Exaltar te ei

This past Sunday was a powerful reminder of how we can worship God in another language. The exact phrase that had so much power was "exaltar te ei, o Senhor" which translated means "I exalt you, Lord." We sang this over and over and it was a sweet time where the Portuguese language penetrated my heart and reminded me that God hears and loves praise and adoration in each and every language.

It's a great thing when we can sing in another language and be moved....or hear the pastor preach about the goodness of God and feel your soul resound with the rightness of the phrase. I am finding myself moved by these words and thankful that God has given us the capacity to learn different languages and be able to share His hope with people here. Each day reminds me how important language learning is to the Gospel---as we share in the heart language of the people it connects in ways that a foreign language will never be able to accomplish. It just makes sense in people's heart when the things about God are presented in a way they can understand. Although many people do speak English very well here, we make every effort to start and keep things in Portuguese.

As you think of us over the next month or so pray for our language learning. We will both take a big test on May 26th that will be over the B1 level, which if passed, let's us finish up full time language learning. There are 4 parts to the test (two are written, one listening, one talking) and we need to score satisfactory (but pray that we'll score a muito bom!) in order to pass. This is a big deal as we transition out of full time language and take yet another step towards fulfilling the work that God has put before us. Obrigado! Ate ja!