Thursday, January 20, 2011

Another surprise blessing

I have said this before, I am constantly amazed at how God works through me. Here I am on vacation in another country on the treadmill checking emails (when I can get a connection) while everyone else is sleeping in. And Jibbigo (a company that produced a phenominal translating tool) offers a poetry contest to win their Spanish/English app. I am completely in love with this technology because I don't speak Spanish and I am always frustrated when I want to ask questions in bible studies, for example, during mission trips. These kinds of questions are not in common traveler's phrase books or dictionaries. I don't need to know how to order a beer in a hotel restaurant - there isn't one for miles - a two hour drive away! I want to know their theological beliefs! Even our intrepretors that have grown up in bi-lingual schools sometimes can't translate things for us because they are not versed in bible terminology. I don't even own a mac or an i-anything, but I have seen doctors use it with their patients and it's incredible. So the contest is announced on facebook and I'm already 15 hours behind the posting and it's to go to the first person who writes a short poem including the word Jibbigo. I don't consider myself a great poet, but I couldn't let this opportunity go. So I quickly submit one anyway to take a chance at it, just in case all 365 of their followers missed the posting. Here it is:

Jibbigo will help me so
I studied German instead of Espanol
To be able to speak to friends I've made on mission trips
Would be the greatest joy and oh so hip
To bring hope and health to the people I meet
Is the mission I'm on, it can't be beat
Thank you Jibbigo for such an invention
It's the answer to prayer for a Word intervention

A week later, I get a message from them that they had already given away the prize, but that they liked my poem so much, they decided to have two winners. Praise God! He always fills my needs - it's truly amazing. And on facebook I mentioned to Jibbigo how desperately the doctors need a Creole to English translation for the work they are doing in Haiti. Since that language is so specific to that location, they needed someone who spoke the language and I just happen to know someone who is working on that already with teaching CDs - and we might be able to get Jibbigo together with them to work on it! What a blessing...Thank you God and thank you Jibbigo. So now I am praying someone on the team has an i-anything that they can bring on the trip!!