MORTENSON MEMORY

"The good people who inhabit the frontiers of civilization do not, as a rule, tend to be the world's most sophisticated or cosmopolitan human beings.  Often, they aren't especially well educated or refined, nor all that conversant with cutting-edge trends in areas like, say, fashion and current events...when ordinary human beings performs extraordinary acts of generosity, endurance, or compassion, we are all made richer by their example...the inspiration they generate washes down to the rest of us.  It waters everyone's fields."

So are the words of Greg Mortenson in his book Stones into Schools. The man I had the pleasure of meeting and then listening to.  Then man who inspires thousands to embrace education or any philanthropical activity.  The man who just tonight instilled a desire in my son to want to go to Afghanistan and mentor with Greg Mortenson.

Sitting at dinner with me this evening was a couple from Provo who drove down to attend the event because they too are enchanted by this story, Gina Lewis and Chris Hayes.     

Thanks to the Dove Center for providing a safe place for individual's affected by domestic violence.  And thanks to the Dove Center for holding a spring charity event that included inspiring the community of St. George.  

HELEN WHITNEY

This week Helen Whitney is visiting CMI.  I am enjoying this!  She is a wonderful person.  The bio on her website reads like this -

Helen Whitney has worked as a producer, director, and writer for documentaries and feature films since 1971. Her documentary work has appeared on ABC's "Closeup" and PBS's American Masters, as well as on FRONTLINE. Her documentaries have ranged over a wide variety of subjects, among them: youth gangs, presidential candidates, the mentally ill, a Trappist Monastery, Pope John Paul II, the class structure of Great Britain, homosexuals, and the photographer Richard Avedon. Whitney maintains a passionate personal interest in the religious journey. Her 90-minute ABC News "Closeup" documentary, "The Monastery," about the Cister Spencer, Mass., left her searching for other projects about spiritual life. This passion was also evident in FRONTLINE's "John Paul II: The Millennial Pope", a film for which she and her team conducted more than 800 interviews in six countries. Whitney's documentaries and features have received many honors, including an Emmy Award, a Peabody Award, an Oscar nomination, the Humanitas Award, and the prestigious duPont-Columbia Journalism Award.

Today I attended the lunchtime forum and viewed the first hour of her new documentary, Forgiveness: Understanding Love and Hate.  She is still preparing this and looking for final funding.  Helen expects it to be available to the public towards the end of the year or early 2011.  On Thursday evening I will attend a presentation of her documentary on The Mormons.  I am looking forward to this.

Helen is bringing life to CMI this week.  We are all enjoying her presence.