Always off balance: language, playing the organ (gulp)

God hardly ever keeps me in my comfort zone.

“How’s the Portuguese coming?” Not at all. I’ve got the Portuguese polite phrases like thank you, please, and excuse me, but that’s it. I’ve been studying Spanish since first grade when my dad was stationed in Panama. After attending Spanish-speaking congregations in Texas and Louisiana, I was just starting to get fairly decent with the language. Then I felt God calling me to a Portuguese-speaking country. “Really, God?”

Folks say they understand my Spanish, but I catch one word out of thirty in their spoken Portuguese. I can read Portuguese pretty well, I just can’t hear it. I already know that Google Translate is a spectacular fail when I use it live. In the past, I tried hard to speak with correct Spanish grammar; now that is out the window while we just try to communicate.

Many folks here understand English. Arabic is the native language of my co-teacher at Mentors International from Algeria. She speaks French at home, teaches English, and translates into Portuguese or Kriolu when the adult beginner students get lost. That’s five languages I know of. And here I am with my Spanish that I’ve been trying to learn for decades. Sheesh. I always feel off-balance, not understanding everything that’s going on.

Then there’s church. The bishop asked me, “Do you play organ?” The brave missionary on the organ played with one finger, and not that well. I love him for giving it all he’s got. I thought, I can do that much. I told the bishop, “I took twelve years of accordion lessons when I was little, but the organ is not an accordion, and that was many decades ago. I’ll do my best.” When the various musical missionaries get transferred, the chorister uses the online hymns app, but people say it goes too fast. You can slow it down, but I thought, Noted. Playing slowly suits me just fine. Lucky for me, the foot pedals don’t work so I don’t have to even try to figure that out, and there’s a copy of Hymns Made Easy on the music stand.

There’s nowhere to hide my mistakes on the organ bench, because the whole congregation hears every sour note. Twice a week folks with a building key let me in to practice, but I can only improve so much in a few hours a week. I feel off-balance on the organ. I don’t care about myself; I just care about my musical missteps being a distraction between people and God.

I ask God, “Geez, why do You always put me in these situations where I’m incompetent?” God just smiles and pats me on the head. I respond, “Ok, God, you got it. Whatever I have, it’s Yours.”

Thanks, friend, for walking with me along the way.

-Marci

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