One Thing Leads to Another

Last Sunday, July 5, 2015, our English-speaking church declared a day of rest and cancelled services.  Actually, 60 members had departed on July 4th for a Work and Witness trip, so this was an opportunity for those of us left behind to participate in fellowship with another congregation.  We chose to attend Primera Iglesia Del Nazareno in the city of Phoenix.  This was not a mistake.  As is customary for Spanish believers, they greeted us in the parking lot,  gave us a tour of the church, introduced us in Sunday School class, during the announcements, and during the sermon.  We didn't understand every word, but we did know when our names were called.  Everyone turned to look, we smiled and nodded.  Learning a second language has its "silent period" of nodding and smiling.  It's a communicative strategy:  say little, make few mistakes.

But, this is not the way to learn a language.  After the sermon, we loosened up and decided they could read between the lines and forgive us for improper conjugation.  And, to our surprise, many of them confessed they wanted to learn more English and their expressed desires were improperly conjugated.  So, all at once, we were fellow-sojourners - cross-cultural, linguistic socializers seeking to understand each other.  Three hours later, we were listening and talking and getting the gist.

Then, it happened: One Thing Leads to Another.  They were going to have Vacation Bible School this week...the very week that we were free and we could volunteer.  Would we be interested in helping?
We said yes.

And, the children shall lead them.  Indeed, they did.  We were assigned to different positions the first night:  Linda worked in crafts, and Jim was perfectly matched on the basketball-court, with musical chairs, and sit-on-the-balloon activities.  Que divertido!  What fun!  The children naturally became our Spanish teachers.  We learned so much Spanish and, when asked, "How do you say _____ in English?" we happily reciprocated.

We sang in Spanish, learned Bible verses in Spanish, learned to say, "line up, follow me, and you can do it!" all in Spanish.  

 The best part was during the Bible story.  For those of you who grew up with VBS, you remember the stories of great men and women of the Bible who shaped and still shape our lives.  Tonight:  Joseph, the man whom God did not forget.  Lesson taught in Spanish, questions answered bilingually, message absorbed in both languages.

No te lo pierdas!  Don't miss out!  Our English-speaking church was cancelled, so we visited a second-laguage church.  One Thing Lead to Another and we received an unexpected portion of blessing.   Has anything been cancelled in your life?

Keep Looking Up.  And, thank you for reading our blog.
J:m and L:nda