Big Truths for Little Hearts

So I know it's been forever since I last blogged. Whatever, only like 3 of you read this anyways. Today I spent most of my day translating a VBS lesson in Spanish to teach in Guatemala. I am incorporating the foundational truths we teach in Little Village into these lessons. The first lesson I translated today was about the birth of Jesus, the foundational truth being that Jesus came to save sinners. I remember teaching last semester for several weeks about miracles, explaining to our kids that a miracle is something so amazing that only God can do it. So, I changed this lesson up a bit, incorporating that in there, because it is a miracle that Mary was a virgin and gave birth to the Savior of the world; it was a miracle that Jesus came in human form as a little baby so that he could die an incredibly brutle death, taking the punishment and shame that we deserved and saving us from our sins. For 3 days I will be teaching about the birth of Jesus, the death of Jesus, and the resurrection of Jesus. I was sitting here talking to Bekah about how I want to focus on the resurrection of Jesus. In the Latin American culture, I feel like they worship a dead Jesus, not focusing on the fact that He is alive and I want these kids to get that truth. If Christ did not raise up from the dead, then we would not be able to have life and his death would be void. I have 3 lessons and have to teach 4 days. As I was sitting there contemplating what I should teach for the other day, thinking about what I've taught in Little Village, I turned to Bekah and said, "I think I want to teach about the fall on the first day. I want to explain to them what sin is, and that we are born with sick hearts, and the foundational truth to be that God is Good. Even though Adam and Eve sinned and had to be separated from God, He was still good, still loved them and loved us enough to send Jesus to save us." Bekah said, "I definitely think you need to. And that way they can understand a little better about why their world is so broken-it's because of sin, but because God is good, they can have hope in Christ." Romans 5:8 popped into my mind, "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." As Bekah and I sat across from each other on our beds in our room, working on our computers, we started to talk about these truths. I just realized how HUGE they are. These are BIG concepts for such little hearts, but how great and faithful God is that He can enlighten them even at such a young age. I see it in Little Village every week, and it fills my heart with such joy. I kind of sat there in amazement for a second at how God is preparing my heart, the passions that He's given me, and how they are going to be infused on this trip. He is taking my love for orphans, my love for Spanish, my love for teaching, and putting them altogether. Wow. I sat there a little overwhelmed thinking, "But how am I going to memorize all this? How am I going to communicate this in a way that they will understand?" And He quietly calmed my heart, reminding me that He is enough. It's not about me. My job is to listen and be obedient. He will do the rest. He will make them understand. He will communicate through me. He is allowing me to be a small part of His big, beautiful work. And I stand amazed. I've heard these big truths over and over and over again, but daily have to be reminded of them. God made everything. God is good. God is in charge of everything. God wants to talk with us. Jesús vino para salvar pecadores.