ideen bad taste outfit
this is new york city, home to over eight million people, a real melting pot. and this is times square. on any given day,visitors from all over the world come to experiencethe energy of this place. and those who visit are as diverseas those who live here. so if you want to collect opinionsfrom a wide cross-section of humanity, this is the place to be.
that's why i'm here,to ask people a few simple questions. and i'm just guessing thatthere will be no shortage of opinions. what do you think of when you hear the church of jesus christof latter-day saints? that's the seventh-day adventist,isn't it? they have a nicknamethat's probably more common, that you... jehovah's witness? i could get it if it was multiple choice. -starts with an m.-i know this one.
i'm afraid it was the mormons. yes, the mormons were the correct answer. what comes to mindwhen i say the word "mormon"? actually, my cousin. ex-girlfriend. people who stay away from the city,and just stay into their own zone. i guess they just don't reallycelebrate anything, right? kenneth's filling in,gabe's got the week off. he's a mormon, you knowhow they are about leap day.
mormons celebrate christmas. it's a different christmas, though, right? no? okay. probably watches the same tv shows,listens to the same music, likes hot dogs. they have, like, their own type ofjesus christ or something like that, that lives in utah. utah? is it utah? -utah?-utah?
-salt lake city?-utah. he's back and forth to utah every weekend. what is he, a mormon? like, lots of wives and lots of kids. so what you're saying is you're sharinga man, you're like a mormon wife. i know it sounds strange. as you can see,opinions are all over the map. my name's jenna, and i'm a mormon. but as you've seen,that's just a nickname.
in more "official" terms, i'm a member of the church of jesus christof latter-day saints, and i live right here, in new york city. the weirdest thingi've heard about mormons was that probably that they were racists. -really?-yeah. so do they have any black people in utah? maybe two. i saw them once, two black people.
yeah, the mormons brought in two. if you're a mormon,you're not supposed to... have any type of drugs. give blood. -rage.-dance? -curse.-vote? drink. i have a drinking problem? peck, you're a mormon.
next to you,we all have a drinking problem! for many people, their knowledge of mormonshas been shaped largely by the media and popular culture which surrounds us. not necessarily the best wayto get accurate information. hello. great, mormons. so, who are mormons, really? what makes us tick? what motivates 15 million members
of the church of jesus christ oflatter-day saints to do the things we do? the best way to separate fact from fiction is to go directly to the source. and recently, a small crew ofdocumentary filmmakers did exactly that. they took a peek into the lives ofsix mormon families from around the world. though these six different storiesreveal a few of our basic beliefs, i think you'll learn more about whowe really are because of those beliefs. so, what are mormons really like? you decide.
the filmmakers' first stopis atlanta, georgia, where they explore one simple question, what's it like to be a mormon bishop? to balance a regularfull-time job with family, and still have time left over for thisimportant volunteer church responsibility. my heavenly father has given mecertain talents and abilities to expand upon in my life. -good morning.-morning. and i feel like if i don't expand upon 'em
and use 'em the way thathe would have me use them, then i failed. i wanna be not necessarily famousor great or anything. but i just wanna bewho i was put on earth to be. my name is jermaine sullivan,this is my wife kembe sullivan. we've been married for eight years. we have three beautiful boys,jeremiah, abram, and corbin. i work as an academic counselor. i have a workload of about 200 studentsthat i talk to on a regular basis.
i tell them what it's gonna taketo complete their degree, ensure that they'rein the correct program. i am a virtual teacher,so i get to work from home. his reading skills were not up to par,it was beneath... and then i also get tointeract with the parents more often. i was in the church building and a woman walked injust, kind of, off the street, and she wanted to learn aboutour family history center. and i told, "well, i could certainlyhelp you with that,
"i'm jermaine sullivan,i'm the bishop here." she kind of stared at mefor three to five seconds and, "you're the bishop? "i didn't know they had black bishopsin the mormon church." and i explained her,"yeah, i'm the bishop, "i lead a congregation here,right here in atlanta." good morning, brothers and sisters. good morning. bishop sullivan has heart.
he's just a very warm and caringand sensitive person. mario, how are you doing, sir? i have to be honest with you. when i was called, or asked,to serve in this capacity, i was terrified. it's not an age matter. it's a matter of being in tunewith the spirit of god. you know, i think about peter,james, john and... and many of these were fishermen.
the lord call common mento serve and bless the lives of others, to serve alongside himin accomplishing his mission. the way he did it then,he certainly does it the same way now. sometimes you have men who are older,seasoned, veterans, and sometimes we have younger men,like bishop sullivan. the exuberance with which bishop sullivanfulfills his calling makes it easy for him to relate withthe younger members of his ward. i feel i can relate to him more'cause he's young, and, like, he's been my age before.
tonight, i'm teaching the youthhow to step, which is a dance form commonly associated with african americanfraternities and sororities. and i kind of picked it upwhen i was in high school. i say my youth! youth, youth! this is a step! step, step. in our faith,when you're called as a bishop,
you don't serve in that capacity for life. there's no hierarchical, sort of, flowupward in the church. wherever the lord needs you to serve,that's where you'll serve. happy birthday. -i have reached 41.-look at you. happy birthday to you. bishops in our faith, sunday schoolteachers, any of the administrators, none are salaried, none receiveany financial compensation. so it is not a paid ministry,it is not a paid clergy.
