March 17th
Mauritius, Day 3

Today, I found time early in the morning to walk on the beach. It was lovely. The sound of the waves, the warm water cascading onto my feet. I even found a beautiful sea shell to take home as a memento. SRC gave a presentation to a group of LDS members and non-members in the morning and then we flew to Johannesburg.

The LDS Community event was great. I would say there were about 100 people there and a good number of them were non-members (maybe ¼). SRC talked to them about families and the restoration. Our host for the public event the day before was also attending and SRC told me after that he had been quite touched by what was shared. SRC also told me that a woman, who is catholic, told him that for the first time she finally understands what the Mormon church is all about. There was an opening and closing hymn and prayer. The songs and prayer were in French/Creol. What a beautiful language and what beautiful people. At the conclusion of the event we made a semi-quick exit so that we could get back to the hotel and get ready for our departure.


March 16th
Mauritius Day 2

Today was fantastic! We traveled just a few minutes from our hotel to the event venue. I thought the hotel we were staying in was beautiful…this one was spectacular. Dark cherry wood, quite contemporary but the most amazing part was the pool area leading right to the beach. You look out over this balcony from the main lobby area and all you see is blue with a few smatterings of green and lovely flowers. The blue is not only the pool but it cascades right down to the ocean. There is a coral reef that protects most of the beach areas and it is so cool to see the waves breaking so far out and then it is calm water up to the sand.

The program went well with 400 people in attendance. This was a quieter group than in Dubai and Jordan but they had great questions. At the close of the day SRC asked the participants to raise their hand if someone in their life communicated their potential so clearly that they began to see it in themselves. A good number raised their hands. SRC then asked for volunteers to share their story. The one that impacted me the most was told by a gentleman that, you could tell, was so nervous to be standing in the sea of people but his story was quite something. Maybe not to you but it was too me. At the age of 20 he started his career at a bank. 18 months after starting his job the CEO called him into his office and told him that he was being promoted to manager. As manager he would lead 12 people. He doubted his ability to do this but the CEO believed in him. This man is now the CEO of a bank! I love stories like this. This man was so impacted by the belief of this CEO who most likely became a mentor to him…his life was changed.

At the conclusion of the event SRC was escorted to a lower level for a TV interview. I was sitting off to the side and wouldn’t you know it I put my head in hand and found my self falling asleep. Not that the interview was boring but I think SRC’s voice is becoming to familiar to me that it is now serving as a way to make me go to sleep. I was awake for most of the interview…don’t tell SRC I fell asleep.

Tonight was a dinner with quite a few Ministers of Mauritius and other distinguished guests. One of the guests works at the US Embassy in Mauritius. I think she is the only other blonde I have seen on the entire island. The people of Mauritius are beautiful…dark skin, shining eyes. Some look very African others look like they are from India. I have been very impressed with the graciousness and hospitality of everyone we have met.

I want to share an interesting experience that I had today. It was a good lesson for me. Throughout the day I was anticipating a phone call that could have potentially been very difficult. It was on my mind quite a bit and I was preparing my speech, so to speak. During the afternoon session of the event SRC was talking about Habits 4, 5, 6; third-alternatives and Indian Talking Stick Communication. As I listened to SRC my mind was flooded with thoughts, phrases and ideas for me to use on this phone call. I came up with my action plan and a good third-alternative that I would present after practicing Habit 5 (seeking first to understand and then to be understood). I felt strongly that once we got to that point we would be able to synergize and come to a win-win. The call was still not easy but it went far better than I thought it would. After listening and repeating to make sure I understood they did the same. At that point I presented my idea of a third-alternative and this individual loved it. Whether or not it will work will been seen but at least we concluded the call feeling better than when we started it.

I feel increasingly blessed to be in the job I am in. I paint a rosy picture most of the time in this blog so that you will keep coming back to read more and so it will be an adventure for you and not a diary of bad things that happen to CDJ. Frankly, this trip has been quite difficult and one that I hope never repeats. I have learned a great many lessons…hard lessons and I have questioned my ability to do this job. However, I am grateful for those who send good thoughts and (for those who pray) prayers my way. I know I am sustained with health and energy because of it. I know that SRC is also sustained because of the good thoughts and prayers.

