El Senor te Bendiga y te Guarde

“Èl Señor te bendiga y te guarde,” the Spanish words echoed throughout the hall.The beautiful tones rang melodious truth from God’s word—a benediction of blessing from Numbers 6:24-26.“Èl Señor te bendiga y te guarde,” the song continued.As the members of our group sang these words to the children of Trujillo, my heart filled with emotion.It had been a difficult week full of spiritual warfare hovering over the city and our team.When the seminar began there was a spirit of heaviness and oppression, but as we finished on Saturday, there was a joy in the Lord that hadn’t been there before.God had touched the hearts of His people and glorified His name.“Èl Señor te bendiga y te guarde,” we continued to sing as tears began to fill my eyes.Looking at all the faces of the children and thinking about all the special memories spent together made it hard to leave.How could I say good-bye?God had knit our hearts together through struggles, joys, and the fruit born that week. None of our team would ever forget them.There are so many memories; there is so much to say; there are so many things that the Lord did.

One personal highlight of Saturday’s Children’s Institute was acting in a skit.Based on Jesus’ parable of the first being the last and the last being the first, the story was of six children playing musical chairs with one twist—if you win you lose and if you lose you win.The contestants, arrayed in everything from firs and boas to camouflage and an Uncle Sam hat, made quite an impression!With enthusiasm, the colorful group of characters ran around and around the chairs until one person remained.The “winner,” who in this game was the loser, received the reward of a bucket of water doused on his head.And the “losers?”They walked away with crowns.

Another character who graced the stage at the Children’s Institute was a four-legged one.Complete with a mane, a tail, and a loud roar, this lion was defeated by a young boy in one of two ways.Guess which one is the truth!Was the lion defeated by a young boy who pulled the lion inside out by his tail and was tickled to death by his fur?Or, was he killed by falling upon the young boy’s sword?Both stories were told to convey to the children not only the importance of believing truth, but also recognizing truth.

Finally, on a personal side, the week was special for me just being with the children on my team—looking into their faces as I taught, seeing them grasp concepts, hearing their laughter, sharing hugs and seeing their smiles.My memories and the memories of my American teammates spent with the Peruvian children in Trujillo will remain special always.God did a work in the lives of His people there and knit our hearts together in the process.And so, as the final words of our song of blessing filled the room Saturday night—“Èl Señor haga resplandecer sobre de ti su rostro”—joy and sadness, smiles and tears were the only words left to express the week God had given.The song concluded with these final words, “Y te de paz.”May He give you peace as well my friends, even as He has bestowed it upon us and the dear children of Trujillo.¡Qué Dios te bendiga!

TiffanyAmy's amazing chalk art on the armor of God. You should have heard the kids gasp when she turned on the blacklight! :-)