Today’s devotional author is Prince of Peace member & youth, Teruni Sandanayake.
Going into the trip to Denver I was feeling a little skeptical of how the week was going to pan out and this skepticism came mainly from the many service projects we planned to do. In my eyes having one to two projects a day almost every day that we were there seemed overwhelming and exhausting. Even while we were there I sometimes found myself drained from the hours of service that we did. But now looking back on the trip I’ve realized just how impactful the trip was on my life.
The one thing that I loved and impacted me the most was the community connections that we made and the gratitude I felt throughout all of the service projects. The first service that we did when we got to Denver was to paint Ms. Williamson’s house with the Brother’s Redevelopment organization. Even though we were only there for around an hour, the gratitude and love that Ms. Williamson showed us was unmatched. She provided us with water to stay hydrated on a hot day and anytime you passed by her she would always say thank you and express how grateful she was that we were taking the time to paint her house. Throughout the rest of the week, there was this theme of gratitude wherever we went. From sorting clothes to helping people shop for food to weeding gardens, everyone was so thankful for the time that we spent with them even if it was only an hour or two.
My biggest takeaway from the service trip is to find happiness and gratitude in the little things because those are the moments that matter the most in life.
I am so grateful for our community’s generosity that made our time in Denver possible.