This I Believe

Jacob Johnson

Dr. Tinberg

ENG 101 - A07

9/20/10

“This I Believe”

　

Just over 5 years ago, my perspective on life was impacted in a deep way. Plucked out of my comfort zone, I saw the world through new eyes. I was part of a small team doing short term mission work in Honduras. Not only was it my first time doing this type of work, but it was my first time out of the country. For most of the week we did construction work, helping to build a nursing home. On the last work day however, we bypassed the construction site for a forlorn destination. It was this day, that I went to the Tegucigalpa city dump. It is here that hundreds of homeless Hondurans lived day to day, endlessly searching the filth for anything of worth. The mission of the team was clear. I knew that all I could do for these people was to feed them a simple meal.

As the bus pulled into the dump, the sight was as revolting as I had imagined. Vultures polluted the sky with a black cloud. Surrounded by mounds of filth, I felt nausea creeping in. Once I got off the bus, I was struck with the most putrid odor. “People cannot live here” I thought to myself, but the poorly constructed shelters—made from nothing more than cardboard boxes—were there to prove me wrong. Mere yards away from me we desperate parents—starving children—hopeless lives. It was here that I witness the human spirit in a state of utter brokenness.

That night I can remember sitting on the patio, starring at the city in the distance. Tegucigalpa was illuminated with thousands of lights, as if the night sky had fallen in the valley below. I sat alone with my thoughts in seemingly endless contemplation. Not a word was spoken amongst the team, but all were consumed by the same conviction. I have always heard people say “Be thankful for what you have, because there are people in the world who have nothing”—that day, I didn’t hear that truth, I felt it. That night, for the first time, I realized how good my life really was.

I believe that I am greatly blessed. I have a roof over my head, plenty of food, a healthy family and uncountable luxuries. For me, dissatisfaction would always come very easily, but that has changed. In Honduras, I set out to give a week of work, but gained a perspective for a lifetime. Through these new eyes, I have a fresh perspective. Though my life may not be perfect, I know how much I truly have.