Lost in Translation

We are heading into a country where English is not the prevalent language.  The language in Brazil is Portuguese.  Unfortunately, I do not speak Portuguese.  In fact I don't know any Portuguese.  Shame on me.  I plan to memorize the basics of hello, goodbye and thank you on the plane trip.  I find that reading a book is not enough for the language to sink in to my head.  I do better when I am surrounded by people speaking the language.  I am forced to learn it and provided instant feedback if my usage or pronunciation is off.  That is how I learned what little Japanese I know.  I worked for Fujifilm for 10 years.  During my first 4 months with Fuji, 3 of them were in Japan which drove in the simple communication.  I have also worked with French and German machinery manufacturing companies.  My communications, I am ashamed to say, were always done in English. 
Americans have it pretty easy in the world when it comes to communication.  All over the world, children are taught English as their second language in school.  In the US, English is our primary language and we have a variety of languages to choose from as a second language in school.  I took three years of Spanish.  I have forgotten at least 10 times what I remeber.  These languages are taught to US students primarily as a learning exercise.  Students are not given the direct application for such a skill, after all, everyone else in the world is taught English, why learn their language?  Sad.  I envy those who can communicate in multiple languages.

I have come to realize that bridging the language gap through English can be made easier if you take a few steps in consideration.

1. Open your eyes to see what is around you.  What is the expression on the speaker's face?  What is the context of their communication?  Where are you located?  Realizing the background will help to make the words understood in the intended context.
2. Open your ears to listen to is spoken to you.  What words are they using in their speech?  Do they use words in a different manner than you expected?  What is their understanding of the topic being discussed?  Can you use what they said when communicating back to them?
3. Open your mind to understand the information conveyed.  This is the difficult part.  Try not to bring in preconceived notions of how you want to express something.  Process the information before you speak.  If they use the work "pink" to describe a color that you know as fuchsia, do not confuse them by using the word "fuchsia" use their work "pink."  I received an email from a Japanese friend who had just returned to Japan after spending 3 years in the US.  He stated that he missed the "free air" of America.  I was confused until I realized that he was referring to the wide open spaces in the US.  He had returned to the cramped and crowded cities of Japan.
4. Open your mouth only after making sure you have covered steps 1-3.  You have heard it said before "There is a reason that God gave us two eyes, two ears and two halves of the brain; but only one mouth."  The Book of James in the Bible likens the tongue to the rudder of  a ship.  Such a small instrument can direct a large vessel for good or evil.

As we head off to Brazil, I pray that each of us on the mission team will be aware of our communications.  I ask that God and my fellow missionaries keep my "rudder" in check.  Speak up to talk it out!  If discontent from spoken words are held in, they will only fester ill will.  Something that has no place in doing the Lord's work.