Three Hidden Benefits of Learning a Language

When Jay and Hannah arrived in Central Asia, they knew they’d be spending most of the next couple of years learning the language and culture. In an environment where few spoke English, it was expected by their team and necessary to accomplish the activities of daily life and ministry. But as they began the journey, they didn’t realize how many other ways this first step would be critical.

Learning a language helped them cultivate close relationships

It may seem obvious, but the language learner's growing fluency and the time they spend with friends trying to help them get to that point tend to open doors for closer relationships. Jay and Hannah not only learned to ask questions and tell their own stories but also grew in their understanding of what others were trying to tell them. A shared language allowed friendships to grow.

“As our ability grew, so did the depth of our relationships with our teachers and local friends,” says Jay. “As time passed, we saw local friends, especially our language teachers, begin to open up more about the deeper matters of the heart.”

One day, there was a major disaster in another country—an earthquake in Myanmar. Hannah was meeting with their main language teacher right after it happened. The teacher reflected, “Those people were here one day and suddenly gone the next. All we can do is do our best to be good people … right?”

With that, their conversation shifted from a grammar lesson to how to be right with God. The teacher trusted Hannah and invited her response to this weighty question. Hannah was able to share Scripture and the reason for the hope we have.

Learning a language helped them grow in compassion

Many experiences are common to the human condition, but when you move to another culture, it’s easy to focus on the differences and to judge or look down on people who aren’t like you. But every culture and community has its strengths and weaknesses. When you learn to see the world through someone else’s eyes, your perspective may start to shift.

“I went to Central Asia saying, ‘I love the Central Asian people,’” says Jay, “but I became quickly frustrated and irritated by them and found my love to be not so deep. Through language learning, I have heard the pain of hearts broken by a sinful world. God has brought me to a place of compassion and genuine love for them.”

The Gospel of Matthew tells us that Jesus healed all those who came to Him because He had compassion on them. In the same passage, Jesus points out that the harvest is abundant and instructs His disciples to pray for more laborers for the harvest (Matthew 9:35-38).

Language is the great divide that keeps us from understanding those we are sent to, and as we bridge that divide, we can convey the Good News of Jesus in words that speak to the heart.

“Language learning can feel like a slog at times, and we wonder if we were doing what we were sent to do,” Jay admits. But it also humbled him and helped him recognize what only God can do. Jay and Hannah are praying that their Central Asian friends will hear the Good News in a way they can understand and embrace it, and that others will believe as they see Christ followers transformed by the grace of God. In essence, they have grown in compassion for the people and are asking God to send out laborers.

Learning a language helped them become more like Christ

In his letter to the Philippians, Paul urges us to imitate the humility Jesus showed in emptying himself and taking the form of an obedient servant (see Philippians 2:1-10). We encourage Pioneers teams to follow this example.

“Though pouring our lives out into learning the language is perhaps the hardest thing we’ve done to date, we are being woven deeper and deeper into the community around us,” says Jay.

“By the end of our first two years, we had come to understand that this language-learning journey God had been taking us on was His way of making us more like Christ. Language is the great divide that keeps us from understanding those we are sent to, and as we bridge that divide, we can convey the Good News of Jesus in words that speak to the heart.”

Reflections on their first two years

Reflecting on their first term, Jay and Hannah recognize that their greatest struggles correspond to their greatest reasons to celebrate.

Language was definitely their most consistent challenge, but by the end, they praised God for bringing them to a place where they could understand deeper conversations and more fully express themselves.

They struggled with intense loneliness and isolation during their first year on the field, but by the end of their second year, they had wonderful friendships 100% in the local language and were participating in a local fellowship.

Despite feeling uncomfortable every day, they say Central Asia now feels like home.

Their first term was a crucible, exposing their sins and flaws, but through that, they experienced God’s grace in ways that deeply changed them.

Conclusion

As you think about (and pray for) cross-cultural workers in their first few years on the field, think of Jay and Hannah and ask God to work in their lives in similar ways, drawing them to Himself, knitting them into their host communities, and showing them His power and grace. Feeling a nudge to cross-cultures yourself? We’d love to hear from you.

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