Sometime during the 30 hour bus ride from Bolivia to Peru, I asked the Lord what He wanted my focus for this month to be and the word I kept hearing was “deeper.” I thought that sounded nice and so I accepted the challenge and went on my merry way of watching movies, talking to fellow squad mates, and munching on the endless amount of snacks we brought. Little did I know that the word He gave me would have me crying over a Children’s Program weeks later.
Fast forward to this past week. Our team took the 15 hr. bus ride to the beautiful Cajamarca. It is a vibrant city situated in lush mountains and farm land. The town is busy, with lots of shops and street vendors, and public transportation. The countryside is vast with crops, livestock, and mud farm houses. It was picturesque.
We were working with a church that believed strongly in Sunday School for the children of Cajamarca and neighboring communities. In the mornings we would set out on foot throughout the towns, villages, and mountains, passing out flyers to invite the children and their parents to our program. Day one of passing out flyers wasn’t my finer days. We had come straight off the bus, without any sleep, and hiking through the hills and being friendly weren’t my top priorities. But, the Lord used my exhaustion to start a dialogue about our purpose this month. This ministry already had a solid program for the children, they knew all the people we were inviting and already had relationships with the children. I felt like we were just there to hold the flyers for them as they talked to people. I started to grow frustrated by this realization and after sulking for about 5 minutes I asked God what He wanted me to do. He said, “Walk and pray.” So I did that
The next day it was time for the first children’s program. By now, my team is well versed in all things children’s programs. We have many under our belts now and I don’t want to brag but we are pretty entertaining! We had our skits, songs, games, and lots of energy ready to knock this event out. However, as we drove to ministry that morning my heat started to feel unsettled. I mentioned to some of my teammates that I thought it would be good to pray together before the planning of the program. They agreed and we went back to riding in silence. The Lord then showed me something that I don’t think I’ll even get out of my mind. I saw groups of kids, crying, singing, dancing, praying, and worshiping together. They were laying hands of one another, kneeling at the altars, and seeking the Lord with such passion. I started to tear up because it was such a beautiful sight.
I told my team about what I saw and that maybe the Lord wanted us to do something a little different in our programs this week. I felt like, although our program was planned with the best intentions, maybe the Lord wanted to do something more, something “deeper.” I didn’t even know how to facilitate such a different approach to the program but after praying and talking to my team we decided to try. Language barriers are hard when it comes to this kind of stuff and although we tried to explain what I was hearing, the Pastors wanted to stick with the original plan. They did agree to let us add a worship song in the program.
As the program went on, it was good. The kids were engaged, they were learning, and having fun. However, I still felt a tug at my heart. The Pastor gave his message in the middle, where he spoke to the parents there about the importance of bringing your kids to Sunday School. It was a great message, I don’t want to discredit that at all, but I wanted to talk to the kids directly. There was confusion on the order and the end came and there was an opening. I asked if I could say something. The translator said sure and so I took my chance. I was terrified. I didn’t know what I was going to say or do, or if the kids would just stare at me, or even if I would upset the Pastor. But, I knew I was hearing from God and so I went for it. I told the kids how much Jesus loved them and how accepting Him into their hearts was the best decision they would ever make. I told them that He could be their best friend and He would always be there to protect and love them. I asked if anyone wanted to ask Jesus into their hearts and many raised their hands. The translator led them in the sinner’s prayer and they repeated. It was AWESOME!
Next, I told them that as followers of Jesus it was important to tell him how much he means to us in worship. I told them about some of the different ways they could worship. Then we put on a song and worshiped alongside of them. It was so cool to see them watch my team and me as we raised our hands, sang, danced, and worshiped. They followed and I could see many of them were truly worshiping their Savior. I was seeing the beginning stages of my earlier vision.
The next days’ programs went very similar. The kids worshiped, prayed for each other, and the Pastor even gave a message of salvation specifically for the kids. I know that it might sound like a small accomplishment, but I believe that the Lord is moving in this ministry and in those children. I don’t know what God has planned, but I know that they have seen God move in the kids’ lives and that they are capable of worshiping the Lord just like the adults. Probably with even greater faith!
I am grateful that the Lord used my team to bring His message of love to the kids of Peru. I am blessed to have a team that is willing to listen to the Spirit when He changes the plans. I am honored that the Lord trusted me to speak His words and carry out his intentions for the day.
People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.
“See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.
