My favorite quote so far in the book comes at the end of chapter 6, when Greg prays in the Muslim way for the first time. He finds a sort of calm in the ritual, and to me, it seems as if he felt that things were finally falling into place. For the first time, he felt he wasn't being looked at as an outsider, which was very important to his mission, to feel that he belonged with the people that he was trying so desperately to help. Previously in the book, he had recovered from the incident at K2, he had spent months trying to raise and save enough money for the construction of the school, he had slept in his car for almost a year, and he had come back to Pakistan and started on gathering the supplies needed for construction. He was finally on his way to making his vision a reality, and this quote shows that he felt things were finally falling into place.

The quote: "The belief rippling around him was strong. It was strong enough to convert a gas station into a holy place. Who knew what other wonders of transformation lay ahead?"

My reflection: Being a Muslim myself, this quote was quite easy for me to relate to. Prayer is the one of the fundamentals of the Islamic faith, it is a daily ritual we must fulfill 5 times a day. We are told that prayer helps in all sorts of situations, it is a way to talk directly to God and a way to redeem oneself. Unfortunately, more often than not, I find myself not praying for days on end. Usually, I only remember to pray when I am faced with a difficult situation and need some sort of guidance or feel the urge to ask God for help. Keeping in mind that I am supposed to pray everyday, 5 times a day, I do not pride myself on the few times when I do pray, especially when it is only when I need help. But I find that when I pray, somehow, I feel better, and somehow, I feel that everything will be ok, something like what Greg Mortenson felt when he experienced the power of prayer and belief.