Panama City

I recently got back from another trip to Panama.  It was amazing.  I haven't uploaded any pictures from my camera yet or taken Spencer's, so I don't want to talk about what we were doing so much until I can show you what we did, but I wanted to write about some of the little things this trip got me thinking about.

This trip kind of reminded me of my mission.  The last one did too.  Here I was in a foreign country with a metropolitan city next to the ocean (sound familiar?) trying to understand (I wouldn't say learn because that sounds like too active of a verb) another language surrounded by some amazing people.  It was just me and Spencer and it sort of felt like a companionship.  He really is an awesome guy.

I think the moment the reminiscence hit me the hardest was in our collection in David, Panama.  Spencer went to talk to a man who owned the land that one of the tributaries we wanted to work in ran through.  The owner came out of his house and just started to talk with us.  He was in his sixties or seventies, and he was just the most amiable little guy I ever met.  He told Spencer all sorts of stories - about how a dinosaur had been discovered in Panama, how it was dug up, how the Americans stole it and put it in one of their museums, and all that he's been doing to get it back where it belongs.  And though I obviously didn't catch any of that until Spencer told me, I just couldn't help but be impressed by the goodness of this man.

Immediately I thought of all the people I taught on my mission, all the great members I became friends with, my companions, the other great missionaries I served with, and of course my great Mission President.  I thought of the wonderful people of Singapore and Malaysia.  I thought about what it feels like to just give yourself completely to serving a group of people.

It was some nice thinking. 

But it wasn't all retrospective.  These trips have taught me a lot about science, about moving forward and progressing.  The knowledge of evolution the members of my lab possess is incredible.  And that knowledge is growing every day.  Right now as you read this, people all across the world are making discoveries. But it's not just science that's changing.  Novels are being written, movies are being filmed, speeches are being given, and prayers are being answered.  One of my professors (my awesome Evolutionary Biology professor Byron Adams if you'd like to know) showed us a study that shows that the entirety of human knowledge doubles every nine years.  DOUBLES! Can you imagine that?!  That notion of progress is what keeps me going.  I wrote in the talk I gave in church a while ago that stagnation is uncomfortable.  But thankfully progression, discovery, and edification is so exhilarating.

Every night, Spencer talked with his wife and little baby through video chat, and it gave me a little glimpse of what's ahead and complete dedication to another amazing enterprise - family.  It looked amazing.  My nostalgic contemplations reminded me of giving myself completely to a cause and as I looked forward to what's to come hopefully within the next few years down the road it was clear that life is full of so many good ones.

Morrie Shwartz said, “So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they're busy doing things they think are important. This is because they're chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”

Let's find the right things and give them our all.