When Ashley was twenty-one years old, she accepted a call to serve for her church in Guatemala. At the time, she was a sophomore in college. She had never left the country and didn’t know one word of Spanish. Despite her lack of knowledge about the culture and the language, she was confident that she would be able to learn what she needed to do communicate with the people of Guatemala. She knew it would be hard, but nothing could have prepared her for the reality check she would have once she entered the country. Lucky for her, she went prepared with a Spanish technical translator.
Deaf
The first month in Guatemala, Ashley felt deaf. Although she could hear sounds, they meant nothing to her. People would approach her and try to have a conversation with her in Spanish, and there was nothing she could do but smile and nod and hope they didn’t ask any direct questions. It was a frustrating time for her, and most days she felt like she wasn’t accomplishing anything. She would meet with people, sit mute, and then leave and have American companion relay the conversation in English. She felt as if she would never understand the people around her.
Progress
Ashley decided she wasn’t going to let her frustration get the better of her. She began to carry around her Spanish technical translator with her and would type in the words she didn’t understand. It was a relief to be able to learn what a word was without asking for help. She began writing sentences in English so that they could be translated into Spanish. Then she would repeat them cautiously and asked those around her to correct her pronunciation. Slowly, she began to understand one word, then another. Soon, she was able to understand the topics that were being discussed in conversation. Her ability to understand grew exponentially faster than her ability to speak, but this too was starting to come along.
Fluency
Ashley was in Guatemala for a total of eighteen months. During this time, she devoted herself to learning the language. With every passing month, her vocabulary grew. She began to feel more confident approaching people on her own. As her understanding grew, so did her love for the people and the culture. She was no longer deaf. She could understand what they were telling her. She felt their pains and heard their stories.
With the help of the Spanish technical translator, she was able to overcome the obstacle of communication. She was able to serve and befriend those who were, just a short time ago strangers to her.