People collect a lot of things on the World Race. I’ve heard of people collecting coins, stickers, patches, paintings and all of the girls on my team (except for myself) are collecting fabric for a quilt at the end. I’m collecting bracelets and songs. Yep, songs. I have learned songs in the native language of each country we have been to so far, and I plan on continuing that tradition. I learned “Father Abraham” (Papa Abwaham) in Haitian Creole, “I’m Trading My Sorrows” (Cambiare Mi Tristeza) in Spanish in the Dominican Republic and my latest song is “Pane můj” (Oh My Lord) from the Czech Republic. I know I skipped Ireland, but I don’t count it cause they speak English…. It’s just not the same.
I didn’t really decide to collect songs from the beginning, it just happened. I learned my first song in Creole because I just loved how it sounded when the kids sang it. It was so fun and upbeat, with a rhythm far different from our American chant-style version of “Father Abraham.” It was when I learned several songs in Spanish to teach the kids in the Domican Republic that I knew I would be collecting songs from every country… In their native tongue. That is where the challenge, and the joy, comes from.
I have discovered languages can be the biggest block and the biggest aid in forming connections and in ministering to people on the mission field. These songs that I learned have been a HUGE means of forming connections with people. My theory is simple:
People love to teach what they know.
And what do people know better than their own native tongue?
In so many parts of the world, your ability to speak English is a measure of your success in the world. ESL (English as a Second Language) speakers are often self-depreciating of their skills, no matter how advanced their level of learning is. When I put myself in the position of the student instead of the teacher, it removes a false barrier, that wall of superiority that exists merely because I speak the coveted language as my native tongue. Suddenly I am on the same level, and instead of saying, “I’m hungry, give me some food,” I find myself proclaiming in Czech, “I’m hungry, give me some soap.”
Learning the language is part of laying down your rights, showing you care more about the other person than yourself. They recognize the effort you put forth to go the extra mile, even when all you can do is greet them and ask them their name in a language familiar to their ears. That effort is recognized ten-fold when they are the one teaching you and watching you practice that simple phrase over and over and still pronounce it incorrectly.
Within the first week of being in the Czech Republic, I had found my song to learn this month at a midweek service. I heard “Pane můj” and after church I asked my new friend Veronika if she would teach me. The look on her face was priceless.
“You want to learn ‘Pane můj’? In Czech?” She clarified, with a look of confusion on her face. I replied in the affirmative with a grin, and her expression changed to a look of amusement and excitment. She coudn’t believe I actually wanted to learn a song in her language. It was then her goal to teach me that song before the end of the month. I provided her and her friends with a constant source of amusement, particularly because I can’t pronounce “ř“, a letter that is exclusive to the Czech alphabet and sounds like a combination of rolling your tongue and clearing your throat. Yeah, it’s weird. And that letter is in the song twice; I have very distinct memories of four or five Czech speakers circling me (Yes, circling me) and repeating the words “přítel” and “hřích” over and over and laughing at me as I try and imitate their way of speaking. A rather humbling experience.
Then the time of testing came. Our very last church service, it was made known that I had learned one of their favorite songs in Czech. So of course, they asked me to sing it. I asked Veronika to sing it with me and so we played and sang my new song in front of a whole group of native Czech speakers (Did I mention I played guitar and sang in a foreign language? At the same time? Yeah, not the easiest thing in the world). But the look of excitement and pride on her face when she told me a did a great job made all the hard work worth it. In fact, I think she was more excited than I was. And that made it even better.
Song number 3 = SUCCESS.
