I learned the Spanish language on my mission to Argentina but then I didn’t use it and I essentially lost it. I could piece together a sentence or two – but I couldn’t think in Spanish and the connection between the words and the thoughts behind them was gone.
In our mission to Salt Lake Headquarters I really wanted my Spanish because a Peruvian sister needed to communicate with me many times, but sadly I couldn’t.
As I began to study Polish for this mission I immediately recognized that something had changed in my Spanish! Immediately I could express myself freely again! The words (and the thoughts behind the words) were back.
All this came to a head yesterday when we were with Elders Wicker and Pawlik. They said, “Oh he’s calling again. What should we do?” They explained that (although collectively and impressively they can speak Russian, Ukrainian, Polish and English,) they couldn’t communicate with a man who could only speak Spanish. He was calling them as he was in transit to Gdańsk. I volunteered to talk to him. I found he was riding the train from where he lived in order to find us and come to church. He introduced himself as an endowed member of the church from Columbia. He is working in a small town located some four hours away. After he arrived we had a long conversation in Spanish. You can’t imagine how much I enjoyed translating for the missionaries. (Now that is a role reversal!!!).
My question is this, “Did the Lord give me Spanish so I could communicate with one Columbian brother who, desperate for the fellowship of the saints, without appointment or even the guarantee of the ability to communicate, jumped on a train to Gdańsk?”