Imagine a week...

in this place

with these teammates

hanging out with precious faces like this

and these

and theirs

playing lots of soccer

and lots of "soccer-tennis"

all while remembering this message

Jehová es mi pastor; nada me faltará. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. Psalm 23 is La Senda's current focus, and, in many ways, the Scripture passage of my summer. We've become numb to the words because they're over-used and often quoted, but there's a reason this chapter became so popular in the first place. It's full of beauty and truth and promise. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever...

The only words better than these are those of the kids' benediction that they say, in echo form, at the end of each night's devotion message.

¡Cristo vive!

A su nombre - ¡gloria!

A su gloria - ¡victoria!

A su victoria - ¡Amén!

Christ lives! To his name, glory! To his glory, victory! To his victory, Amen!

Truth, spoken by 18 children nightly. Children who cause me to laugh more in one week than the other 51 weeks of the year combined. Children who have been abused, neglected, orphaned, but rescued. Children who have stolen my heart.

I cannot give them all that they need, but our Heavenly Father can. They can overcome anything, and we can overcome anything, because Christ lives. He is glorious, he is victorious, and he is our Good Shepherd. If I have to leave the people and the place that - like so many other places, has become a home to me - leaving in that knowledge and hope is the greatest way. Cristo vive, and that is enough. Amén.