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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.
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