Translators on the Loose

This week was very wonderful. We had a lot to do, many people to teach and as the icing on the cake we had a baptism on Saturday and I got to participate in the translation of General Conference into Greek. This was a great and wonderful opportunity. I'm so grateful for that opportunity that I had to do such a service for the Greek Saints and also to have such a wonderful learning opportunity.

Richard from Ghana was baptized on Saturday and he got confirmed on Sunday in church.

Elder Reading and Elder Stevens 

Sadly I was not able to attend his baptism because we (Elder Stevens (England)) and I had to be at the apartment where we do the live translation for General Conference at the same time. I DID get to be there for the confirmation of Richard and I was also able to participate. It is always wonderful to be part of someone coming unto Christ.

This weekend was more than just a Greek-learning experience (translation). It was a spiritual learning moment for me. I learned once again that I need to rely on the Lord fully and without compromise. When we started out the first session of conference I felt a little nervous but overall confident that I could read in sync with the speaker and translate thus into Greek.... The first talk that I translated was an complete failure. I wasn't able to keep up with the speaker and in the end I had to cut two paragraphs to finish on time for the next speaker to start his talk. Needless to say it was quite disheartening.

So, I decided that I couldn't do this on my own and that I need the Lord's help. So before each talk that I read I went a little apart from the others and in a kneeling prayer I asked the Lord to give me the gifts and talents needed to read the talks in sync and clearly and correctly for the translation. It was a true miracle! I was able to read all of them almost perfectly and I was able to concentrate more on bringing life and feeling in to the talk instead of keeping up with the speaker. I'm so grateful for His blessings to do that. It was a wonderful learning experience and also great fun!

Translation setup on Sunday night

So we had a very busy weekend and a wonderful week leading up to it. I'm excited to see what is coming next...

Elder Holland's talk