Student to Student

How important something is to us determines the plasticity of our brain and function..."  - Dr. Andrew Huberman

Something that you should know about me: I love learning.  Though having grown up predominantly homeschooled, if you put me in a classroom setting, I will THRIVE.  There is something about the prospect of sitting and being in the position of being taught that has always appealed to me. The thing about being a student, however, there is an end goal.  One can continue to be a student forever, of course, but when it comes to a theocratic sense, we have to grow to a point BEYOND staying in that state.  As per Hebrews 5:12-14, there HAS to be some growth seen, with the desire to not just learn but to teach as well.  As the third year of my foreign language learning journey quickly approaches, I have found myself ruminating on this fact more and more. I'd like to share with you, beloved BlueBearies, a small anecdote that recently highlighted this for me.

I was out in service with my brother (the famous Ribz from other blog entries) and a couple from our congregation.  It was our final door of the morning, and the brother leading had us two go out.  Mind you, between the two of us, we have the collective vocabulary of, hmmm, a 4-year-old, maybe a 5-year-old?  Anyways, we got out and approached the door and, lo and behold, the very person we had wanted to speak to was coming out. My brother began his presentation and was doing a fine job at it.  I was hanging back a bit, not wanting to interrupt his flow.  At some point, however, the gentleman responded in rapid-fire Hindi, and Ribz turned to me.  In his eyes, I could see him pleading for help.  I could hear the question, "what did he just say?"

At first, I thought, why turn to me? Then, it struck me like a bolt of lightning: oh...OH! I need to translate for him. Nearly three years of weekly Hindi lessons, asking experienced friends for help translating comments, listening to Bollywood songs, and getting guilt-tripped/bullied by the Duolingo owl led to this very moment.

My inner monologue was first screaming "OH NO THAT'S MY CUE BECAUSE TECHNICALLY I UNDERSTAND MORE SO I NEED TO STEP UP AND STEP IN WHAT DO I DO AHHHHHH!" 

Mood

Do you know what ALSO came to mind?  I was NOT alone.  As quickly as the rush of nervousness came, peace washed over and replaced it.  At this moment, I said a quick Nehemiah prayer, and let Jehovah take the reins.  He truly lives up to His name, not only by "causing to become," but by equipping us to be whatever He wants us to be. 

I would be lying if I said that I didn't feel like a total novice as I fumbled through clumsily translating, but it's not really about us, is it?  Jehovah could make the rocks talk if He so desired.  We are simply the mouthpieces to a life-saving message, with the most powerful Being in the universe backing us up.  This is why I started learning Hindi in the first place.  All the fails and mistakes and oops moments are simply the stepping-stones in this lovely journey.   It is impossible to get anything done without His help, and as was recently brought out in a talk, we are interdependent creatures.  We need Jehovah and our brothers and sisters, and this work MUST be done; this language-learning adventure would be for naught otherwise.  It has been quite humbling to recognize this, definitely. 

On December 19th, I conducted my very first Hindi Bible study.  This was a goal I had set for this service year but had not thought of it being "checked off" outside of going out in service more and trying to find and cultivate interest in our local field.  In a series of events that can only be described as, well, improbable (aka a normal day when Jehovah is involved), the opportunity arose to be able to reach this goal.  When I think about how it came to be, I still shake my head in absolute awe, deeply impressed at yet another stylish feat of our Father.  Maybe someday I will share the story here, but for the time being, please just message me and I'll happily recount it to whoever will listen.

As changes loom over the horizon, may each and every one of you, my dear friends, keep up the fine work.  Times are certainly not the same as they once were but look at you!  You are enduring faithfully and staying strong, giving our Heavenly Father a fine representation.  I'm proud of you.  Thank you so much for reading and accompanying me on this journey.  See you in 2023!

Love,

The Adventurous A.