Communication

Communication is a wonderful gift.

I am visiting my daughter in Germany. My husband was stationed here while serving in the Air Force 40 years ago. For the 38 years of our marriage he has promised to bring me to Germany-- and here we are.

I have visited other countries where I did not know the language, but I usually had someone with me who was a guide and translator. Not this trip. Shawna has only been here for a few months and spends her days taking care of her family of young children. The three year old is becoming quite fluent in the language, soon her mother will be also, but not yet.

When we go out I can hear people talking, but cannot understand a word of what is said.

When we need to ask a question at a store, we hope we eventually find someone who speaks english. Until then we are on our own.

We went to the German twin of Home Depot to purchase a piece of wood. We needed to have it cut into 3 pieces. Shawna wrote the length and number of boards on a piece of paper. She did a pantomime and smiled. The man nodded, crossed out her dash and put an X in its place, then took the board behind a partition. We shrugged and waited.

What we needed was 2 pieces of wood about 40+ inches long with a little left over. What we got were 3 boards about 4" wide and about 8' long--nothing close to what we thought we were asking for.

To be unable to communicate is a difficult situation to be in.

Today we went to church. We were the ones with the head sets. Unfortunately it is difficult to take care of little children and listen to the meeting through a headset. I looked at the ladies in Relief Society and tried to understand the lesson--Mary and Martha. I followed the scriptures and thought of their story, not understanding the comments, but noticing through body language, voice inflections and emotions the impact of women meeting together.

And then we sang--As Sisters in Zion-- I did not recognize the words, but the melody rang loud in my mind and I realized we were all women who love the Lord. We may speak different languages, but the desire of our hearts are the same. We are women who love our families. Women who love the Lord. Women who struggle to make good choices and be good examples.

We may not be able to communicate by speaking to each other, but just being in the same room with the same purpose is a method of communication.


I had a friend that lived in South America for a while. When she returned home she had such a strong conviction that you should be able to go to church and listen in your own language. I agree.

Church today was a very spiritual experience and I did not understand a word that was spoken.

Every week Shawna dresses her 5 children and takes them to meetings where they can't communicate. She understands the necessity of teaching her children the consistency of going to church, even if you do not understand a word of what is said. I pray for her strength.

One week is a privilege--3 years is a struggle. The ability to communicate is a great gift.