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Gratitude in advance
This past summer, I had the opportunity to chaperone a leadership group of 15 teenagers on a trip to Peru. The purpose of the trip was to be of service to an organization—one that has spent the past ten years building schoolhouses and developing educational resources for families in Peru. Our mission was to help this organization build a schoolroom for a rural village outside of Cuzco.
We left the comfort of the United States and headed south. The teens had prepared for the trip by deciding that the main objective would be to love purely and to see every individual through the eyes of God.
One of their pre-trip assignments was to study First Corinthians 13 in the Bible. A favorite verse for many in our group was, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (I Corinthians 13:13, English Standard Version). The teens committed to viewing every interaction with their new Peruvian friends through the eyes of divine Love—not feeling pity for lack, but rejoicing in one loving God who unifies. Rather than comparing physical possessions, the teens committed to focusing on finding the common qualities between our two groups—a deep love and commitment to family, a work ethic that wouldn’t quit, and pure joy that comes from helping others.
Our group arrived in Cuzco on a Saturday, and we were ready to begin building on Monday. As we drove through the mountainside and past a couple of little villages, we arrived at our work site in Miskiuno.
It was a chilly morning. We got out of the vans and began the trek up the hill to the job site. As soon as we all peeked over the brim of the hill to see the foundation for the future schoolroom, what we saw was more than a concrete foundation and mud bricks. There, on top of the hill, was the entire village—men, women, and children—waiting to greet our group and have a celebration.
We had not yet lifted a finger to begin building, yet this small village rallied together to throw us a party before we began. This expression of gratitude in advance has stayed with me since that morning. We found out that these families had no idea what we were going to do for them, but their pure joy and gratitude was something that inspired us to work more diligently.
The teens referenced Hymn 249 from the Christian Science Hymnal several times throughout our stay, a hymn that states, “Our gratitude is riches, / Complaint is poverty.” Regardless of the fact that our new friends lived in small mud brick houses, we could see that it wasn’t material possessions that determined their level of wealth. Their joy and desire to share gratitude provided the villagers with spiritual riches. They weren’t showering us with expensive gifts, but the homemade confetti that was a part of the kick-off celebration meant a lot to us, too!
I have often thought back to this expression of “gratitude in advance.” It has been a compass for me when I find myself worrying about a situation. We don’t always know exactly how a situation will resolve, or exactly how relationships will develop, or in precisely what manner needs will be met. But if I have learned one thing, expressing gratitude before seeing the results is just as—if not more—effective, than waiting to give thanks.
Those families in Miskiuno showered us with gratitude when there was no necessity to do so. It was clear that they were just so thankful for the presence of the teens. This gratitude alone was healing and broke down any barriers that might have existed because of language or culture.
What a joy to be a witness to such an expression of Love!
—Kerstyn Battenberg, Newport Beach, California, US