Our church for today was the Centro Familiar Cristiano El Buen Pastor. We had visited there 10 years ago when we came to see our oldest daughter, Elle, in the summer of 2009.
It was a 50-minute walk but we were up to the task. I have always enjoyed walking to church yet have never lived close enough for that to happen. On this trip it is almost a necessity and we embrace the exercise. We walked by some familiar landmarks.
Once inside the church, we struggled to hear the good news in another language. How hard it is to get the information when your mind is having to work overtime. We are thankful that Wycliffe Bible Translators are committed to having at least parts of the Bible translated into all the current world languages by 2025.
Rob and I know some Spanish but not enough to understand everything. Fortunately, we are familiar with the Bible and can fill in spaces.
A kindly lady named Marie introduced herself to us. She commented that 10 years ago her daughter was an English teacher in Jerez. She might have been Elle’s teacher.
Marie told us that her nephew is spending 3 months in Tennessee studying squirrels. And yes, we confirmed her word choice. That’s like studying rats!! (I didn’t want to tell her that Rob regularly “eliminates” baby squirrels.)
We heard prayers which always started with “Gracias por…” I have heard that Thank you is the best and most sincere prayer. This phrase has been the constant in every church gathering to date. We will always know how to say thank you in the language of the current country…so giving thanks to God will be easy.
We worshiped in spirit and truth. We didn’t understand all the words but our hearts we’re filled with their passion. One thing that I am certain is that as we move out of Western Civilization, we are less likely to hear the Word in English.
We sang a song with a tune familiar to us.
Amen.
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