I've studied Spanish for five years. I used it every day in Spanish class during the school year and occasionally translated a few words. I considered myself conversational. But I could never really put this consideration to a test until I traveled to a Spanish-speaking country.

Before Mexico, I probably put the most thought about the trip into how I could communicate with them. We were going to a foreign country, obviously this would be important if I wanted to establish relationships with the people. But I was pleasantly surprised.

I honestly didn't think it would be as easy to get to know the people as it was. On the first day I would make rough small talk with several of the people my age and, after a few minutes, they would introduce me to their friends. I got to know many people this way.

Another way I met people was during the actual missions work. The kids on my soccer team were all clowns. We would make fun of each other, chase each other around, punch each other in the shoulder. A few of them had taken a year of English and were very eager to learn more, something I was happy to help them with. They surprised me with their vocabulary.

The church service was far from my expectations. My Spanish translating skills could only pick up a few of the words they said. Their mouths were going "una milla un minuto," so I understood the service more by how it felt.

We started out singing, for quite a while. Their songs all involved clapping and optional dancing. The missions team taught a couple songs. We stood in front of the congregation with song lyrics in Spanish on white poster board, singing "Tengo Gozo" and "Father we adore you."

Later came Brian's sermon, which would be translated by Carl after every few words. The people listened intently, despite the sudden downpour.

The band started to play again. A softer style of music. A couple people went to the front of the church to bow their heads and pray. Then a few more people trickled to the stage, and soon there were at least twenty-five people praying out loud. The people would shake and cry, laying their problems out to the Lord. The music never stopped, and the preacher would yell praises over each person, "Gloria! Gloria! Gloria! Gloria!"

This was deeply moving for the team. The people truly gave themselves to the Lord. Why would they hold anything back from the almighty God?

As it turns out, my Spanish is pretty conversational. The conjugations weren't always there, in an effort to speed up communication, but I could get the message across. Yet that didn't seem as important. We got creative and found lots of different ways to say what we wanted to. It was more about just being there, having fun, and worshiping together. I hope they learned as much from us as we learned from them.