Confounded Language
[Original journal entry written September 23, 2012]
The universal smile on some town boys willing to have their picture taken
Cross-cultural ministry certainly has it’s share of blunders and bloopers. I have unintentionally said some wrong things – and I mean really wrong. I have neglected a greeting here and there; I have not shaken hands correctly; I have spoken when I shouldn’t have, and not spoken when I should have. But I’m learning. When God confounded the languages at Babel, he did a very thorough job.
But I’ve learned that there’s a major aspect of language which was not confounded at all – body language. It is curiously the same regardless of culture, especially facial expressions. Can you imagine the mess of misunderstandings were not a smile universal? This knowledge helps me immensely as I prepare illustrations to teach Bible stories. The faces, clothing, and settings are mostly African; the body postures, hand movements, and facial expressions could be anywhere. The meanings of body language are easily “read” and understood by the viewers making the points of the lesson more profound and understandable; Stephen and I take great pains to work the most appropriate body language into the illustrations which will best enhance the stories.
Lammie (yellow shirt) and Safa (white shirt) along with other boys assisting Aimee and Stephen as they moved boxes of tracts into our storage container
A few days ago, some of Joseph’s boys were up at our house to get water. While they were waiting for the buckets to fill, I asked Lammie to carry my own bucket of water to the chicken yard. I confess my preferential treatment of Lammie; he’s a good worker with a cheerful heart and willingly helps when asked. As we exited the chicken yard, Safa called over to Lammie speaking in Mende. I understand very little Mende but I didn’t need to as Lammie “answered” entirely with body language. His puffed out chest, lifted shoulders and head, along with a feigned abashed smile told me that Safa had called him the Mende version of “teacher’s pet”. I didn’t understand a word of it, and yet, I understood completely!