come on, start in. we're glad you came. kembe, she serves,she teaches the youth in the church. she doesn't get any money, no one does. but the lord definitelygives us blessings as we serve others. we recognize firstthat jesus christ came here to serve. he is the grand example of servant,we have to serve. i think that's the way the lord,kind of, guides and leads us. he strengthens us as we serve others. a typical sunday morningin a sullivan home
is a lot like a three-ring circus. my neck, it hurts. sunday morning, we get upand try to get ready for church. and it's really hardbecause i'm by myself. jermaine is at the church,getting ready for meetings, and it's three against one. they are dynamos. it's a known fact the bishop's kidsare bouncy little fellows, they're just high energy.
and they are non-sugar, too. the boys love to eat, so on sunday morningi have my bag packed, granola bars, things that will hopefullykeep them quiet. he's on the stand and she has tohandle these three little guys. she finds a way. i just admire the wayshe's able to handle it. and the patience she has with me as i serve and with the children,as they act a bit,
you know, a little wildduring the sacrament meetings. i wanna welcomeall of you out this evening to our special ward barbeque. the atlanta ward is a very special place. togetherness, wholesome, just being together,you can just feel the love that's here. god is the author of diversity. you look at the trees,the plants, the flowers. we don't just have one flower,we have a variety,
and their colors vary,and their forms and shape vary. i focus on those things that make us one, and i think that creates a very profoundsense of harmony and unity in the church. he's not perfect, bishop sullivan,by no means is he perfect, which is an indication by this barbequethat he brought in here this evening. brother parker and ihave a continuous debate about who's barbeque tastes the best. it's okay, but he's not perfect.
put it to him this way, i said,"you pull out your calendar. "i'll get my calendar, "and we'll have a competitionor grill off, if you will, "to see whose chicken tastes the best." naturally, i'll win. naturally. but he's a good man. jermaine regularly drives down to hishometown of tuscaloosa, alabama to visit his older sisterand reconnect with his past. our house in the neighborhood
was considered the housewhere all the children, everybody would wanna flockto our house and play with us. -hi. how's everything goin' with you?-it's goin' okay. jermaine is a homebody,always wanted to be around the house. we were so close together that peoplealways thought he was my child. well, my mom and my dad got a chanceto see that before they both passed. him getting to be the bishopand the things in church and it made them so proud,'cause nobody ever thought of it. she attends a baptist churchnot too far from her house.
we never really hada religious disagreement. even though the faiths are different,the belief is the same. i've always tried to build oncommon beliefs. you can always acknowledge thatthere are gonna be differences there's no need to debateso much about that. it's who you are as a person. verse 25, the day abrahamis gonna start out. "and the lord god said unto me..." mormons study from a variety of scripture.
two key sources are the holy bibleand the book of mormon, both testify of jesus christand neither replaces the other. before becoming a member of the churchof jesus christ of latter-day saints, i kind of claimed tovaguely be a christian. in joining the church, it became infused into everything i do,the way i view the world. my belief in jesus christtotally impacts that. my testimony of jesus christhelps me to be a better mother. i try to follow the example of my savior,
i tried to live as he would live. i don't view christ as some abstract idea, but as a person who is all-powerfuland all-loving, who knows me and wants to take careof me and my family. the next stop on the film crew's around-the-world journey,annapolis, maryland, home to the united states naval academy where ken niumatalolo works ashead coach for the navy football team. let's go! let's go!
you throw the ball! let's go! i think the game of footballteaches the game of life. there's good and there's bad,there's the ups and downs. i think the mental toughnessthat it teaches will help young menin some of the things they do in life. what the quarterback does is totallydifferent from an offensive lineman, what a snapper does is totallydifferent from the kicker, and even though they're allindividual and specific and detailed,
they all got to work togetherin order for you to be successful. i want a hut on three. one, two, three! hut! nobody's more important than the other. and that's just like in a family, i am notmore important than him or the children. everybody has their job. my dad coaches the naval academy,and that's his team, but my parents are a team, too. we have three children,our oldest is alexcia,
our son va and our youngest is ali'i. -how are you?-how are you guys doing, good? -yes.-i'm hungry. hungry? we can fix that up. the coach for the naval academy,ken, is just a great guy. naval academy is so fortunate to have him.real down to earth. i can keep your secret. ken is a very humble young man. he always focuses
on the things that matter most. when he was hired, i'll always remember, in the press conference he said,"first and foremost, "i am a father and a husband,and then a football coach." he's one of the best human beings i've ever been around,let alone coached with. sweet. he's probably the biggest goofballi've ever met in my life can you take my stomach out of this?
joking around, doing impersonationsand stuff like that. he's all composed on the football field. but when he's home with us,that's when he can relax and be himself, and we laugh and joke and justhave a lot of fun, and he's very mellow. hey, guys, leave some water in the pool. the thing that he's always taught usever since we were little is to put the lord first andeverything else will work out. "but seek ye first the kingdom of god,and his righteousness, "and all these thingsshall be added unto you."
if you put the lord first,everything else will fall in place. for many coaches, success is definedby climbing the career ladder to larger programs or the nfl. but with ken, the motivation isvery simple and very human. it could be rock-paper-scissors,my dad doesn't wanna lose. losing is his least favoritething in the world. i love to play basketball with my kids,we've all played for many years. -no!-yeah, right there. what you got?
