"They never saw people like you..."

I just relived my trip from Peru.  My camera and pictures were stolen while I was there, but everyone I was with documented it along the way.  I just received a DVD from a friend full of videos and slideshows of our amazing adventures.

I watched as we said our first prayer before beginning the hike on the Inca Trail.  We asked God to lead us.  And then I watched as the adventures unfolded.  This trip wasn't a "mission trip" but it was with a bunch of people that love Jesus and love life.  It seems the overflow of that should never be anything less than love and servitude to one another.  Of all the videos and the crazy things we experienced, the one that stands out in my mind the most, is the night we stood together in a tent with our porters and cooks and guides and shared scripture and verses together, in three different languages.

We almost ended our time that night after we shared scripture with them.  We prayed together and thanked God for our dinner, but then someone asked if they had anything to share with us.  The response as one of the porters grabbed their bible, was "John 3:16." And then they continued from there, sharing their favorite scriptures with us. They asked what kind of church we are a part of.  That night we realized, that despite the distance, the language and the cultural divide, we are all part of one church.  And on top of that mountain in a tent lit by headlamps in Peru, that's exactly what we had... church.

The last thing our translator said to us before dinner that night was this, "Thank you for sharing your spirituality with us.  They told me they like it and they never saw people like you."

I am humbled to have shared this adventure and those experiences with everyone there.  I can't believe what plans God set before our paths. It seems to me that more often than not, every day of our lives should be lived like this. Regardless of the country, the language, the daily tasks; people should walk away from our presence and say, "Thank you for sharing your life with us. We never saw people like you."