga Spirit The Kingdom of Tonga, once known as the Friendly Islands, contains 176 lush tropical islands that cross […]
Working Out Resentment (continues from yesterday’s post“Untying the Knot of Resentment”) The construction site on our arrival was simply a foundation and we with some additional professional help were going to build the structure. As the structure took shape and grew so did our confidence. While working together we drew encouragement from each other and […]
The Knot of Resentment is Painful “It is easy to be friendly to one’s friends but to befriend the one who regards himself as your enemy is the quintessence of true religion. The other is mere business.” – Mohandas Gandhi There are some situations that seem almost impossible to fix. One seemingly unfixable situation is […]
True Religion: To care for the needy, the widows and the orphans The words of Sandra (from last weeks post) were a powerful reminder of what young people are expecting from religion. Religion needs to be relevant, it needs to be driven by a desire to improve the lives of people and link them to […]
A Time of Great Transition In the summer of 1991, the European nation of Hungary was in the early stages of a massive transition from a communist state to something refreshingly new. People who had been longing for change found themselves empowered with new freedoms and opportunities. A vitality and optimism filled the air when […]
A Special Love Making contact with many people did not prevent Melinda from establishing one very special relationship. Each day Sonia, an undersized, undernourished two-year old girl could be seen clinging to Melinda. These two grew closer and closer with each passing. Often we would see them as they walked together, sometimes sharing food or […]
The Heart of Service “A good heart is better than all the heads in the world.” – Edward Bulwer-Lytton The early morning heat so common in the poor Philippine community of Das Marinas served as a […]
RYS Service Breaks Apartheid Barriers “The best way to destroy an enemy is make him into a friend” – Abraham Lincoln Truly important events in life often escape the headlines. The most critical accomplishments are not those achieved in the laboratory, the battle field or the market place as the greatest victories are achieved through […]