March 15th
Mauritius – Day 1

I cannot get over the beauty of Mauritius! As we flew over the island in preparation for landing I could not take my eyes off the green hills, mountains, water, etc. Getting off the plane I knew I was in for a hot afternoon. Plus, I had on jeans and my Keen’s. HOT and sticky! The drive to the hotel was interesting. We passed buildings under construction and in some cases the scaffolding was built out of stiff, straight branches from trees. I found that odd and interesting. I am sure there is method behind what seemed to me to be madness.

This hotel is amazing! It is definitely set up for those who will not spend much time in the room…no remote for the TV, etc. The beach is just a short walk from the hotel patio. The color of the water is…well, just look in a box of crayons and you will find the array of sea water colors. Beautiful! I took a quick shower and met SRC back at the lobby. SRC was to meet with the Prime Minister of Mauritius and members of his cabinet. We drove to this beautiful property that is the official home for the Prime Minister. The current PM does not live there but he does use it for occasions like this. The meeting went well. SRC had about an hour and fifteen minutes to speak to this group of about 12 people.

At the conclusion of the meeting we were escorted outside for some refreshments and then whisked away to get back to the hotel. After all, we had an appointment with a helicopter. This was not just any helicopter. It is one of the official Mauritius police helicopters. Our pilots…policeman. What a tour! It was the best way for us to see Mauritius. What a beautiful island. To see the water, the hotels, the villages. I am attaching some of my favorite pictures so you can get a taste, from above, of what Mauritius looks like. The pilots speak very good English but they have thick French accents which made it difficult with some of what they were saying. Mauritius has quite a few volcanoes on the island. One of the pilots explained that these volcanoes were once called “dead volcanoes” but they are now called “sleeping volcanoes” because of recent volcanic activity and craters forming. Nothing to be worried about but it was interesting to hear the differentiation.

Seeing Mauritius will definitely be a highlight of this entire trip. I won’t have much time for play but I do hope to get down to the ocean before we leave on Saturday.



March 14th
Dubai

Today’s program was great! First of all, the flight from Jordan to Dubai was uneventful and uncomfortable. The seats, although first class, were uncomfortable. They reclined but in a very strange way. It was like sitting in a dentists chair…and I hate the dentist. I survived so please stop your worrying. (I am such a hoot!) I think I got about 3 hours of sleep prior to the event. When my alarm went off my first thought was, something is wrong, I am sure this clock is wrong. It was so cruel to make me wake up!

So back to the program. This was with a client and their top clients. I would say there were about 90 people there and I found it interesting to observe them. Some were very engaged, taking notes, asking questions. Others were more interested in what was coming in on their cell phones. Oh well, it is not my job to make them participate. The day was good and as I mentioned above there were quite a few questions from the participants. If I were to sum up their questions I would say they are fighting a new mind set and perhaps even a new tool set. SRC would introduce a new principle and they would have some comment about it. Almost like they wanted to disprove what it was SRC was teaching. It was more than just wanting further understanding. I wanted to stand up and say, “just listen and be open to what he has to say. Don’t argue the point, try to implement it before trying to disprove”. The Project Manager for the client actually stood up at one point and said, “We seem to be going around in circles with this topic (4 quadrants). Let’s move onto another question.” I commend the courage of their questions but it also helps to have an open mind to allow for paradigm shifts. I hope they came away with new ideas: new tools, skills and possibly a new mind set.

After the full-day program, SRC and I participated in a LDS Church event. We were escorted to the event by the Bishop of the ward in Dubai. I am not sure how many people were attending because of the overflow areas that I did not have a chance to see, but if all the chairs were filled there were probably 200 people there. I love to observe SRC at these events. His eyes just shine as he talks about the importance of families, family mission statements, etc. Although he was completely exhausted from the events of the previous two days he drew strength from the attendees and the topic.

Once back at the hotel I did some work, took a shower, and re-packed. I did not want to sleep knowing I would just have to get up an hour later to travel to the airport to fly to Mauritius.