Do you have to speak Spanish?

A lot of people ask this question when I tell them that our team will be working full time with college students in the Dominican Republic. One reason why I chose this country to do my Stint over others was for the opportunity to use the Spanish I had studied for five years while in Jr/Sr High.

Even with my plethora of book knowledge, I found listening and speaking a bit beyond my capabilities upon my initial arrival to the DR last year. Thankfully, my vocabulary and verb tense skills sharpened up throughout those first ten months as I spent more time doing life amongst Dominicans.

I’m pretty fluent now (someone even thought I was Dominican the other day!) However, half of our team is just beginning to add Spanish to their language repertoire.

Though it’s only been two weeks since our team has been in country, I’ve been delighted to find evidence that supports one doesn’t need to know Spanish right off the bat to make an impact in the Dominican Republic. One teammate has made connections with over a dozen students already by simply picking up a basketball or tennis racket and communicating through his actions on the court. One girl asks lots of questions and carries a small notebook with her where she jots down new words, phrases, and even Dominican recipes! Another teammate has an incredible ability to understand the gist of what is going on in a conversation and ask insightful questions that help spur the discussion further.

While I wouldn’t tell my teammates that developing their language skills isn’t important, I would say that humility and compassion for Dominicans are two qualities that would go a long way as they seek to demonstrate Christ’s love at UASD.

I can’t write this entry without thinking about the 90 students we received in spring break and summer project teams. The majority of them were not Spanish speakers, yet we are currently ministering to students that they initially reached out to!

So shout out to my three teammates who are kicking butt and taking names as they combat tropical heat plus cultural overload, yet still manage to build solid relationships with students; and another to all those that have come to serve the people of the DR and found a way to love them when you couldn’t speak their language. To me, you all have lived out what Paul encourages the Corinthians to be to the lost:

I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.   1 Corinthians 9:22b,23

Ricardo getting to know the guys in a tennis match on campus