The Spanish Language Definitely Wasn’t My thing
I never really had trouble in school except for a couple of subjects. One of those subjects was Spanish. There seemed to be a disconnect. I just couldn’t get it. I accepted that it just was not an area I was gifted in, and that was ok. Although I really wanted to, dropping out of the subject was not an option because I needed it for college applications. Not only did I need to take the classes, but I needed to get a B if not an A grade. (At least those were the standards I held myself to). I went to tutoring every week. It was brutal. My tutor and I would review the same thing over and over again, and by the 100th time I would maybe halfway understand what was going on. It’s safe to say that learning the Spanish Language definitely wasn’t my thing.
God Has a Great Sense of Humor
God has a great sense of humor, and you know what’s funny? Calling a guy that hates speaking the Spanish Language to serve in a Spanish speaking country. But while God has a sense of humor, he doesn’t play cruel jokes. He has a plan! When I got to Costa Rica for the first time in January of this year, I spent the first week or so speaking as little Spanish as possible. But God had a second punchline in store for me…. I was asked to lead a junior lifeguard camp at Casa Fe, a youth house here in Jaco. A youth house where all of the kids speak Spanish… I would have a translator, but still I would need to communicate at least a little bit.
Hebrews 13 20-21
“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
I Started to Develop a Passion
Something amazing happened that week. As I began to hang out with the kids I started to develop a passion for the Spanish language. I couldn’t get enough of it. I began to pick it up fast! This was an area where I had previously accepted that I just wasn’t gifted in. But that’s the thing about gifts. We don’t choose to if and when we receive them. We are given them out of Love, and on somebody else’s timeline.
Psalm 37: 4
“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
God put the desire to learn Spanish on my heart, and so now one of my favorite parts of my week is when I get to go to Spanish class. Learning Spanish means I can better connect to the locals and begin to speak the love and truth of Jesus into their lives through daily interactions.
Read more about my time here on my website!
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