a lot of trash talking,that's the only way that you know that we're having fun,is if there's trash talking. impersonation, girl. i was number one as far as speedfor many years, i gradually moved down to second,alexcia passed me, then va'a passed me, then ali'i passed me. i still haven't passed him. i'm not in last place,i'm still number four. -i'll always be number five.-i love you,
but i'm never gonnalet her pass me on that. closer. ping-pong rivalry is betweenken and alexcia. quit talking too much trash. it gets pretty heated. recently, she beat him. your serve. yeah, good playing! for mormons, sabbath day observanceand church attendance
is extremely important, even though it can sometimespresent a serious challenge. in the world of college football,sundays are so critically important. it's really a race against time to reallyprepare your team for the next game, and you only have six daysuntil the next game. thank you so much for all you do. when i first becamethe head coach four years ago, i made a conscious decisionthat we, as a staff, would no longer haveorganized meetings on sunday.
i think it shockedquite a few of the guys. their eyes just widenedand it kind of looked like... gave me a look like,"what? we're gonna get killed!" he also said,"coaches, this is what i believe. "however, if you feel strongly thatyou need to do certain things on sunday, "i'm not gonna hold you out of the office,i'm not gonna take your keys away." everybody has their own choice. coach niumatalolo prepares himselfby going to church. i'm not pushing my religionon anybody else,
but this is how i get ready. ken's current church responsibility is teaching a sunday school classof 10-year-olds. quite a contrast from his day job. it's a great experience for meto come to see their innocence. how can you dress modestly forheavenly father and for yourself? it's always fun for me to comeon sundays to be with them. i enjoy singing the primary age songor the songs for the youth. -and eating their snacks.-and eating their snacks, their cookies
and snack time is definitely great for me. and because jesus was resurrected,guess what happens to all of us? we can be resurrected. it's funny, one day for him to be witha bunch of big linemen and the next day witha bunch of little children, but i think it kind of showsmore of who he is. can everybody find john chapter 11? guys are doing some good things!
we got half a practice to go,let's finish strong! but do not mistake for one secondthat me not coming to work means i haven't thoughtabout our opponents. i come into work earlyon monday mornings, i come in at 4:00, 'cause i know the lordwants you to do your work. he doesn't want you to sit,"okay, do all the work." game days are always full of tension, but even more so when the gameis against a rival service academy, in this case, the united states air force.
when my dad leads the team, when they'rewalking into the stadium from the buses and the band's playing and everything, it's pretty emotional. well, game day, for me,is obviously very stressful. all of your preparation that week, everything that you doleads up to that day. you just kind of hope you're ready. watch the brigade march on,then we usually have a flyover. all the wives, they're really emotional,especially my mother.
he's got it. he's short... you know,it is an emotional rollercoaster, and so you are just worn out completelyafter a game. we got the ball! sometimes, i think my mom cares moreabout the game than my dad. block! go! if someone gets tackled, or someone misses an assignment,she takes it pretty personally. it's pretty funny.
why would you do that, chris? i always have to remind myselfthat this is important, but let's say we lose, i have my three beautiful children,they're healthy. i have my husband, you know,we're best friends. he's a very passionate person. he loves his football players,he loves his team. i know that my dad can have a temper,but i've noticed over the years that he's definitely been ableto control it.
on the field, it may be necessary,he does get fired up, and i think that's a really good thing. lots of times when he's upset,his headset comes off, and then you'll see him go talk to the ref or maybe to one of the playersthat just came off the field. when i was younger,the bishop gave me some counsel that as long as i was able to controlmy temper, the lord would bless me. but if i was not ableto control my temper, obviously i would notreceive those blessings.
for ken niumatalolo, his daily lifeis quite simply an extension of his faith, continually strivingto overcome personal weakness, and constantly working for improvement. i have a quote,it talks about managing your anger, you know, it's really a weakness.it's not a strength. and i have always tried to use thatto help me, because i know i need to have the spiritwith me to help me make decisions. and i know thatwhen i'm close to the spirit i can feel the spirit and help mein making decisions.
it's very clear and tangible to me. i've heard somebody tell me at church that the lord doesn't really careabout navy football. and i think to some extent that's true, but i know he's concerned about meand my family and this is my job. these are my crops,i'm trying to provide for my family, and if i lose, i won't be able to take care of my family. so i go to the lord to help meto make decisions.
not to win or lose, but to make decisions. ladies and gentlemen,the commander-in-chief trophy winner... the united states naval academy. i wanna start by recognizing... coach ken niumatalolo for being here once again... where is he?there he is, right here. hard to miss him. coach. mr. president, on behalf ofthe united states naval academy, and the navy football brotherhood,
we thank you for the great honorfor allowing us to be your guests once again. we're so happy to be back. we had a lot of success, you know,we were able to go to a bowl game every year that i was there. and i truly believethat a lot of that comes back to the way that he lives his life. costa rica means "rich coast." and it's right here wheremilton and carolina marin call home.
watch closely, because this storymay challenge what you think you know about the roles men and women playin mormon homes. we love living in this country.we love costa rica. we love nature, we love freedom. we love that we can go to churchwithout any problems. and we love living in a place wherewe can give our children this opportunity to live freeand so close to nature. everything is very close. my house is about an hour and a halffrom the beach,
45 minutes from a volcano, and a half an hour from a mountain. we both love extreme sports.we love the spirit of adventure. and here in costa rica,we've gone rappelling, we did a zip line. my name is milton marin. my wife's name is carolina muã±oz. we've been married for eight years,and we have two sons. for me, being a mom is a dream come true. the first time i saw my babies,
the first time i saw luis diego,to embrace him and have him near me, is the most special momentthat i keep in my heart. she's very independent, very affectionate,intelligent, and of course, much more attractive than me. i've always enjoyed that a lot. about 10 years ago,a pair of young lady missionaries from the church of jesus christof latter-day saints knocked on carolina's doorand shared their message with her. i could feel the spirit so strongly.
