Its not what you take when you leave this world behind you... its what you leave behind you when you go.

The purpose of life is not to be happy - but to matter, to be productive, to be useful, to have it make some difference that you have lived at all. ~Leo Rosten

Ever since I was a child I had always hated watching the news. I would often ask why the news could never broadcast good news. It wasnt until I grew up that i realized the reason why i never watched good news is the simple fact that our world is emmersed in chaos.

In June of 2007 I was fourtunate enough to go to Lima, Peru on a mission trip. Peru is considered to be one of the poorest countries in the world. I have always had a heart for philanthropy and the option to go and help in a country foriegn to me was an oppertunity i never thought i'd recieve.

As one can see in the pictures above, Peru although beautiful at points was devestating to see. In the United States, if your parents die when you are born, the government will take care of you until your 18, in Peru, the government does not take care of its children, or its people.

Child prostitution, human trafficing, and drug running are extreme problems in Lima, Peru. After nearly 2 weeks of living and serving there I had grown a new found appreciation for my country and people in general. On my 7 hour flight home I did a little thinking. My mission trip was a huge chapter in my life, but it was just another day to the children of peru. The things I saw brought me to tears and it dawned on me that the images that could bring me to cry was their everyday reality. I began to think more... Before leaving, my father in his infinate wisdom asked why i had made the choice to "waste" $1500 to travel to a third world country. "What can a group of kids do in peru that would make a difference?" I remember him saying. I brushed it off as ignorance, and I began to think, this is the way the majority of people think.

Its like when were driving and see someone on the side of the road with their hoods up. We make up an excuse as to why we cant stop. "ill be late" "they can handle it" "i dont know that much about cars" But when the roles are reversed and we find ourselves on the side of the road with a broke down car, we ask ourselves why no one would stop.

Sometimes a little bit of kindness and a whole lot of heart can make all the difference in the world.