Sunday was for me what us M*A*S*H fans like to call a full, rich day. I was scheduled to preach that day, which isn’t a big deal and I actually love doing it. However, this Sunday was just a little bit different. There was a family visiting from the states, and they only spoke English.
This is something that I feel very strongly about, when there are guests that do not speak the native language and there are people who are able to translate for them, it should be done. I believe that this is a modern usage of the teaching of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 14. The point of preaching is the edification of the church, and how can they be edified if they do not understand?
So last Sunday, for the first time, I preached in both English and Italian. I worked from the text of Philippians 1:21, perhaps my favorite passage of all time. I preached from a manuscript in Italian and then from an outline in English. They ended up being about the same, but looking back I can see that I did say more and go into a little more detail in English than I did in Italian.
After service we went to a nearby town to have a fellowship meal with two other churches. Afterward, all the men got together to do a mini-service, the idea was that each male would do something in the service i.e. lead a prayer, a song, say a few words about a favorite passage or the like. I was called on to translate for one of the Americans who were with us. Let me tell you, it is much easier to go from Italian to English than from English to Italian!
We finished up our mini-service and several of us decided to return to Taranto and take a walk in the downtown district. Being honest, the scope of the trip to downtown was gelato…and coffee for me. We had a great time just walking around and talking. I do have to say that I was a little tired by the end of the day, but it was a very wonderful tired.