Last summer I went on a two-week mission trip with my church to San Martin de Porres, Peru. Let me inform you that I have traveled all across the world- from the Louvre, to the Caribbean, but nothing was as shocking as when I first arrived in this foreign place. As I took a look around me, I saw nothing but homes made out of cardboard boxes and wood, hundreds of stray dogs, and dust. Everywhere. The group I went with and I held a camp for the local neighborhood kids to come to after school. On the first day I was amazed at how joyful the children were while they played with us! Although many came from broken homes and had very little, they were fully content and thankful for everything they did have. The people of San Martin didn’t obtain this excessive greed for material things, rather they were content without the luxuries we have in America. Here at home in the environment and culture we live in, it’s so easy to let worldly things consume us. I realized that for me, I was always searching for more. Whether if it was more material things or if I was just trying to get more out myself, I was always searching for satisfaction, but nothing was ever enough. Nothing was able to fill the emptiness I felt. But the little time I spent in San Martin de Porres made me feel so happy even though I was wearing already worn clothing covered in layers of dust and dirt in a country where I did not speak the language. Giving all I had to these children and being in the presence of their radiating joy, singing, dancing, and just being silly, brought me an indescribable satisfaction that is rare to find back home. That was when I realized there is no other joy than the kind that is found while serving others because you truly want to. Nothing compares to the overwhelming happiness you feel while embracing over a hundred elementary school children, assuring them that they are loved. On that mission trip, those children taught me more than I had ever expected them to.