During most of our team’s first three days in Honduras, I was in the upstairs living area processing books for the library. Consequently, some of the experiences I had were not shared by anyone else.
First, let me share a little background about myself. When I attended North Greenville College (then a junior college) in the mid 1960’s, I chose Spanish as my language of study. Those two years are the only Spanish I have ever studied. While I still retained some basic “survival Spanish”, the two phrases that have always stuck with me were the ones the instructor used quite frequently. One was to improve our vocabulary – “como se dice…” which translates “How do you say…” The other was “cierren los libros” (“close the books”), which signaled that a pop quiz was on the day’s agenda. Both of these phrases would prove to be instrumental in my ministry in Honduras.
On our second day at New Life Children’s Home, I met Josue. Josue had a terrible sty on his eye. The doctor on our team said that warm compresses were the best treatment for that condition. At home, we would just let the water run until it was very warm and hold a cloth under the spigot. With fresh water such a precious commodity in Jalaca, I didn’t think that was an option. Instead, I found a shallow frying pan in the kitchen, heated water on the stove and poured it over a washcloth. Voila! A warm compress.
The second time I treated Josue, I used one of those long-ago Spanish phrases – “como se dice” - to learn the Spanish word for “eye.” I stored that word – ojo- in my limited Spanish vocabulary bank for future reference.
On the fourth day, one of our youth brought little Christian up to the house. He had fallen and had a small cut on his eyelid. I wondered how I could get that little fellow to close his eye so I could clean the cut. God gave me the words from that Spanish class over 40 years ago and from an encounter only two days ago. I was able to tell Christian in my limited vocabulary “cierren ojo”. He closed his eye; I cleaned his eyelid and off he went. God always equips us to do His work.
It's so interesting - I have never in my life had a desire or a need to learn Spanish... until I met those precious children in Jalaca. What a loss I felt! If only... If only... If only... Of course, I was so shocked by how bilingual they were for our sake. I am so thankful for those children and their eagerness to learn and communicate, for our amazing interpreters and their skill, and for all those who were bright enough to learn Spanish earlier in life!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jennifer Burley. What a cool story. I know you must have many more stories and impressions. Please share them. Do you feel like you might go back? Do you want to relearn Espanol? We need pictures too if any of yo have them.
ReplyDeleteNow a days i am planning to learn Spanish and French languages.My friend and me both are found this blog on Google and learn lots of things.You have done tough job which shows your efficiency and honesty.Keep up!!
ReplyDeleteDry Eye Syndrome