Excuse Me

“‘For you are not being sent to a people of unintelligible speech or difficult language, but to the house of Israel, nor to many peoples of unintelligible speech or difficult language, whose words you cannot understand. But I have sent you to them who should listen to you.’” Ezekiel 3:4-6, NASB.

Short-term volunteer teams often have language barriers to deal with in sharing with unreached people groups. Local believers serving as translators form the bridge over the language barrier. Many times the foreign volunteer gives the local believer an opportunity to be bolder in sharing. However, the translator does get caught at times between the languages.

Abu* was working as a translator with one group of Americans. They were in a crowded market doing some shopping and he went in front of the volunteers shouting out, “Excuse me! Excuse me!” in broken English. Abu then got upset because his countrymen didn’t seem to understand!

*Name changed for security reasons.

Pray that:

God will bless local translators with strength and wisdom as they bridge the language gap between short-term volunteers and the local people.

Short-term volunteers and local believers will form deep bonds that develop into long-term partnerships that are mutually beneficial.

God will speak to the hearts of the lost through the obedience of His children in this Last Frontier area of the Pacific Rim.

Pacific Rim is a region of the International Mission Board, SBC.