Mission Peru

by Ashley Jones, West London Alliance Church

During our time in Peru, I learned what the true definition of joy is. Before this trip, I always knew that there was a difference between happiness and joy but I never truly thought about what it was. Some of the Peruvians that I met really put into perspective the difference between the two words. I knew that happiness is a feeling you get when something good happens but I wasn’t entirely sure how exactly joy was different from that. 

During our first day in Peru, we went to the Elim Garbage Dump Ministry where people who work in the dump go with their children to participate in various activities as a group. While we were at Elim, I got to experience seeing the faces of so many smiling children. When we finished all of our ministry time, we spent some time playing with the children. Some kids were happy digging in the sand, some played soccer, but most of them enjoyed just running around on our backs. They would smile and laugh the whole time because they didn’t always get to feel the love that we were giving to them. It was unbelievable to see the joy in their faces considering their circumstances but you could see in their eyes how much they loved God even at such a young age. These children inspired me to be more joyful in my life because I am blessed with so much.

Later on in the week, we went to the garbage dump which was an eye opening experience. One of the first people I met in the dump was Marcus. He had been working in the dump for close to 20 years but he loved doing it. When we began talking to him about God, he told us that he had always had faith in God. Marcus began telling us all about God’s love for us and all of the amazing things he can do for us. After we finished talking with Marcus, we asked him if we could pray for him but he said that he would rather pray for us. When he said this, I was shocked that someone with so little could have such a strong faith in God and want to pray for the people who are there to help him. In reality, Marcus was the one who helped us on this day. In that moment, I realized that true joy does not depend on your circumstance because joy is the assurance that God is in control of everything. Marcus chose to praise God in every situation, whether it be good or bad, because he knows that God is with him.

After the leaving the dump, I finally knew what the difference between happiness and joy is. Happiness is just a feeling that you get when something good happens to you, but it does not last. Joy however is eternal because it is true contentment that comes from factors like faith in the Lord. Even though some of the people we met this week had little to nothing, they still had complete joy because they knew that God was in control of everything and he wouldn’t let them down. I will never forget seeing the joy in the Peruvians eyes no matter what their situation is, it was incredible.