Over my Spring Break this year I was given the wonderful opportunity to take part in a mission trip to Ecuador. It was here that we helped the people build a grotto, pull weeds, pick up trash, but most importantly grow a deeper relationship with one another and God. Going into this trip, I truly had no idea just how much it would impact me. We were there to help the people of Ecuador, but it’s safe to say that they helped me more. It’s one of the reasons I decided to finally make this blog.

I would consider myself to be a very grateful person. I appreciate the things that I do have and understand that some people may not have everything I do. However, I realized in Ecuador that I tend to underestimated just how grateful I really should be for what may seem little. For instance: plumbing, electricity, drainage systems, cars, etc.

The small villages we were in didn’t have drainage systems like we are used to, so when large amounts of rainfall comes, things flood. There were two days, while being there, that we faced what we’d consider heavy rainfall. They face that all the time. A month after we left, they were still facing the struggles of having records amount of rain to the point that their streets looked like rivers. While we were there, the flooding was less severe, but still present.

We began pitching the water (which wasn’t exactly clean) out onto the street to get it into the drain. There were a few men who came over to help. To say that we in America don’t have this mentality, to help complete strangers, is an extremely inclusive statement, but sadly this tends to be true more times than not. It’s not often that you’ll have a stranger come help you with something without even asking. We tend to focus on what can others do for me, rather than what can I do for others. We get so caught up in daily life and have this go-go-go attitude toward things that we often times forget to sit down, take a breath and sometimes don’t even think about being that person who offers to help pitch water onto the street.

While in Ecuador, the happiness I saw there was contagious. We weren’t able to communicate as well as many of us had hoped because of language barriers, but the look in their eyes was pure joy. It’s not often that you see that pure joy in the faces of people you don’t know in America. Gosh, sometime I walk to class with my head down so I don’t make awkward eye contact with anyone. We don’t walk up to strangers to offer them a hug or hand shake. If we did, we’d probably get pepper sprayed. There is just so much we could learn from other people across the globe. A lot of the points that I am mentioning in this post are things you may not resonate with you as much since you didn’t have my exact experience, but it gave me so much to take away. If you ever get the chance to go on a mission trip and have any interest in it, DO IT! You won’t regret it, I promise.

Instead of being annoyed with the inconveniences life throws in your way; be grateful. Be grateful for that loud water drain by your house, be grateful for that person that just might irritate you a little, be grateful for that obnoxious utilities bill you get every month and have to pay. You have those things. You have water drains, running showers and toilets. You have so much less to worry about so you’re fixated on that person that irritates you a little. It sucks to have to pay that utilities bill, but so many people throughout the world don’t even have the option to have running water or working toilets. Instead of dwelling on what you don’t have or underestimating just how important some things are in your life: be grateful.

-Em

“That moment when you forget you’re volunteering to help change lives because it’s changing yours.”

-Unknown