My language skills are a daily topic of conversation since I arrived in town. Many people are shocked that I can speak U; not only that, but they often praise me for actually speaking it better than they do. Even when I mess up, their first assumption is not that I made a mistake, but simply that they don’t know the word I am referring to. This is because I studied in what is seen as the home land of the U people; therefore I speak a purer and more original form of the language. It feels pretty good to be built up in this way. And yet, at the same time, I feel like an idiot half the time because I can’t understand what people are saying. Here, the U language has been mixed with the local trade language for so long that many people communicate in a hybrid of the two. I am still trying to find a tutor to teach me the trade language (a request you can be lifting up in prayer). As it is, I am forever having to stop people mid-sentence to ask them to explain what they mean. This is incredibly humbling.
Just before I left, my home church was studying the book of Proverbs. Even after moving, I continued to study this work of wisdom. I was struck by the regular comparison between the haughty and the humble, how the first is often warned about being brought low while the other is said to gain the riches of God’s kingdom. In my life, the work of language learning is one of the ongoing means of grace the Lord uses to instill in me a humble heart, to help remind me I don’t understand everything that is going on. No matter how many people praise my ability to speak an authentic version of their language, the truth is I am not really communicating until I can speak in a way they understand and hits their heart. Father, keep me humble in the process, ready and willing to be taught, even by the kids in my neighbourhood, so that your name might be glorified.
Just before I left, my home church was studying the book of Proverbs. Even after moving, I continued to study this work of wisdom. I was struck by the regular comparison between the haughty and the humble, how the first is often warned about being brought low while the other is said to gain the riches of God’s kingdom. In my life, the work of language learning is one of the ongoing means of grace the Lord uses to instill in me a humble heart, to help remind me I don’t understand everything that is going on. No matter how many people praise my ability to speak an authentic version of their language, the truth is I am not really communicating until I can speak in a way they understand and hits their heart. Father, keep me humble in the process, ready and willing to be taught, even by the kids in my neighbourhood, so that your name might be glorified.
Visiting the big city about 2 hours from where I live. Gold dome mosque in the background
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