Saturday, November 30, 2013

Saturdays with the Stuarts


What is "worship"?  Don't worry , I'm not about to write a discourse.  Simply put, it is glorifying God.  But I've been learning that the worship experience transcends the barriers of culture and language.  We have been attending a Brazilian church on Saturday nights, and everything is done in Portuguese.  While we do have English translation available to us, when we sing , we're on our own.  Many of the songs are unfamiliar to Peter and me, and we do our best to sing along , read and pronounce the Portuguese words, and grasp a little of the meaning as our brains struggle to multi-task and read the English translation as well.  For me, singing is a great way to become familiar with language - words flow to a lyrical melody , expressing their meaning in music.  However, when I am in unfamiliar surroundings, taking in so many things at once, it's hard to mentally connect with the words I am saying and focus on the God I am singing to.  But every once in awhile, I catch a glimpse of what it's like to worship in another language.  It is an experience that will enrich and grow us as we continue to learn Portuguese, and explore new words and meanings and how they relate to the One who gave us the gift of language.  

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