my whole life, i had beena member of the catholic church. all of my family are still membersof the catholic church. i told themthat i had learned something new, that it was very good. and i knew they had a lot of truthand a lot of knowledge for us. our daughter decided to become a mormon, and that was a little hard for us. not because it was the mormon church,or any other religion, but because it wasa change from our religion
to a different religion. at first, my parents were a little nervousabout this change. but they've always trusted meand they allowed me to get baptized. in fact, they even came to my baptism. we support her in her faith. as long as she is developing that, she will undoubtedly have our support. my parents are great examplesand are very important to me. it doesn't matter, the religion...
i will always love them the same,and they will love me. when i was a little olderi found out i like martial arts. and milton,when we were already married... he told me there's a competition. "do you want to try competing?"and i said, "let's try it." and i liked it. people react to that. when they see carolina's so pretty,
and then they see her gettinginto the ring to compete with someone, people react,and don't think that it's her. even though she's thin and very femininein her normal behavior, when she's fighting,she takes it seriously. when i get into the ringand after being in a competition, i do my hair, put some makeup on,wear heels, and i go to leave, people ask, "were you the same personwho was competing?" yes, that was me.
when the bell rings, you need to fight. but that doesn't meanyou're going to be disrespectful, or that you hate that person. i fought in the world cupand won second place, thanks to miltonand all the training and time he gives me. carolina's rapid progressrecently attracted the attention of ikf world champion eric parker. milton, her husband,is a gifted martial artist in his own right and a fantastic coach.
a great instructor. during a fight,he is my most important guy. i'm also the most nervous.i'm more nervous than she is. the level of her ability to competeis without question. and she would wellas a professional fighter. even though carolina has quicklyprogressed in her newfound hobby, she and milton have decidedto keep things in a family perspective. we're not interested in taking carolinato fight abroad for money, nor work at it full-time.
what we do want is to stay at this level, to compete and enjoy the sport we love, and keep it at that levelso as not to sacrifice our children, and not sacrifice our familyand those that we love. after i graduated from high school,i studied law. when i returned from being a missionary,i finished my law degree. but my passionhas always been the martial arts. between being a lawyer,spending all day in the office and being in the gym,sharing with young people,
we decided the best way to stay young,active and healthy was the gym. often at events, or also in our gym,we collect donations. the marins recently starteda new give back campaign with their catholic friends. rather than pay an entrance feeto special events, attendees donate school suppliesor food for those in need. throughout the year,they are collecting food for different areas of the countrywhere there are floods, earthquakes, or simply for people in need.
and also, a part of the student'smonthly tuition is used to buy food. it's very important for usto share with others some of the blessingsthat we have been given. and for the marins,the blessings have been plentiful. they're now busier than ever, traveling throughout the country, teachingclasses and expanding their business. they have grown to over 1,000 students, becoming the largest school in costa rica. though it's not easy,milton and carolina find a way
to balance home and family with workand outside interests on a daily basis. they're successfulbecause they work together as a team. i wake up very early in the morning. milton takes care of the familyand i go running. then i get back homeand i have my normal mother life. many people thinkthat women should be subject to man. but in reality, in the church,it's not that way. we believe it is important to givethe husband the respect he deserves. but most important
is that the husband knowsthat there is a queen in the house, and that all decisionsmust be made together. we believe thata man must respect his wife, that it's not acceptable for a husbandto abuse his wife or his children. and that the family's happinessis more likely when we follow the gospel of jesus christ. it says that we can havea successful family if it's based upon the principles of love,charity and respect. we're always willingto learn from each other, to forgive.
we're not perfectbut we are trying to be happy, that's the most important thing. i like to think that a successful family is not just a family that stays togetherfor the rest of their lives, a successful family is a happy family. for the marin family, it's about love,mutual respect, balance and teamwork. there aren't very many qualified92-year-old pilots in the world, but the film crew caught up with onein elizabeth city, north carolina. -throttle.-idle.
-flap control.-forward. and what a story he has to tell. -in on the left.-cowl flap. -one and two's open.-fuel valve. four off, two cross-feeds off. -try to bring 'er there-down and cold. when i'm flying,there's a special feeling, ethereal. the heavens above you,the earth below you, that bring me closerto my father in heaven.
every time i take off, it's almost like renewal ofthe thousands of other flights i've made. it's a mosaic, like a painting. you see the differencein colors of the field, the plowed ground, the trees, or orchards. and then all of a suddenthere's the ocean, white waves coming up on the beach. i highly recommend it. welcome, one and all,to the annual elizabeth city candy drop.
