LESSONS LEARNED ABOUT LIFE AND FINANCES FROM MISSIONS IN SOUTH AMERICA
When I was in my early twenties I decided to go on a missions trip with the church I was attending at that time, to Santiago Chile. I have always loved to travel and I found this to be an exciting opportunity to not only experience another culture, but to also visit a country I have never been to before. I was young and inexperienced with so many things at this time, and I was excited to learn new things and even more excited to visit a new country.
The missions trip to Santiago was in October 2001, almost immediately after the terror attack of 9/11 happened here in the United States. The loss and the terror of it all was still so fresh in all of our minds at that time. As a team we were all very nervous about the trip, but determined to go despite the circumstances. We flew out of Detroit Metro and into Dallas Fort Worth where we would take another plane to Santiago Chile for my first trip oversees. I was so excited to go and had so many ideas of what the trip would entail until I actually returned from my trip.
Let me tell you the experience of my mission trip to Santiago Chile, was one that I will never forget for the rest of my life. There are many reasons for this and the lessons learned are ones that will go with me throughout everything I do the rest of my life.
These are just a few of the lessons I learned
1. I am blessed with so much and I often take it for granted.... Chile was a beautiful country and so amazing to visit. The people we met and connected with did not have much at all. The people I encountered at the orphanage in Chile were some of the most loving and giving people, despite the fact that they did not have much to give. Seeing the contentment and joy in what these people did have made me realize that things do not necessarily make you happier. Contentment and joy are found in learning to be grateful what you do have in life, even in the difficult times.
2. Language is not everything, but love is felt in every language...We had a lot of time spent one on one with the young girls there after the hours spent on construction. The time spent building relationships with these girls despite the language barrier was amazing. Even when you do not speak the language there are things that can be appreciated despite that such as a handshake, hug, smile and in this culture a quick kiss on the cheek.
3. Safety and protection are priceless and all children deserve both......We worked at an orphanage for young girls while I was on that trip. We helped to build a new building and repair a fence at the orphanage. The fence was to keep out grown men and teenage boys that would come in at night to take advantage of these young girls. The building was not much and neither was the fence and these girls deserved far more. We did our best as a group to make a difference, but the knowledge of what had already happened to some of these girls was heartbreaking.
4) There are more stars in the sky than you will ever normally see..... We spent a day and a night in a resort up in the Andes mountains. This was the most fabulous view I have ever seen in years and I will not quickly forget the beautiful view of the stars. It was absolutely amazing the amount of stars that lined the sky that night. For me I found this a great reminder that there is so much more than just what we see around us everyday.
5) There is nothing wrong with a simple life..... The people we encountered in Santiago Chile lived a very simple life. The food they ate, the clothes they wore, everything about their lives was simple, yet they truly were much happier than I was. Living a simple life is a great thing and when we accept a simple life and cherish these simple things, we are often much happier. We have far more than we need in life and we are often not grateful for what we have been blessed with in life. Recognizing this and learning to find joy in the simple blessings in life can make life so much more rewarding.I am sure that I only got a glimpse of what life in Santiago Chile was really like during the two weeks that I was there on the mission trip. It is hard to judge anything by such a short trip and the small percentage of lives I actually interacted with on this trip. Yet the experience I had during those two weeks was priceless. The lessons that I mentioned above have changed my life in so many ways. This experience makes me value the lives of others more, appreciate the things I once took for granted, remember that love is felt through far more than just words and finally that my small corner of the world is just that and there is so much that I haven't seen and experienced yet.I went into this missions trip hoping to change lives and make a difference. I now believe that the life that was changed the most was my own. Those girls will never know the impact that they had on my life or the lessons that they taught to a grown woman. These lesson that I took away from this experience would be ones that would change my views on life forever.