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Dear friends,

The story of how I became a White House insider and served as
interpreter<http://www.WantToKnow.info/fredburksresigns> for
Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush is quite unusual and
inspiring. I was amazed that it all happened pretty much without
my even trying. But before beginning the story, it's important to
mention that since age 19, I have been deeply committed to doing
whatbs best for all<http://www.weboflove.org/keystolife#whatsbest>
and to opening fully to divine guidance in my life. The chain of
small miracles that led me to the White House is only one example
of the many amazing miracles I've experienced since embracing these
empowering life
intentions<http://www.inspiringcommunity.org/inspiringstories0304#intentionsfred>.

"You've got to go with me, Fred, or I'll never fulfill my dream of
living in Japan," John exclaimed with frustration. In 1980, I was
an energetic 22-year-old college student living in a fun dormitory
on the beautiful campus of UC Santa Cruz in California. One calm
autumn evening, my roommate, John, asked me to go with him to a
meeting put on by Volunteers In Asia<http://www.viaprograms.org>
(VIA). VIA is a non-profit educational exchange organization that
sends college undergrads to Asia to experience life in a foreign
culture while teaching English there.

Besides being very busy with studies that evening, I wasnbt at all
interested in leaving college or living overseas. At first, I told
John I just didnbt have time. But after several sincere appeals, I
had to agree that John was shy and that there was no way he would
go alone. Only because I knew it might really change his life, I
reluctantly agreed to accompany him.

At the meeting, the recently returned volunteers excitedly shared
colorful slides and fascinating stories about their transformative
cross-cultural experiences in Asia. I was surprised to soon find
myself captivated and even infected by their incredible vibrance
and passion. Their vivid descriptions were filled with enthusiasm,
joy, and powerful awakenings. The lives of these young adventurers
had clearly been dramatically enriched by their rich journeys. The
end result was that though John never went to Japan, I, having been
dragged to this meeting against my will, ended up going to live in
Asia as a volunteer English teacher!

On applying to VIA for a volunteer position, I requested Japan as
my first choice, as I had to pay my own plane fare and Japan was
the least expensive of the countries served. But I told them that
I would go anywhere they sent me if the few available Japanese
positions filled. They chose Indonesia for me, which at the time I
didn't even realize was a country. I had thought it was a small
group of islands somewhere in the Pacific. I fully trusted, though,
that I was being guided to the right place for me.

In Indonesia, I lived for a full year on the west side of the vast
island of Borneo with the warmest, most wonderful Muslim family in
the world. As my newly adopted father was an MD, he supported his
parents and a couple siblings and in-laws and their children, so
that in all, we had an extended family of 20 people living under
one roof! My adopted mother there was one of the kindest, most
saintly women Ibve ever met. I had countless amazingly rich experiences
with these gentle, loving people.

Even with all of the constant activity of my large, adopted family
and home, I found myself studying the Indonesian language like a
maniac b two to three hours almost every day b for the entire year
abroad. I knew that language was crucial to diving into the culture,
but I was way overboard in how much I studied. I made over 6,000
flash cards and even memorized every word in a couple small
dictionaries. Yet somehow, I sensed there was a greater reason for
it all. By the end of my year there, I was quite fluent.

In early 1986, five years after my time in Indonesia, I had just
come back home from two intense years of teaching English at a
college in communist China, again as a VIA volunteer. My time in
China was filled with rich, sometimes challenging adventures quite
different than Indonesia. Living in Wuhan (a city of six million
about which few have ever heard), I had been the first foreigner
in the city to be allowed to live together with local Chinese in a
teachers dormitory. I managed to become fluent in Chinese, too. Yet
now that I was back home, it was time to finally look for some
income-producing work to feed my nearly empty bank account.

A VIA friend of mine told me about an interesting job as a language
interpreter taking influential foreign visitors on study tours of
the United States for the Department of State. I had never seriously
considered being an interpreter, but this sounded quite interesting.
They just happened to be interviewing near my home a month after I
heard about the job. So thanks to all those hours studying like a
maniac in Indonesia, I ended up with a great job as an Indonesian
interpreter where I was paid to travel and study all over the US
with my distinguished Indonesian guests!

