The people.

More than the food. More than the sites and the new experiences. More than anything else on the trip, I enjoyed the people. I have no doubt some of these new friends will be in my life for many years to come. In most cases, there was a language barrier, making it difficult to have any meaningful conversation. But the thing about people is… we’re all the same.

We may lead different lives in different places, eat different foods and wear different clothes, but one thing is the same. We all love and want to be loved. That simple fact transcends all boundaries and distances. I met a single 30-year-old woman who struggles with the same things I do. We put our hearts into our work and those around us, but we have the same desires and wants. I met an eighth grader who posts the same types of photos on Instagram as my eighth graders do here. It seems being a 13-year-old also transcends cultural boundaries. It happened time and time again… finding people who do things just as we do halfway around the world. It seems like a simple concept, but to see it in the flesh was something completely beautiful and perfect.

The same things make us laugh and the same things bring us heartache. The same Jesus brings us joy and the same fears exist across the world. For all the differences I could see with my eyes, I found as many or more similarities with my heart. People are people, no matter where or how they live their lives. When I first read Love Does by Bob Goff, it made me angry. I thought it diminished the Bible and simplified something far more complex than described. I was wrong. It really is as simple as love. Similar or different, we’re called to love others, and that’s what I did on this trip. I loved these people before I arrived, and now I love them on a different level. So much so, I’m planning to return. I want to go back to this place and visit these people throughout my life. I need them more than they could ever need me.

People are people. Jesus loves us all. And love really does.