Well as many people reading this blog already know that I’m a Eagle Scout.
But for those that don’t know anything about scouts I’ll give you intro.
Boy Scouts of America is the 3rd oldest scout organization in the world, the highest rank is Eagle Scout. To receive your eagle you must first go through 6 other ranks, and earn at least 21 merit badges. A merit badge is something that teaches you about a certain area; it might be first aid or cinematograph. But they teach you about life and potential careers. I earned over 60 merit badges. You must then do a eagle project, which is a community service project, which you must plan and lead other scout to finish the project and show your leadership in it. My project was to build 2 pick net tables and a park bench for the town I lived in. It taught me a lot of things doing my project and learning how to manage people. The last thing that you must do is to pass a board of review in which they ask questions and to make sure that you have fulfilled the rank requirements. I received my eagle on august 18th 2005. It was a great honor to receive my eagle rank at such a young age I was only 14 at the time.
Being in scouts was my focus for so many years that I never really got deep into a youth group or anything like that, yes I went but it was never my focus. I was a Scout.
Well that brings us to this past month in the Philippines, as we were flying to the Mindanao Island I saw a scout group, and saw some of them with eagle badges on their uniforms. Well it made me want to get one. I found out that a store on the island had scout stuff so I was able to get a eagle badge. The eagle that is on the badge is a Philippine eagle.
The Philippine eagle is the largest of all eagles and is extremely endangered, there are under 100 breeding pairs surviving, only 7 pairs are located on islands other than the island that I was on, where the majority of birds are. The forest that we lived in was the forest with the highest population of eagles on the island. I’m kind of the guy that loves to see different type of animals I keep a list of the types of animals that I have seen so I was just hoping to see the rare bird once. Well I got to see one flying above one day, then as we were going into town on Christmas God gave me a gift, I got to see one up in a tree then another. That’s right two of the rarest birds in the world in one day God is amazing, he wants us to be happy and loves to give us gifts.
I ask you are you looking for the little gifts that God gives you but more than that are you thanking him for the small gifts as much as the big ones. That is one of the many ways that God showed his love to me this past month. It was small but meant so much to me. God loves you and want to share his gifts with you but are you thanking him for them. If not make a list ways that he has given gifts to you over the past week small and big and then thank him, if you can’t think of any then try and see them over the next week.
I thank God for the chance to be on the race as much as I thank him for the butterfly that just flew by.
Thank God in all that he does.
