When I think of my dear friend Dan Pak, I immediately start running out of adjectives. Dan is my mentor. He is my hero. Dan Pak is the very embodiment of eminent courage, of implausible resilience, and of unfathomable faith.

To suddenly encounter an insurmountable blockade in front of everything you were planning and preparing, and to find all of your hopes and dreams now in ashes, is just about outside my grasp. To then pick yourself up, reinvent yourself, and start out in a whole new direction, is almost beyond my reach.


Yet, this is what Dan Pak did. And in the process he remained ever true to himself, unswerving in his convictions, and relentlessly faithful to his family. With all of the changes he had to make, the inner core of his being was never compromised.


And now this unassuming man has consented to share his experiences with his immediate, as well as his extended family of human beings. I count myself most privileged to be part of the same human races as Dan Pak. You will, too, when you read the journaling of this meek and modest fellow sojourner.


Larry G. Johnson

Roopville, Georgia and

Sterling, Alaska