If you had told me two years ago – or even two months ago – that I would teach a Relief Society lesson in Spanish, I would have questioned your sanity.   My journey towards mastery of the Spanish language has been slow, laborious, and frustrating at times.  And I am an eternity from fluency.  But last Sunday night when Don and I were discussing possible teachers for this week, I casually mentioned that I wished I could do it – meaning I wished I was able to do it – had the ability to do it – spoke Spanish well enough to do it.

Well, Don jumped right on that idea, and before I really had time to consider what it could mean, he had me convinced that I could do it – because after all, “many of those women speak English, and they will help you.”  As if that was all it took. . .

What followed that conversation was a week of intense preparation, prayer, and panic.  I prepared a detailed outline – in Spanish and English, made some word strips to focus attention on important points – and remove the need for me to write in Spanish on the board, and chose a comfortable outfit to wear – because I could not be worrying about my clothes at a time like this!

Although my delivery was bumpy in spots and I had a hard time following some of the discussion, I did it!  The hermanas were very supportive and complimentary, and even though I’m pretty sure that they did not understood everything I said, I came away feeling like we had had a successful meeting.

And next time it should be a little easier.