I got that feeling again yesterday.
I know that you know the one I’m talking about.
It was exciting and fearless, like nothing could go wrong.
I knew I hit a grand slam when I walked away from pulpit. It was the second full length church service that I had translated in the past 48 hours. I must admit that I was feeling pretty good about myself, especially since I had only arrived in the country five days previously.
Then the pastor returned to his spot on stage. He looked around at his congregation and smiled. With a few simple words he managed to completely crush my excitement. “Ladies and gentleman, we don’t always understand each other through our words, but I thank God that we always understand His goodness through His Spirt.” He then mentioned that he had been inspired by our message to spend the rest of the morning teaching on the Tower of Babel.
My jaw dropped a little. I wasn’t even offended. I just couldn’t get over the fact that he was so shamelessly candid. I was actually quite tickled for the rest of the sermon. The situation was just so unbelievably awkward and hilarious at the same time. My mind kept racing to the words of the Apostle Paul:
I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
1 Corinthians 2:3-5
Over the past four years, I have spent approximately 2.5 weeks practicing my Spanish abroad. I tell people all of the time that it’s frightening how much of the language that I have forgotten, but even more remarkable how much I have remembered. The very first evening in Panama I had a broken conversation while attempting to purchase SIM cards for our teams’ phones. By day five I’m translating church services, albeit with some difficulty. Everyday I feel the language returning to me with more vigor. I think this is the fastest I’ve ever picked it up. I thank God for equipping me.
This week we will be completely out of contact. We are going to the Ngobe tribal lands to spend a week with these wonderful indigenous people. There will be no running water or electricty, and our food will be cooked over the fire. I’m stoked to say the least. Please keep us in your prayers!
