The Everyday Club

5/13/12     Louis, about 30
I stopped an approaching bicyclist at the park, asking if he had a minute to answer an interesting question - "What do you think happens to us after this life?" He had mirrored sunglasses on and didn't respond right away, and I wasn't quite sure if he was just thinking through his answer or didn't understand the question, so I continued talking, explaining why our eternal fate will one day be the most important question we could ask. Louis said, in a heavy Spanish accent, that he had never thought about it, admitting he is just too wrapped up in his day to day problems, but he agreed it will be the most important thing anyone could answer one day. Soon, Louis took off his sunglasses and we went on to a good conversation in which I shared both the law and grace of God. An interesting thing about this conversation is that, although I believe Lou's English abilities were better than my Spanish, the conversation seemed to go much better in Spanish, his heart language. Lou didn't understand some key points I was making in English, but when I spoke in my halting Spanish, he had time to think over what I was saying, and to correct me as needed, which had the effect of keeping our conversation light-hearted and friendly even though we were discussing some deep subjects. I say this to encourage anyone who may be unconfident with the idea of witnessing in a second language, that their lack of fluency may actually be a help rather than a hindrance.