Occasionally in life, you get to do something amazing.  What's more, you might change your life forever.

In January 1980, we enjoyed what my husband, Bud Philbrook, wryly refers to as "a properly balanced honeymoon." We spent five days indulging Bud's childhood dream to visit Orlando theme parks, followed by five days in an impoverished Guatemalan village. This curious blending of Disney World and "the real world" eventually led to a life change that involves thousands of others around the world.

Originally, our honeymoon plans centered around a "barefoot cruise" in the Caribbean. But it was late in 1979, the period of a massive exodus of Hmong and Cambodian people into the vast waters toward America. Week after week, evening network newscasts spotlighted the growing tragedy - the casualties of capsized refugee boats lost in the frigid waters. A cruise seemed increasingly frivolous to us in the context of world events. We decided to try to create a more meaningful vacation for ourselves, where we could experiment with being true "world citizens," if only for a short time. We thought perhaps we could contribute our skills to an international organization that needed help. But where would we find such an outlet?

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Read about Bud and Michele in People Magazine