At 13 years of age, and up to that time, I lived in a very rural part of Kenya. Life in the rural areas was very basic. People had very little. But those who seemed to afford the better things that others admired were those who had a good education. And I came to see that education was a key to a better life. I was aware of some of the hurdles that I needed to overcome in order to get a good education. During this year, both year 7 and year 8, I sat the examinations together to compete for the same limited number of places in good secondary schools. The thought kept coming to me to go and speak to the school principal of one of the best schools that I really desired to join. I needed my father's bicycle to enable me to make this journey. And it was over hills and valleys, and a journey that took half of the day. The other thing that you need to realize is that I was just 13 years old. I had never been out of my village. I did not know how to speak English very well. And this school principal was a white man, and I had never before spoken directly to a white man. So this was quite an intimidating thought. Something inside me kept pushing me along and telling me that I should do this. So I set off to go to this school. I found myself standing before a white man for the first time in my life. I was barefoot. And as I looked at him, I could see that he was quite surprised to see this young boy standing like a soldier in front of him. He had kind eyes, so that give me a little bit of courage. I spoke to him about the fact that I really wanted to join his school, and I would be very happy if he could take me. And then he said, "Well, we'll see when the results are out." And I said, "Thank you, sir!" And in less than four minutes I was out of the office. Those four minutes that I spent in that office really were the defining moment in my life. I was the only student from my primary school who was selected to one of the best schools in our area. And the fact that this good man had given me this opportunity made me to have a sense of gratefulness. It really inspired me to strive to be the best student in my graduating class, which I actually was, four years later. And then that opened new opportunities for me to go to another very good school and then to prepare for university, where I started for engineering. The education that I had enabled me to find my wife at the university. It enabled me to find a job in the city. While living in Nairobi, we came across a missionary couple that invited us to their home, where they were having meetings with those who were members of the Church. If I had not been in Nairobi at that time, I would never have found the gospel. The fact that I was in a secure job enabled me to serve in the Church. Self-reliance begins with a vision of what you can become, free from self-doubt, free from any feelings of inadequacy. When such thoughts come into your mind, you need to remember your divine potential, that Heavenly Father has put you here upon the earth and given you capacity to have dominion above all things upon the earth. Heavenly Father has made a promise to all those who live according to the pattern of His covenants that He will provide for them. The plan of the gospel is to help us so that we can be independent and become like our Father in Heaven. I testify that if you can develop a clear vision of what you can become, the Lord will open ways for you so that that vision can become a reality. I'd also like to testify that education is a key to self-reliance. It will open many avenues for you to succeed so that you can be able to provide for yourself temporally, so that you can be able to be free to become spiritually self-reliant as well.