look to your rightand you'll see the spirit of freedom inbound with colonel gail halvorsenat the controls. there he is! there he is! uncle wiggly wings, as he was calledduring the berlin airlift, used to wiggle or rock his wingsback and forth, indicating to the kids on the groundthat a candy drop was about to happen. five zero zero, clear for drop. runway two, to your left. here comes the spirit of freedom,
reenacting the historic berlin candy drop. standby. drop, drop, drop. i still do candy drops today, because it gives me a feeling inside that i can get in no other way. think of the thousands of young peopleyour age that didn't have any chocolate. this is the story of a 27-year-old pilot whose active kindnessset in motion the trail of events
that truly transformed the entire world. right after pearl harbor, fresh from his sunday school classand the farm fields of utah, this young mormon boy signed up forthe army air corps pilot training program. before long,he was flying in the war effort under the command of the royal air force. june 1948, berlin. ever since the end of the warthree years before, tension had been increasingbetween the allied military government
and the soviet bosses of east berlin. at the end of world war ii,berlin was divided up into four. on the western side was the american,french and british sectors. and the eastern half of berlinwas occupied by the soviets. stalin decided to cut off those two and a half million peopleliving in the western side of berlin from everything they needed to survive. food, clothing, medicine. we had just electric power
two hours during the dayand two hours during the night. the only options that americaand the rest of the western world had was to walk away from berlinor to start world war iii. and people startedsupplying berlin by air, and that really turned intowhat became known as the berlin airlift. within hours america's general clayand britain's general robinson ordered all available air transportto frankfurt and wunstorf. i never forget the first flighti took into berlin. as i came in over the city,
just fingers of remaining buildings thickened up to the skyin stark contrast to everything. you look through the buildings,not at the buildings. i had 20,000 pounds of flour in the back, and i just couldn't waitto get that on the ground 'cause i could just imagine the people, just waiting for where the nextloaf of bread is gonna come from. certainly, it was the greatesthumanitarian effort ever undertaken. this place was like a beehive,
bees flying all over the place, and an airplane comingover the fence every five minutes. and later on,as we got little better traffic control, even faster than that. it was like a string of silver birdstied together with a long string. one day, gail was filming cargo planes on their low and dangerous approachto the airfield when something out of the perimeter fencecaught his attention. on the other side of the barbed wirewas about 30 kids,
kids eight to 14. and they started speaking to mein their school english, and telling me about what it was likeand how they appreciated the food and coal we were bringing in. they said, "don't worry about us. "someday we'll have enough to eat. "but if we lose our freedom,we'll never get it back. "just don't give up on us," they said. i was so interested in these kidsthat i lost track of time.
i looked at my watch,and i'd been here almost an hour. i said, "don't worry, kids, we won'tgive up on you, we'll keep coming. "i got to go." and i got just about five steps, a voice came to me, just clear as a bell, and that sure was the holy ghost. "go back to the fence." at that point, i went backand i reached in my pocket to see if i had anything to give 'em.
and i pulled out two sticks of gum. he tore those two sticks of gum in halfand gave out four sticks of gum. the kids with half a stick tore offthe outer wrapper and then the tin foil and passed it to the kidsthat didn't get any. and the kids that got a piece of wrapper put it up their nose, just smelled the aroma, just the smell, and their eyes got big. and i stood there dumbfounded.
but that moment changed me, and i said, "i've got to dosomething more than this." without giving it a whole lot of thought, gail concocted a crazy scheme, to drop his candy rations to the kidsstanding at the perimeter fence near the approach end of the runway. but one problem remained. how would the kids on the grounddistinguish his airplane from the hundreds of otherslanding every 90 seconds?
so i said to the kids, "look. "when i come out of west germanyand come over to berlin tomorrow, "i'll wiggle wings of that big airplane, "and when you see those wings wiggle,that's the airplane." went to my co-pilot, engineerjohn pickering and sergeant elkins, said, "guys, i need your candy ration." so they were good guys,they got their ration. boy, i had a double handfulof chocolate bars and gum. thought, "that's pretty heavy.
"hit 'em in the head with thatgoing 110 miles an hour, "you'll make the wrong impression. "i got to slow it down with a parachute." so i used three handkerchiefsas parachutes. i couldn't wait to get that to berlin. the next morning, just before noon as gail flew his approachto tempelhof air base, he saw the kids assembledat the perimeter fence just as planned. without hesitationhe wiggled his wings back and forth
and prepared for the candy drop. so elkins pushed 'em outjust as we were approaching the fence. well, we wanted to do it again,and then we did it three times, and then we got caught. after the third drop, lieutenant halvorsenand crew flew back to rhein-main air base in west germany. when they arrived,an agitated officer boarded his plane, and ordered gailto report to commander haun immediately. colonel haun then proceededto grill the young mormon lieutenant
about his extracurricular activities. "halvorsen, what've you been doingover berlin? "flying like mad, sir." "i'm not stupid," he said."what else you been doing?" and then i knew he knew. pulled out a newspaper,threw it on the counter. "my airplane, tail number, parachutes. "you almost hit a newspaper guyon the head with a candy bar yesterday, "he's got the story all over the world.
"halvorsen, you didn't have permission." he was taking his career and the career ofeverybody else involved into his hands, because it would meannot just a reprimand, but probably an immediate court martial. gen. tunner, who was known aswillie the whip, an incredibly harsh commander, he didn't send gail halvorsen packing. he told him to keep on doingwhat he was doing, to recruit others to join his operation.
and it became not just the candy bomber,but the candy bombers. everybody, sooner or later, heard of this crazy lieutenant up therethrowing candy out the window, now he got everybody doing it. in no time at all, a tidal wave of excitementpropelled members of gail's squadron to start dropping candyto various locations throughout berlin. gail directed the briefingson what would become known as operation little vittles.
