Spoken around the world.
July 22, 2009 (Wednesday)
English has become an almost universal language. When I visited Dwight and Anne Dudley, missionaries to Japan, I went with them to one of the Ryukyu islands. It was a small island, with only four villages. As I strolled along the beach, I found many sea shells, all of them in pristine condition. As I walked, children began to walk behind me, curious about what I was doing. I was picking up shells.
I used my shirt as a container, a trick I’d seen my grandmother do many times with her apron or even her skirt. When it could contain no more, I took the shells back to The Messenger, a small boat purchased for ministry to the islands by the missionaries and military people with a heart for missions.
As I unloaded my shells at the boat, I was surprised by a little boy from the beach, still wearing his school uniform after school. He had some shells for me. “Thank you,” I said, as I received his gifts. “You’re welcome!” he replied enthusiastically with a broad smile. He was the first of the children who followed me to the boat that day to give me shells. I exchanged the greeting in English with every child. The missionary told me they studied English in school, and were very happy to have the chance to use what they had learned by helping a crazy American picking up shells.
When we met for a Christian service that evening in the village meeting house, every person in the village attended. They heard the gospel preached by a Japanese man who was a part of our mission group. They heard about Jesus in their own language. Most were hearing it for the first time.
The children who brought me shells are in their forties and fifties now. Some of them probably speak English very well. It helps them in today’s world, where so many understand and speak it. This in spite of American efforts to destroy a perfectly good language. Oops, my bad. I’m like, all broke up, man. I’ll cool it, cuz whut ah say don’t mean nuthin’, ya dig?