I sit in church, my mind wonders.
The pastor is speaking in Swahili and there’s no one to translate. We have church services 4 times a week, none of which is really translated.
But this is nothing new.
In the Philippines, it was a few hours a day of ICM giving health presentations in Cebuano.
Thailand involved being talked to in Thai nearly everyday by Pa, our contacts father, full conversations as if we understood every word.
In Malaysia we generally didn’t have an entire clue what was going on because the country itself is insane and a constant mix of Tamil, Chinese and Malay. (you can reference the video I made if you haven’t seen it yet)
And Kenya had many house visits to pray with villagers while we listened patiently to the Swahili conversation held between them and our Kenyan contacts waiting for any translation.
This is ministry for us – even though we sing a few songs in church that aren’t understood and one of my teammates taught sunday school the hour before, even though we hand out food to the poor; even though we pray for widows and orphans – we often find ourselves sitting and not comprehending.
I’ve found it’s actually rare to find any critical thinking moments here on the world race, although I think this is just a backlash to world travel in general.
When we speak to our contacts, at a church or to anyone we meet, it almost always requires a dumbed down, simplified version of English for effective communication.
Sometimes words are too much and gesturing is employed.
Words, even the simplest, fall out of your vocabulary.
Elements of your trade, that which you may have done for years somehow escapes you often.
What does the mind do when it’s not engaged?
I’m not content loosing my mind.
I find my spirit is growing, but my mind is not challenged.
Realization of becoming this ghost of your former self is often tough to see. It’s just all too easy to gloss over and tune out.
But can we, in the moment, rein our thinking back in?
Can I use my brain critically throughout the days?
I can.
I choose what to do with my time, in the moments I’m lost in translation.
I’m seeking new ways to avoid becoming dumb.
Something I would not have expected to be a necessity on this trip.
Who knew?
