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You may have heard of Apa Sherpa. He moved his family to Utah from Nepal. That's probably not why you heard about him. More likely, you heard that last May he set the record for summiting Mount Everest. It was the 19th time he made it to the top of the world. Nineteen times he's climbed to 29,035 plus feet above sea level! His brother has the record for the fastest accent from the south in just less than 11 hours! Apa brought his family to Utah with the help of a local businessman because he wanted his children to get a good education. His motto is "No choice without education." When he was a young man he had to walk (hike actually) three hours to get to school and another three hours to get home. Drop that one on your old man the next time he goes off about walking five miles to school everyday, in the snow, up hill, both ways. Apa says he was so tired by the time he got home he couldn't do his home work. Every Saturday, his family had to hike six hours both ways to get to the closest market to buy supplies and then carry them back themselves. The Sherpas are amazing people. Not just because of the where they live and what they do, but because Apa's 19 summits and his brothers record accent don't mean all that much in their community. What gives a person status is how much they help their neighbors! A big house and the largest yak on the block mean nothing to them. Only the extent to which you've given of youself to help others! I try to help my neighbors and friends as much as I can. I mow my sweet little 87 year old neighbor's lawn, clear the snow from her walk or give her a ride to the airport when ever I can. And I have a situation in my home right now that allows me to help a "neighbor." There's no way in the world I could ever climb a mountain like Everest 19 times, nor would I want to frankly. That wouldn't impress Apa anyway. But I know what I can do that would.
