stretching a little bit

Tonight my husband hooked his ever-present iphone up to our portable speakers and we listened to the scriptures, as a family, in Spanish. As you can tell from the photo, my youngest struggled finding any real purpose in this exercise, and we had to redirect him a few times before he was able to settle in and enjoy the experience. Geo and I do a decent job understanding Spanish, and between the two of us we can usually piece together what we are hearing (he being fluent in French, and me growing up listening to my Portuguese grandmothers, and also taking two years at BYU). It is a fun challenge for us, and we have even talked about taking a Spanish class in preparation for any church service we may be asked to be part of in the getting-closer-by-the-minute retirement period of our lives.

It is good for our character to be humbled every now and then. To listen to something we know in our own language being spoken in another. We listen closer. We try a little harder. We may even remember more when it is done. Expanding the mind. Gaining tolerance and appreciation for other peoples. S t r e t c h i n g. Es bueno, y me gusta mucho.

16 comments

Lara Neves | May 18, 2009 at 10:40 PM

I think that's a great idea! My husband and I both served missions in Romania, and every once in a while we do scripture study or prayer in Romanian. It is funny if the kids are around to listen...their reactions are priceless!

LisAway | May 19, 2009 at 2:34 AM

Me gusta tambien. (or however you say it). I remember when I was in high school and a guy we were all friends with came back from his mission and bore his testimony in Spanish. I was just crying through the whole thing, even though I understood very little.

Stretching is good. Maybe you should pick up a little Polish. What if you end up over here! :) Plus, it's just SO practical for every day life, really.

CHERRANNE | May 19, 2009 at 3:37 AM

I took three Years of French in High School, and have a French Language Book of Mormon! :-D I totally agree that this kind of stretch benefits Me in More ways than one! :-)

Luann | May 19, 2009 at 7:08 AM

lol That photo of FG is priceless. :)

Heather of the EO | May 19, 2009 at 9:38 AM

So true!

Dedee | May 19, 2009 at 10:45 AM

Wow. I'm impressed. I tried the BofM in Russian once. Argh! So difficult! I stopped. What a wimp I was in college. . .

Oh wait. . .

Connie | May 19, 2009 at 6:32 PM

It's hard enough for kids to understand the scriptures in English, let alone another languge that's foreign to them. No wonder FG looks like one of our kids in our class...looking off into space.

Keep s t r e t c h i n g.

wendy | May 19, 2009 at 8:36 PM

Ok, well miss smarty pants --- I can read and understand the scriptures in CANADIAN---so how about that.
seriously , your family inspires me and I bet you will end up doing something spectacular with church service in those retirment years

MakingChanges | May 19, 2009 at 9:41 PM

I think I'd have the same look on my face. I served an English speaking mission, so I am hoping for the UK, or some other place that has English as its primary language for future church service. I am impressed with your skills, though.

Barbaloot | May 20, 2009 at 9:38 AM

Wow-that is impressive that you do that. I took spanish for years...and can't begin to speak it:)

Linde | May 20, 2009 at 12:13 PM

Fantastico para Uds. a escuchar el libro de mormon in espanol. :)

Your son's face says it all!

Heidi | May 20, 2009 at 3:02 PM

We once (accidentally) attended a session in Spanish. It was great and a wonderful way to learn some Spanish (as long as you know the whole thing in English pretty well).

April | May 20, 2009 at 7:52 PM

What a cute pic! I just hope to make it through my stretching time! :)

heather | May 21, 2009 at 8:31 AM

What a great idea!

Mrs4444 | May 23, 2009 at 11:30 PM

Kyle would have been interested (he's in his 3rd year of Spanish.) I'm afraid I'm with your youngest... heehee

charrette | May 28, 2009 at 1:08 AM

The gospel is just a little bit truer in Spanish! :)

Cool that you guys are doing that. (Even though Gray may not fully appreciate the coolness at the moment).

xo