soon words spread stateside and candycame pouring in from a variety of sources, including the hershey candy company. but what no one could haverealized at the time was just how impactfulthese efforts would be on boosting the morale ofthe german people, a former enemy, in their hour of need. the all ran like crazy,and i'm trying to catch up with them and my little feet can'tcarry me very fast, and then my brothers would come back
with their little handkerchiefsand their candy. sixty-four years later,they still haven't forgotten. sir, thank you very muchfor all you did for berlin. -i love you.-i love you, too. he did it out ofthe goodness of his heart. he wasn't ordered to,he just saw the need. but that little act of kindness,two little sticks of chewing gum, stopped world war iii. by the conclusionof the 14-month operation,
gail and his squadron dropped 21 tonsof chocolate from the sky, and in doing so,helped sustain the german people through a continued renewal of hope. i don't believe that the airliftwould've succeeded and that the people of berlin would'vebeen able to stand their ground, was it not for the kind of inspiration that gail halvorsenand the others provided. the berlin air lift officiallyended in may of 1949 and gail was reassigned stateside.
with the support of his new bride alta, gail continued hisdistinguished military career and together they raised five children. but new challenges lay in store for gail. after 50 years of marriage, his wife altasuddenly die of a heart attack. rather than look back, however,gail pressed forward, continuing to lose himselfin the service of others. don't forget that. in time, he would meet and marrylorraine pace of amado, arizona.
she had the most beautiful teethi ever saw and the smile to go with it. and she had her original teeth. okay, so, eight hundred are done. today, at the age of 92, gail and lorraine still participatein commemorative candy drops. they enjoy an extremely active lifestyle,exercising every day, often walking five to 10 miles in thedesert surrounding their home in arizona. -why, what a gorgeous night.-i'll say. -no clouds up there.-beautiful.
in addition, they are activelyinvolved in their community, always serving, always willing to sharewhat they have learned with others through their combined182 years of life experience. i've been a mormonsince i was just a little boy and it's shapedevery decision that i've made. the things i learnedthose days in sunday school have been with me all my life. service is the bottom lineto happiness and fulfillment. the dead sea's dead
because it wraps its armsaround all the fresh water, gives out nothing and turns to salt. in each of our neighborhoodswe've got dead sea souls, because they have nooutside contact or won't serve. it's service before self,and gratitude, attitude, those kind of things can bring youthrough the darkest time. you don't get happiness fromthe bigger house or more money, that's the false god. the only true feeling of worth a personhas is when you get outside yourself
and when you help somebody else and following the savior's example,to the degree that one is able to do that, is the only way to happiness. from the low deserts of arizonaall the way around the globe to the foothills of the highestmountains in the world, another man driven bythe same need to serve others, resides with his familyin kathmandu, nepal. i love my country nepal. the beauty that god hasgiven to us by his creation.
the high mountains, green hills. nepal is naturally very beautiful. there are lots of tall mountains here, ranging from 26,000 feet to 30,000 feet. it's really breathtaking when you havegood weather and a good view. it's like you look and look and look,and you'll never get enough. most of the government worksare done in kathmandu. the universities are here,better schools are here, so it's good for my family to be here.
i am bishnu adhikari.i live in kathmandu with my family. my wife mangala, our first daughter smina, second daughter rebeccaand then our son jeewarshav you did fight with your friends? bishnu and his 10 siblings grew up inthis remote village of lamjung, nestled deep within the foothillsof the himalayan mountain range. we had a small patch of landwhere we cultivated our food. i was raised in a very religious family. my parents were very faithful on whatthey had believed for generations.
i trusted god, whatever the god, at that time,we believed in because there were many. however, mostly i worshipped out of fear. i decided to go to a christian school, and i was exposed tothe new religion and philosophy that was brought by jesus christand i felt really good about it. later on, i had decided to go domy master in unites states for two years. with that degreeand engineering background, i find a job in california,i worked there for less than a year
and i felt like i have so muchto do back in nepal. i need to go back. i am so fortunate that my worktakes me to the remote areas where i have grown up. people there are underprivilegedin many ways and i find ways to help them. and it has been my dreamfrom the childhood that i could help others to getsimilar opportunities, so i decided to come backand be part of this process.
i could never give them the hopethat bishnu gives them because he was a boy in these schools that really had no wayof getting out of poverty and he did. bishnu is currently working withu.s. based choice humanitarian to build new schools, roadsand water systems in areas that, until now, have not enjoyedsuch basic vital services. education is the key for themto come out of poverty. development is very, very slow. people are suffering.
i would like to multiplymy efforts 10 times. there is a spring about17 kilometers away, up in the mountain and the gravity pushes that waterthrough a conduit, through a pipe, and pushes through the valleyand stores in this tank and distributes to the ninedifferent community of 1,500 families. when bishnu comes to visit these villages, it is honestly likea movie star is in town. he is such an example for what is possible and for these people, that's whatthey need, they need that hope.
when people give me additionalor extra emphasis, i feel uncomfortable because i don't consider myselfspecial than them. and as a son of our heavenly father, they and myself,in his eyes, we are equal. we have a custom in nepalthat is called "putting tika." it's like a red chalk, and you put it on the forehead,that's a sign of welcome and respect even though so many peopledepend on the services
that bishnu and his organization provides, he takes time out just for fun,just for family. my dad dances very goofily. he doesn't really know to dance. yeah. i love to take part in celebrations and i love to make up thingsand dance and enjoy people and be part of the celebration. he tries to dance everywhere he goes,
and seeing this goofy dance, everybody whohas, like, waited for some turn to dance, everybody gets upbecause of his goofy dance. in terms of dancing, yeah, i think i'm goofy. in 2002, i climbed up tothe mount everest base camp and i took opportunitiesand say my prayers. i felt peace and comfort. at the same time,i have hard time to believe that any locations are better than others
for your enlightenment. it's your desire to call upon god and be in tune of the spiritwherever you are. when i was in russiaas an engineering student, i met missionaries from the church ofjesus christ of latter-day saints and went to have discussions, i thought, "i need to grab it.i need to be part of it." and i'm so happy, so very happy that i made that decision.
