I will never forget last night at Alianza Miraflores, Peru.
As I shared yesterday (click here to read the post), I had the opportunity to share Alianza’s Single Adults Ministry on prayer. The ministry encompasses single adults from 25-40 years old. Their service started last night around 8:30 pm following the main service on Saturday.
Heading into the service for single adults, I had two concerns. First, would I be able to relate Matthew 6:5-13 on prayer to them in their lives? Often, in these situations, speakers lose so much in translation. Secondly, I had just felt congested the whole day. Also, you can ask my wife Robyn that 8:30 pm represents a time we transition to sleep.
Pastor Ricardo, the leader of the single adult ministry, greeted Manny, my interpreter, and me before the service. I saw a real pastor. He knew the names of people in the room. When he spoke, the single adults trusted what he said.
Prior to going up to speak, Pastor Ricardo asked the group to pray with another person. Manny and I recognized that this does not happen in America, but we wish it did. Two people were praying with each other.
Following that time of prayer, Pastor Ricardo invited Manny and me up to the front. I began the message sharing about how Coca-Cola came back to Myanmar in 2013 after a 50-year absence (Click here to read the story). Just like the people in Myanmar, we desire the real and authentic thing. I believe Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount teaches us to live life in this way. How He intended it. Matthew 6:5-13 teaches us how to experience prayer as the real thing, not a counterfeit.
Manny began to read Matthew 6:5-13 in Spanish. When he got to Matthew 6:9, the whole group started saying the Lord’s Prayer in Spanish. For a moment, I did not know how to respond. So many things can become lost in translation, but hearing the Lord’s Prayer remarkably connected with me. I could hear the earnestness in their voices.
The closing of the service included a time of prayer. I had invited the group to pray through the Lord’s Prayer in their own lives responding to each of the words of Jesus. When Manny and I stepped off stage, you could hear a pin drop. Then Pastor Ricardo walked up in a prayerful spirit and began guiding the group through the prayer.
You could hear a pin drop besides Pastor Ricardo’s voice. Listening to the group say the Lord’s Prayer in Spanish and watching them pray at the end gave me a little glimpse of heaven. I never thought about it, but prayer rarely gets lost in translation.
We’re looking forward to another great day of services at Alianza.