By the end of my first month in this fascinating new job, I realized
I was a natural at interpreting. I was soon whispering simultaneously
into the ears of my Indonesian visitors as Americans conversed with
them. I saw that if I was willing to study more, I could become a
really good simultaneous interpreter and possibly even interpret
for top government officials some day. After opening to whatbs best,
however, I became clear that I wanted to focus my time and energy
on other, more meaningful matters. I chose not to spend much time
on language skills, and was perfectly content to continue as a
low-level interpreter.

In 1992 (six years later), now working only part time as an interpreter
and part time with cancer patients as a registered nurse, I took
an assignment as the administrative interpreter supporting two
simultaneous interpreters at a government-sponsored seminar in
Washington, DC. Because of the intense concentration needed,
simultaneous interpreting requires two interpreters who switch off
every 20 to 30 minutes. As the logistical support interpreter, I
was out running errands for a few of the visitors when the seminar
started.

When I came back a few hours later, the group was on a break. As
soon as he saw me, Dan, one of the interpreters, grabbed me and
franticly asked, bCan you do any simultaneous interpreting?b The
other interpreter had gotten sick and had to go home.

Dan had been interpreting almost three hours without a break, which
is almost unheard of. So even though I wasnbt officially qualified,
I stepped in, did great, and finished out the remainder of the
week-long seminar as a simultaneous interpreter. On hearing about
this, my boss at the State Department called me in to congratulate
me. At his suggestion, I took and passed the test to become officially
qualified as a simultaneous interpreter.

It turns out that Indonesian interpreters are in great demand b
especially simultaneous Indonesian interpreters. Indonesia is the
fourth largest country in the world (population 220 million), yet
very few Americans ever learn Indonesian (the national language).
So in 1995, out of the blue I received a call from the State
Department asking me to travel to Copenhagen to interpret for Vice
President Al Gore at a UN Conference! Even though I wasnbt officially
qualified for high level interpreting, they couldnbt find anyone
else. So I went, had a great time, and shortly thereafter qualified
at the State Department's highest level.

Before my resignation due to excessive secrecy in 2004, I had
interpreted for President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush,
Vice Presidents Gore and Cheney, Secretaries of State Albright and
Powell, and numerous other presidents and officials from many
countries. Whenever present in high-level meetings, I did my best
to open to divine guidance, and to send out lots of love, support,
and wishes for whatbs best to all present.

At key summit meetings, I even invited many
friends<http://www.wanttoknow.info/floodleaders> to take a moment
in silence and join me in inviting our world leaders to open to
what is best for all who share our world. I have no doubt that this
is why I was led to this fascinating work.

It's pretty amazing that I never even had to try, yet ended up as
the State Departmentbs top Indonesian interpreter. Itbs even more
amazing when you remember that I did not choose Indonesia and was
dragged against my will to that first VIA meeting years ago! There
are many more little miracles to this story that, for reasons of
space, I didnbt include. For me, all of this shows that the more I
open to divine guidance and to whatbs best for all, the more filled
with miracles my life becomes. I give thanks for these many miracles
and for all that I have been given. And thank you, my friends, for
reading and sharing in this piece of my life.

With very best wishes, Fred Burks Former language
interpreter<http://www.WantToKnow.info/fredburksresigns> for
Presidents Bush and Clinton

Note: The same spiritual guidance that brought me to the White House
eventually led me to found and develop the network of inspiring
PEERS websites<http://www.peerservice.org/>, including
www.WantToKnow.info<http://www.WantToKnow.info>, which is filled
with reliable, verifiable information on major cover-ups and inspiring
ideas on how we can build a brighter
future<http://www.wanttoknow.info/brighterfuture>.

To read some of the fascinating stories from my high-level interpreting
experiences:

http://www.WantToKnow.info/050418fredburksinterpretingstories

To read the inspiring results of inviting our world leaders to open
to what's best:

http://www.WantToKnow.info/presidentialsurprises<http://www.wanttoknow.info/presidentialsurprises>

To read about my resignation because of excessive secrecy in November
2004:

http://www.WantToKnow.info/fredburksresigns

For the story of how speaking truth led to my being a celebrity for
a week:

http://www.WantToKnow.info/050129fredburkscelebrity

To read an empowering essay I wrote on my life intentions titled
Simple Keys to a Fuller Life:

http://www.weboflove.org/keystolife2

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