now i understand that he loves me. he loves all of his children and that is the reason why he hasgiven his son jesus christ for us to be able to come back to him. it's a totally different perspective,different understanding of god. so there is no fear, it's rather a love. shortly after bishnu convertedto his newfound faith, his father expressed serious concernsand asked if he would now be forced to abandon traditional familyand cultural practices.
i explained that it's a culture and faith,two different things. becoming a christian doesn't mean thatyou have to abandon your culture. when we meet our father, boys touchthe feet with their forehead, that is a sign of highest respect. continuously trying for improvementis the foundation of our gospel. because it's a genuine effortto become their friends, they embrace me very well wherever i go. and i hope and continueto work on my weaknesses that i may be genuineto that relationship,
so that it's not one-day effortor two days a month effort, but it's a genuine effort for a lifetime. i'm no close to perfection, but i'm perfect in one thing,i'm perfect in trying. mormon missionaries,maybe you've seen them. white shirts, black name tagsand now, even more often, young lady missionaries, too. so who are they? what motivates theirworldwide voluntary service? i'm gonna guess austria.
i think maybe switzerland. i'll say canada. i think he's gonna goto sydney, australia. part of me wants to say new zealand.who knows? i could see him in germany. north carolina. or brazil. or... i don't know! today is a special dayin the armstrong home, because today their oldest child anthonyopens a much-anticipated letter
informing him where he's been assignedto serve his two-year voluntary mission. the night i got my mission call... it's kind of crazy.i had few friends over. it was a tuesday night. -how ya doing?-we're excited for you. that was a day of a lot of excitement,turmoil, anxiety. -and it was...-excitement, turmoil, anxiety. all right. moment of truth. "dear elder armstrong, you're herebycalled to serve as a missionary
"of the church of jesus christof latter-day saints. "you are assigned to laborin the south africa durban mission." it was an emotional moment for me because i've known anthony since he wasa little baby. and he's grown to be such a fabulousyoung man. you're gonna do awesome. "you will prepare to preachthe gospel in the english language." yes! it was amazing to me that someonewho felt like she had nothing,
and was weakand really didn't have much to live for, when i first met her,was now full of life. it was a stark contrast from whatwe saw in council bluffs, iowa. "you will learn..." yes!that was awesome. that was so... thirty-five years earlier, dawn's young life was offto a rocky start. her parents were only 16 years oldwhen she was born. and as fast as it began,their marriage abruptly ended. the only family she knew was broken apart.
after my mother split up, she turned to drugs and alcohol. food and clothing and loveand nurturing just were not an option because my momjust wasn't emotionally available to provide that kind of support to us. i've been on my own since i was 15. i just couldn't take the abuse anymore. shortly after, i found myselfin the same situation that my mother was in,and i got pregnant at 16.
i was not married. my boyfriend was not interestedin assuming the responsibility of parenthood at that time. and so anthony came into the world, and i was alone in raising him. after spending the better partof a year in a homeless shelter, dawn and anthony were finally ableto get an apartment of their own. it was here where they mettwo sister missionaries from the church of jesus christof latter-day saints.
we talked about the gospel ofjesus christ in different ways that applied to herand how she could change her life. she needed friends, and so,as we were able to teach her the gospel, she talked to us in a way that were more differentthan other people we taught. today we are getting shirts, slacks,shoes, socks, raincoat... pretty much everything he'll needfor two years. and we get to fit it in one bagthat weighs under 50 pounds. and we're looking for how nicely it fitsacross the back here.
i think that a mission is goingto teach him a depth of soulthat he wouldn't get at home. i think it will teach him howto lose himself in the service of others. when you compare it to your suit,which complements your suit more? -that one.-okay. -right?-right. it's surreal having him try suits on and things like that because the days are counting down,
and i realize i'm not goingto be watching him wear the suits... i worked hard. i've owned and operateda lawn care business. so that's how i've been ableto pay for my mission. he's obviously contributed quite a bitto his mission financially, and i think that he will have a much richer experiencebecause he did that. i challenge all of you to prepare, do all that you can to make sureyou're worthy to go. i can't help someone be betterin their own life
if my life isn't in order. i had to meet with my bishop andjust make sure that my life and everything was in orderwith the gospel and its teachings. the gospel's been such a joy in my life,and that's something that i want to share. it was a very difficult time for dawn. i mean, she was already struggling with just trying to make things workand give her son the best life that he could have. my boyfriend and i got back together.
we tried to make a go of it because,of course, you want the fairy tale. you want your childrento have their father in their life. i became pregnant againwith our second child. my boyfriend was adamantly againsthaving another child, and then he said that it was over. and a month later, trey was born.he was beautiful. he was perfect. i think it was in december.we received a call from her, in tears, indicating that trey had passed away.
