The trip I have been talking about for almost a year has finally started. I KNOW…
For those of you who do not know, I am in Chile.
My team and I have officially been here for 10 days.
As soon as we landed I found out I was the official translator between our host and my team.
Most translation agencies consider translators people who have “extensive knowledge of the language”.
To say I felt unqualified for the position is an understatement.
But both my teammates and our host needed me to be, qualified, accurate and timely.
So, here I am, the point person.
Day in day out I am giving my very best to connect these ladies to the community we have been so welcomed to.
The overwhelment of translating is usually at its peak when we are in big groups of people.
And I feel frustrated for not being able to be fully present, or to be able to help everyone with the conversations they want to have with each one of us.
Last monday, we had an afternoon at a nursing home.
Great?! How will I be able to help everyone? I can’t do it all….
These ladies deserve my game face on, I want my teammates to be fully present.
And it was right there, where I saw the power of a hug, of listening, of hands, and of prayer.
Human interaction is what they ached for.
And my gifted teammates were present.
They had the ears, the hands and the kind smiles to pour out into the residents of that home.
While being able to connect people together through language has been an honor and rewarding, I have been in awe with the power of simple actions.
