Bilingual

For years since my Spanish has been decent I have struggled to label myself as bilingual.  Regardless of how good I sound to an English speaker,I still have conversations with Spanish speakers where I leave saying, "If I didn't understand what I think I understood, we could be in trouble."


But three weeks ago I took a test and was hired for a job which has bilingual right in the title.  And suddenly, regardless of any hesitations or doubts I might have, I have been thrown into the world of required fluency.  Kids in classrooms are calling each other names in Spanish that I have to catch, I am expected to listen to English words and write them down in Spanish, and tonight I interpreted for parent/teacher conferences.  These experiences have been blowing my mind!


Language is a powerful thing!   There is a reason that God gave us language confusion (and also linguistic beauty) when our heads were getting big at the tower of Babble.  Speaking a second language is like having a bridge where there used to be only a gorge.  I love that my language bridge, which used to be safe for personal use only (you've gotta stick with the analogy here), is now substantial enough that others-- students, parents, and teachers-- can be supported by it when they need to get information across.


Tonight I responded to an emergency interpreter call to a classroom, and when I arrived, the teacher had been trying for ten minutes to get a message across to a parent with the few Spanish words she knew.  The parent was giving her blank stares.  I walked in and sat down, and suddenly the conference flowed.  I was astonished. I am so glad that I studied this phenomenon of sounds, words, and ideas, but not only parent/teacher conference purposes.  There is beauty in the fact that God allows language bridges to be the route of transportation for the delivery of His word to every tribe, tongue, and nation.


Picture from here

Wow!  I haven't written all week.  Maybe waking up at 3:30 every morning to be at work on time had something to do with it, but whatever the reason, I am sorry.

I have some big news that I might share next week if everything works out!!!  God has been answering my prayers in His usual unconventional ways, and I am so grateful.  It is a good story.  (And no, for those moms reading, there is no cute boy in this story).

In other news, I am slowly advancing in Greek, and it is so exciting!  To be able to lose myself in grammar and vocabulary again reminds me why I chose to study linguistics.  I pray that Greek is not the last language that I learn.  

Work has physically exhausted me.  My feet feel like all the blood has pooled to them, and my hands are a picture of all the coffee drinks I have handled in the last week.  However, I am feeling more emotionally tired than anything else.  With four interviews in the last two and a half weeks and so many other changes happening in my life, I knew I needed to do something.  My solution to my weariness is...to go visit my nieces and nephews in northern Wisconsin this weekend!  I will try to take and post pictures.

Ok, that's my quick update.  Much more information about wonderful news pending the Spanish test of my life.  Pray for me!

My Phillips Dream

My passion:  Seeing God’s word go to all nations. 
My vision:  That people from every tribe, tongue, and nation would praise Him and that I could be a part of that happening.

This year that has meant that I live in Bolivia and teach fifth grade to twenty (mostly) international students.  And I know I am allowing these student’s parents to preach the gospel, and I know that I am impacting lives.  But for years there has been a dream in my heart that, Lord willing, will come to completion this August.
I called the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN) home for my four years of college.  There is one neighborhood in Minneapolis that has interested me since the very first time I drove by it and saw the famous LovePower Church sign right off I- 35W.

I first heard of Phillip’s neighborhood my first semester of college when I sat in Speech class and listened to the only minority student in our class talk about where he grew up.  South Minneapolis.  I don’t remember much of the speech, only that I was intrigued.  Then, my sophomore year, I started hearing about the amazing ethnic diversity that exists there.  Ten years ago, the neighborhood was 12% Native American, 29% Black, 22% Latino, 6% Asian, and 31% white.  In recent years, more and more refugees have arrived, making for a total of 100 languages spoken in about one square mile. (Statistics from PNN, Unreached Peoples)  In other words, the nations have come to Minnesota!
Ok, back to the dream.  I want to live in this neighborhood.  I want to be intentional in getting to know my neighbors.  I want to eventually have the opportunity to share the gospel with them!  And it’s so close to being a reality.  Last fall I was ready to move in.  I had a house with wonderful girls from my church to live with, I had job interviews with non-profits that worked with Latinos in the area, and I had plans!  And God had other ones.  He wanted me to teach fifth grade here in Bolivia. 
And to be honest, if God wants me here, then Phillips is a poor substitute for glorifying His name.  Honestly, there have been times this year that I’ve asked God why He didn’t call me to Phillips instead this year.  However, I have never wished to be outside of His will.
But I do feel like God didn’t give me what I have named “The Phillips Dream” for nothing.  I feel like  He just asked me to put it off for one year, to serve Him while I can in filling in a space here that He made just for me.  And I think this fall may be the time that I get to live my dream!

So my future plans?
- Live in Phillips for the next two years, starting in August/September of 2011
- Work with a non-profit organization where I get to use my Spanish and help Latinos in the Twin Cities area
- Become a member of my church there, BBC, and join their Nurture Program (missions training!)
- After two years, become a lifetime missionary wherever God is calling me!
I have learned to leave my plans completely open to God’s will, but I am excited that this might be what He is calling me to. I. Can’t. Wait.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

- Romans 8:28