In June of 2018 I went on a mission trip to the South Pacific Island of Funafuti, Tuvalu. I was there 3 weeks; they were the longest 3 weeks of my life away from my family. I must admit I was miserable the first week because everything I was use to in America was absent, I was actually kind of sad. You may laugh but when you have become use to a way of life and you are immediately introduced to a new and completely different way of life, it can shock the soul.
As I road around of the moped sad and homesick, with rain gear on because it rained everyday for three weeks 😂, I noticed everyone on the island content, happy, and at peace. I questioned within myself whether it was true happiness or not; I even ask one person who was in college, she was home on break, where she would go after graduation. I must admit the question had a built-in assumption that she wanted to leave the island for something “better.” I couldn’t have been farther from the truth. Her response to me was, “I’m coming back here.” I was shocked because she had been to other countries which were more advanced.
While on the Island, I talked with many people and became close with two families. It was this closeness with one family that taught me something valuable, that taught me the reason someone from the Island didn’t think it was somewhere better you could be. One lady told me and my brother from Fiji to stop back by their home later one evening, so we did. She had a freshly made pan of a certain type of bread. She was proud of it, smiling from ear to ear. I was looking for the pound cake or red velvet cake. 😂 I was gonna take it home and eat it, you know, just in case. 😂She asked me to eat it right there and see how it tasted. I ate it and it was delicious. She was so happy and made us more as they got money.
This taught me something for the first time in my life; happiness and contentment are relative terms. They are not produced by where you live or what you have or who you know or your position in life. Happiness and contentment are realized when you come to love who you are, where you are, and with what you have. The people of Tuvalu were happy and content. Sure, like all of us there are things we wish we could have and I’m sure for them too but you could never tell. I said all of this to say you can find happiness where you are in life. But, if you are looking for this world to provide it, you will probably miss out.
As I road around of the moped sad and homesick, with rain gear on because it rained everyday for three weeks 😂, I noticed everyone on the island content, happy, and at peace. I questioned within myself whether it was true happiness or not; I even ask one person who was in college, she was home on break, where she would go after graduation. I must admit the question had a built-in assumption that she wanted to leave the island for something “better.” I couldn’t have been farther from the truth. Her response to me was, “I’m coming back here.” I was shocked because she had been to other countries which were more advanced.
While on the Island, I talked with many people and became close with two families. It was this closeness with one family that taught me something valuable, that taught me the reason someone from the Island didn’t think it was somewhere better you could be. One lady told me and my brother from Fiji to stop back by their home later one evening, so we did. She had a freshly made pan of a certain type of bread. She was proud of it, smiling from ear to ear. I was looking for the pound cake or red velvet cake. 😂 I was gonna take it home and eat it, you know, just in case. 😂She asked me to eat it right there and see how it tasted. I ate it and it was delicious. She was so happy and made us more as they got money.
This taught me something for the first time in my life; happiness and contentment are relative terms. They are not produced by where you live or what you have or who you know or your position in life. Happiness and contentment are realized when you come to love who you are, where you are, and with what you have. The people of Tuvalu were happy and content. Sure, like all of us there are things we wish we could have and I’m sure for them too but you could never tell. I said all of this to say you can find happiness where you are in life. But, if you are looking for this world to provide it, you will probably miss out.
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