even losing him, i went through alone. i think that was hard for meto have a child that no one ever saw. my parents never held him,never looked at him. you know, the missionaries would come overand i would just say, "don't talk to me about god.where is god in this? "no god that i know would let this happento one of his children." at this point i'm in arkansas.and in this teeny, tiny town, i walk into a convenience store.
and the womanthat was working the cash register, she could see that i was visibly shaken. she kind of stopped me.she said, "are you okay?" instantly, i was justso emotionally overwhelmed and so alone that i confided in herwith what i was going through. and she said, "are you religious?"and i said, "well, i've actually been studyingthe lds church, the mormon church." and she said, "well, i'm lds, "and, you know,i can call some missionaries over here,
"and i'd be happy for themto give you a blessing." and at that moment i knew that he didn't leave me. that was him saying, "just hold on, "just hold on a little longer. "you're almost there.you're just so close, and i'm here, "and i love you, and my love is real." i knew that if she would commitand she would take that next step,
that it would bring happiness in her life. i had to decidewhat i wanted to do with my life. soon after, dawn was baptized as a member of the church of jesus christof latter-day saints. then, just a few months priorto her 19th birthday, and with a strong desire to start fresh, dawn and anthony made a big move out westand never looked back. shortly thereafter,she met and married craig armstrong, a local-grown mormon boyfrom salt lake city, utah.
from that point on, her and anthony's lifewould never be the same. it took me foreverbefore i'd actually admitted to myself that she was my girlfriend. but... you never said i was your girlfriend,your mother did. that's true. he told me, "she's got a little boy."and i said, "well, "that doesn't create a problem,because if you love her, "then we'll love the little boy."
-hey, that sounds good.-i made steaks for anthony. they see me as a person,they don't see me as "black anthony." they don't see me as,you know, "oh, well, he's half and half." they just see me as anthony,they see me for who i am. craig is very specialin lots of different ways, but one of the things that gave hima great depth of character is the fact that he's missing a legon his left side. what i love most about skiing is,it's probably one of the only sports i can really do that i feel unlimited.
and i love that because my lifehas been full of physical limitations. yeah, dad! old man's still got it! he's safe! anthony being my oldesthas been really great. as a father, i'm always tryingto push my kids always to that next level, push them a little bitout of their comfort zone so they get that additional growth. not once even from the first timethat i met my dad have i ever thought that he was disabled.
that's one thing very valuablethat craig brought to the table, was the fact that he was different. he always picks the easy stuff. whatever. there was a commonality there that i knewthat craig would be able to identify and help anthony when he struggledwhen it came to being different. stand on your left leg. use your legs. i love and admire my dad.he's always been there. there hasn't been a wrestling matchthat he hasn't seen and been there to coach.
football and baseball and track...he's always been there to help out. i just have a lot of respect for him.i just have awesome parents. the day of anthony's departureis finally here. and like most familieswho support missionaries, it's a mixed bag of emotions. hey, dude, i can totally go. what are you doing in there? we're going to have to fold everythingas tiny as it gets. for the next two years,anthony's only contact with his family
will be through weekly e-mailand one call home each christmas and mother's day. you're packed. it's like your heartwalking outside your chest. your head knows all the right reasonsthat he should be going, but your heart just does not care. it's like your heart and your headare constantly in turmoil. and anthony is a huge part of my heart. he's the oldest brother,he's the leader of the pack,
and that leadership is going to be missed. one more group hug. -i'm proud of him.-come on, guys. he will bless many lives,and it's worth doing. i mean,i'm a living result of the miracles that can come from missionary work. i can't be selfish.no matter how much i love him, i... he's not mine. he was on loan. now, it's time to give him backfor a time.
and it'll be hard, but it's worth doing. hey, everybody, it's elder armstrong. everything's been going goodat the johannesburg mtc. i'll be back here on thursday... i think the church sends missionaries outbecause there is people like me waiting for their lives to be changed. i sincerely believe that in lifethere's really no coincidences, that there's nothingreally random about life.
he's my best friend, elder armstrong.he's a good guy. i think, in a way, that god makesappointments for us with others. when the people see a missionaryon the street and it happens to be my son, i would just encourage themto keep their own appointments, to not shut god out, to open themselves up to the possibility that there's something out therethat they don't realize. and hope that they wouldjust take a minute to hear his message. one choice can change everything.
and then that one choice turns intoanother amazing choice and just, like, one bad choice can spiralinto just despair and hopelessness, good choices can turn into miraclesand potential unrealized... i look at my life now,and it's a whole different universe. i adore and cherish my family. my life has been full of miracles, full of god touchingevery aspect of my life. now, i have a better understandingof how to find peace. you're not always goingto be perfectly happy,
but you can always beat peace with things, knowing that god loves you,understanding my relationship with him. it's totally different nowto go through hard things and have that support and have that love that only a father in heaven can provide. and having the gracethat only christ can give is... it's the perfect combinationfor a happy life. as you can see, mormons come in all sizes,shapes, and colors. we belong to a worldwide family,
the church of jesus christof latter-day saints. we're not perfect, and though we struggleand worry about all the things that most people struggle and worry about, we found something that helps us meetthe daily challenges of life, the gospel of jesus christ. mormons respect and defendthe rights of everyone to worship as they choose. and we invite all to joinwith us on common ground, to live as the savior lives,
serve as he serves, and love as he loves. so, if you want to knowwhat makes us tick, the answer is simple. we strive to follow the exampleof jesus christ. we love god and believethat he has a plan for all of us. we believe that each one of ushas amazing potential. each one of ushas an important part to play.