French is the official language in Cote d’Ivoire. Does everyone speak French? No. How many different dialects in this area? Too many to count or remember. Basically, I am lucky to get past greeting someone and asking how they are. And even then I keep learning new greetings to say to people that it is even hard sometimes to remember who to say what to and how to respond. The first week has been slightly frustrating to say the least. It is not the same as sitting in a class and learning what the French words mean and how to conjugate verbs. People are actually saying lots of foreign things to me (at a great speed I might add) and expect me to know what they are talking about. I guess people always say you learn a language faster and better by actually going and using the language among native people. The reason must be because if you do not learn it then you may not survive.
After I graduated, my whole family kept saying, “Nan, what are you going to do now that you do not have school and stuff to study?” I think I have found my answer. Learning a new language is such a profitable skill. It is definitely difficult. Trust me. It is not always easy to have people talking around and to you and have literally no idea what they are saying. I hope to continue French when I come back home, but I also hope the Lord reveals to me the language of the people He wants me to minister to for the next few years of my life whether it is French or Spanish or any other language (although I would prefer it to not be Mandarin or something similar because those language classes may just kill me in the process). There is a point to these paragraphs of rambling so let me mention that now.
Today (August 1, 2011) the Lord blessed me with the opportunity to have a conversation with a worker at the clinic. I felt really discouraged last week about the language difficulties, and I was feeling like I would NEVER understand any French. So every day I have been bringing my French book to the clinic to look at when I have a break. The workers love to look at it and read the phrases and laugh. One worker in particular was really looking through it today. I would try and say a phrase in French. She would tell me if it was good or bad, and then she would say it in English. I am trying to remember everyone’s names so the conversation started like that. Then she said something to me, and I had no idea what she said. We looked through the book and finally found the meaning in English so I could answer. From then she would ask questions in French and some English, and I would try and answer in French and then ask her a question in French. Now I will admit it was not a very in-depth conversation just basic things about family and such, but it felt wonderful. I still only know a few words and phrases, and I still have a hard time forming sentences, and I really butcher people’s names, but the Lord said through that conversation that it is possible. Probably not in three months alone but with time and practice He is going to help me. Every day is a new day, so I will probably do a really bad job with my French tomorrow, but I have a hope in Christ. The maker of mouths is going to help me learn how to talk to these people. I am so thankful that He cares that much, and His power is so great that learning a language is most definitely not too big a task for Him.
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