“My
times are in YOUR hands.” Psalm 31:15
So,
after being in El Salvador for 6 months I can say that the most difficult adjustment
for me to make has been one of language.
I study with a teacher 3 days a week and usually have homework in
between. I attend church gatherings to
be immersed in Spanish and talk as much as I can with the cashiers and baggers
at my neighborhood super market. I can
see great progress in my Spanish and conversational skills, yet I am forever
aware of how much more I need to learn.
I can usually get my point across, but can’t make complete sentences yet,
and often just don’t say anything at all because I don’t know where or how to
begin.
I have
to admit, not being fully competent in the language of the people around me is
very difficult. It’s hard to be in a
conversation and realize that everyone else understands what’s going on except
me. It’s also difficult to understand
parts of a conversation, but not the whole…or to have something to add, but not
know how to say it.
Praise God that communication is
SO MUCH MORE than words alone. Body language and context are at least 50% of
it! I praise God that while I’m
struggling with the language of Spanish, the language of His love is spoken
with very few words!
I share
all of this to set the stage for sharing with you how God spoke to me today. I was walking to the grocery store to buy
ingredients for dinner (homemade chili and cheese scones) when I saw some
friends from our neighborhood church and the women’s Bible group I attend. A mom and her two girls. We smiled, waved, and stopped for a few
greetings. I asked how they were doing
and they asked the same of me. I told
them I was on my way to the grocery store and they told me they were on their
way home after waiting a long time to see a doctor. The mother showed me her youngest daughter’s
hands (she’s around 3 or 4 years old) and the rash that has been growing on
them for 8 days now. She’s a bit worried
about it since it’s been there so long.
They went to the free clinic, but the line was so long, she knew they
wouldn’t see a doctor today, so she decided to take her girls home and try
again tomorrow. I asked her if the rash
was anywhere else and it was also on her bottom. I actually knew what it was! Hands, foot, and mouth disease, a common rash
that young children get in the states. I
knew that a simple trip to the clinic would enable them to get the relief
needed to clear up this rash. Yet I didn’t
have the words to explain that.
I asked
her if she had been to the Methodist Clinic and she told me “no.” I suggested she should try there and that I
would call Brian to see if he could help her with a ride. She explained to me that the $3 fee to see
the doctor would be impossible for her to pay.
I told her I thought we could help.
So I called Brian, told him what was going on, and he quickly said, if
she goes to the clinic I will pay for it.
I can go by there now and tell them she’s on her way. When I asked him where he was, he was just
around the corner, actually at the grocery store I was walking to. We hurried over to where Brian was so they
could get a ride to the clinic, improving their chances to see a doctor
today.
Once
they were on their way to the clinic with Brian I went on my way to the store
to begin preparing for dinner. Once I
got home and started cooking, I had time to reflect on what had just
happened. I was actually helpful to that
mom and her daughters! I couldn’t help
them directly, but I could help connect them to someone who could. I couldn’t fully express all my thoughts in Spanish,
but we were able to communicate enough to get her the help she needed. Each day God allows me small glimmers of
progress in which I can rejoice!!!
Many
days I feel so un-useful here. What good
am I to the people God has called me to serve alongside in El Salvador if we
don’t speak the same language? Am I
wasting God’s time being here when I could be of so much more use in North
Carolina where I speak the language, know the people and the lay of the
land. I understand the context there so
well. Here, it’s almost like starting
from scratch. And then I was able to
help a mom get her child to the doctor.
Nothing major, but a tiny glimpse that God is working in me and
preparing me to do His work, but I must not be in a hurry. He’s still preparing me for what He knows lies
ahead.
And that’s
all the motivation I need to continue spending my days learning the language,
getting to know the people, and soaking in all the information I can about El
Salvador.
Poco a
poco (little by little) God is working a great work in me, teaching me Spanish
and guiding me to appreciate the people and culture of His beautiful country El
Salvador. Each day He speaks to me and
ministers to me through the people I encounter.
I can’t wait for the day that He allows me to give back all the great
things He is preparing in me. Until
then, I shall wait in Him!
I have
been so programmed to be constantly “doing” that I find it hard to be in my
current position of “receiving.” Yet, we
can’t be doers of God’s Word and work without first being receivers
of it. I can’t even begin to count the
many times before that I have run ahead of God with the mindset of doing His
work…without ever really waiting long enough to fully hear His instructions. Through my language deficiency, God is
teaching me a lot about waiting for His perfect timing. I pray He’s giving you awareness of the glimpses
in your life through which His perfect timing is being revealed!
Prayer Request:
That I
don’t become impatient and don’t give up on waiting.
For
clear vision and direction in Sunday School Lessons for the Lenten Season. (My goal is to have them ready to share with
the Methodist Churches in El Salvador by their Annual Conference at the end of
February.)
