Lessons in Languages and Luthiering

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him."  ~James 1:2-5

One of the biggest prayer requests I had before I left was that God would use this opportunity to teach me, and He certainly answered that prayer in the last few days, though not really in the ways I had anticipated. Looking back now, I find this somewhat comical and foolish, but I expected that the lessons I would learn here to be so much different and more exciting than the ones I was learning back home. As it turns out, God is still teaching me the same things He was in Klamath Falls! New country, new culture, new experiences…same lessons, same struggles, same sins.

It’s funny how our expectations work. I even had expectations about what I was hoping to learn. So I prayed for opportunities to learn, and God faithfully provided them! However, rather than praising Him and thanking Him for His answer to my prayers, I found myself disappointed. Really? This lesson? I wanted to say, Can’t I learn this when I’m at home? After all, I didn’t come all this way to learn the same stuff that I could have at home! This is what I mean about expectations…they can be quite ridiculous! So the last few days, God has been giving me the grace to accept the teaching He is offering with open hands, a thankful heart and the humility to realize that I obviously haven’t gotten these things down yet! Please continue to pray that I will be open to the Lord’s instruction and have an attitude of submissiveness and gratitude as I learn all He has for me to!

I have realized that I do not have a gift for languages.

I didn’t originally anticipate just how frustrating it would be to not be able to communicate. Yes, I knew it would be a challenge, but it is in so many more ways than I could have imagined! I can’t greet people, make conversation, ask questions about them or their life…I’m here partly to learn about this culture and the people here, and I can’t even ask someone how their day is going, let alone about their life or experiences! People smile and greet me and ask me questions, and I have no idea what they are saying to me! It makes me feel like a shy five year old.

Because of this, I’m doing my best to learn bits and pieces of both French (the official language) and Hausa (the most common spoken language). However, I’ve proved to be a very poor student! Math, biology, chemistry and other sciences typically come relatively quickly and easily to me, but languages apparently don’t click the same way in my brain. Maddie is a star French/Hausa student, greeting people and picking up phrases and words, but I’m still struggling to remember the most basic greeting, “Ca va” (“How are you?”) and “Ca va bien” (“I am doing well”) and when to use it.

It is very easy for me to get discouraged and frustrated with myself. For those of you who know me well, I am not a very patient person, especially with myself, not to mention violently independent! Since I was only a few years old, my mantra has been “I’m ’a do it all my byself!!” Not much has changed!! So this excruciatingly slow process of trying to learn how to speak in other languages while relying on others to communicate for me has attacked two of my major character flaws head-on! Two days in, and Christ is already chipping away and refining me, making me more like Himself! It is a very good reminder that all wisdom, knowledge, and intelligence comes from the Lord, not within ourselves. For His purposes, God has chosen not to gift me in this area, at least not at this point, and rather than focusing on what He has withheld, I am going to focus on what He has given in other areas, as well as thank Him for this opportunity to practice fixing my eyes on the Lord!

My second trial came this morning. After eating breakfast and going to an SIM orientation, we came back home and I decided to unpack my violin. I had packed it very tightly into its case, then packed that securely into my suitcase. So after unpacking it all, I pulled it out and heard a rattling noise. The sound post had fallen over.

I was crushed.

For those of you non-string players, this is a picture of the sound post once I pulled it out. It is super important. Like it’s name implies, it is largely responsible for the sound production of the instrument and also supports the body so that it doesn’t collapse from the pressure of the bridge and strings. At the absolute best, it is a very bad idea to play without a sound post. More realistically it is impossible. In addition, it is extremely difficult to repair a fallen sound post. It is usually done with a specialized tool by a professional luthier (stringed instrument builder or repairman).

So when I pulled out my violin to find a fallen sound post, I fell apart. I just stared at it as I sat on my bed and tried not to burst into tears. All this time, money, and effort to get this violin here, and I couldn’t use it.

There was a moment of truth as I sat there. Yes, it stinks, I thought, but what are you going to do with that? Are you going to let it discourage you and tear you apart, or are you going to trust God, who made it possible for you to get this here in the first place? So I asked God to give me faith. He had provided the violin in the first place, and would provide still. Even if it was His will for me to not play the violin here, I had a choice: accept that and find my peace, reassurance, and joy in Christ, or buck against it and make myself miserable and unhappy with God and my situation. I decided to go with the first option. God would give me strength and sustenance, with or without this little piece of wood in the right place!

However, as many of you have experienced first-hand, I have one of those sometimes good/sometimes bad qualities of extreme stubbornness and persistence. I don’t usually give up without a fight! So I went into the kitchen and grabbed some forks, borrowed a pair of tweezers from Maddie, and got busy!

This picture is in the process of getting the sound post reset.

All my supplies: the sound post, a pair of tweezers and two forks

Although not the most typical violin repair equipment, after an hour of struggling, trial and error, and praying, I got it! Thanks be to God for His grace on His people! I was so happy and grateful! And now that it’s all over, and my violin is set and playable, I have a very unique skill to put on my resume: Can replace sound post with a fork. ;)

So despite my frustrations and difficulties, God is working in my heart and shaping me into His likeness. Today, I am choosing to thank God and praise Him for His gifts, even if at first they seem to be trials. He has answered my prayer for learning opportunities, and I am thankful for those, even if they are not always fun in the moment! 

Today, I would like to challenge you to look at the inconveniences, frustrations and difficulties of your everyday life as a gift from God. Rather than letting yourself get discouraged, focus on learning whatever God has to teach you through these things. You don’t have to travel 6,000 miles to gain a new perspective!