Pentecostés - Pentecost

Happy Pentecost! Pentecost, which will be celebrated this Sunday in churches around the world, is a very important day in the life of the church. This is the day in which the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples. And when the Spirit descended, they all began speaking in different languages. This year, Pentecost has a new meaning for me. I understand more deeply the importance of communicating with people in different languages, especially about the things of God. I am always thinking to myself, “Words cannot express what I am trying to say.” Imagine if God sent his spirit upon you so that you could say exactly what God desired. What a beautiful thing that would be!

I have heard four languages here in Honduras: Spanish, English, Mandarin, and Garifuna. Of course Spanish is the most common language, but many people also speak Garifuna. The Garifuna people are the descendents of people from Africa and the original habitants of San Vicente Island in the Caribbean. Today, the Garifuna people live in different communities along the north coast of Honduras and Belize. There are various communities surrounding Tela: Miami, Tornabe, San Juan, Triunfo de la Cruz, y La Ensanada.

One of my coworkers, Ms. Juanita, is Garifuna and lives in Tela. She is the librarian and the home economics teacher for the school. She has also taught me some words in Garifuna. It is a very interesting and beautiful language. For Pentecost, Ms. Juanita is going to read the gospel in Garifuna in church on Sunday. Here is a video of Ms. Juanita practicing! 

¡Feliz día de Pentecostés! Pentecostés, que se celebrará este domingo en las iglesias de todo el mundo, es un día muy importante en la vida de la iglesia. Este es el día en que venía el Espíritu Santo sobre los discípulos. Y cuando el Espíritu bajó, todos empezaron a hablar en diferentes idiomas. Este año, Pentecostés tiene un significado más profundo para mí. Yo entiendo más la importancia de comunicarse con personas que hablan idiomas diferentes, especialmente sobre las cosas de Dios. Siempre pienso yo, “las palabras no pueden expresar lo que quiero decir.” Imagínese si Dios le envía su Espiritu para decir exactamente las palabras que Dios quiere. Sería una cosa bonita.  

Yo he escuchado cuatro idiomas aquí en Honduras: español, inglés, mandarín, y garífuna. Claro que español es el idioma más común, pero muchas personas aquí también hablan garífuna. Las personas garífunas son descendientes de unas personas de África y los habitantes originales de la isla San Vicente en la caribeña. Ahora, los Garífunas viven en diferentes comunidades de la costa norte de Honduras y Belice. Hay varias comunidades alrededor de Tela: Miami, Tornabe, San Juan, Triunfo de la Cruz, y La Ensanada.

Una de mi compañeras, Ms. Juanita, es Garífuna y vive en Tela. Ella es la bibliotecaria y la maestra de manualidades para la escuela. También ella me enseñó algunas palabras en garífuna. Es un idioma muy interesante y bonito. Para el día de Pentecostés, Ms. Juanita va a leer el evangelio en garífuna para la misa este domingo. ¡Aquí está un video de Ms. Juanita practicando!

Ms. Alibel is another of my coworkers. She is the Spanish teacher for the school. Also, she has two children in high school who were in my English classes. Ms. Alibel agreed to read the same gospel passage in Spanish to put on the blog. 

Ms. Alibel es otra de mis compañeras. Ella es la maestra de español para la escuela. También, ella tiene dos hijos en la colegio quienes asistieron a mis clases de inglés. Ms. Alibel acordado a leer el mismo evangelio en español para poner en mi blog.

Here is the English version of the Gospel reading (John 14:8-17 NRSV)

⁸ Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” ⁹ Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰ Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. ¹¹ Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. ¹² Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. ¹³ I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. ¹⁴ If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
¹⁵ “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. ¹⁷ This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.