Tip of the slung

We thank God for gentle reminders when we mess up… because harsh reminders stink. I´m very proud of Colleen for the progress she is making in language and culture, and I´m realizing that I have a long way to go. I thought that I´d pretty much got the handle on Spanish and could focus on Emberá bedea and Woun meu, the languages in the two indigenous groups we work with primarily. And there´s much truth to that, however, culture hoppers must always be wary and careful… and remember that we will never fully understand the other culture, much less express ourselves flawlessly in it. A recent reminder follows:

In English we can speak of “with the spiritual gifts…” or we might say “with spiritual gifts…” At least in my English anyways.

In Spanish, however, if you leave out the “the”, it changes from “with the spiritual gifts…” to “spiritual condoms…”

Fortunately for me, it was just Pastor Einer and I… and he is very forgiving. But what if I had been in front of a congregation of indigenous for whom Spanish is a second language. I would have breezed right through without knowing. None of them would have ever said anything. And the few that heard me clearly might be struggling to assimilate this new teaching… or at best trying to decipher my strange metaphors. Maybe I´ve already been saying weird stuff.

Cake tare of tour younge,

alan