Water is Life

To the extent pride is a virtue (and President Benson taught "there is no such thing as righteous pride"), there is nothing that gives this Mormon more pride than the efforts of the Church Humanitarian Services (see a summary of those activities here).

Within those humanitarian efforts, there is perhaps no effort having greater impact than the Clean Water Initiative. This article gives specific examples of the blessing of "living water" in the lives of people of all faiths (and no faith) worldwide. Consider this statistic:

"The Clean Water Initiative began in 2002 with a single project in Laos. The program's budget grew 5,000 percent in 2003, and the next year it doubled again. By 2009, the Church had helped bring clean water to more than 4 million people in 63 nations. This year alone, the Clean Water Initiative will work on approximately 60 water projects in 30 countries."

I am pleased to know two great neighbors who are volunteer missionaries in the Clean Water Initiative. Truly a river runs through them.

North America's Top 10 Trout-Fishing Towns

I just read a Forbes article containing the following quote: "A trout is a moment of beauty known only to those who seek it." Well said.

Forbes' top 10 trout towns are (in no particular order but I'm glad they began with West Yellowstone):

West Yellowstone, Montana
Missoula, Montana
Roscoe, New York
State College, Pennsylvania
Grayling, Michigan
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Mountain Home, Arkansas
Redding, California
Asheville, North Carolina

I must confess my happiness that my favorite rivers and streams - Green River (Dutch John), Provo River (Provo), and especially Huntington Creek (Fairview Canyon) were nowhere to be found :-). Shhhh.....