Developing mis Skills

Things to know before reading this post: 
interpretation = spoken
translation = written
Get it right people

On Sunday I had the opportunity to practice some of my developing skills of becoming a professional interpreter. Whether that will happen or if that is even something that I want is neither here nor there. But hey, a girls gotta work towards something right? And I can proudly say that I worked towards that "something" on Sunday.

You see, Darin and I were called to be Spanish ward missionaries, so, we go to the Spanish ward. There are occasional English speaking visitors and we can always count on our favorite missionary couple (called to teach English in the stake) and the pianist to be equipped with those big headphones. I interpret for the missionary couple quite often, and by "quite often" I literally mean every Sunday during Sunday School and Relief Society. I sit behind them and stick my head between theirs and hope that my breath doesn't smell too bad. Then in Relief Society I usually sit next to the wife and whisper to her, HOWEVER, lately there has been an increase in English-speakers in Relief Society so just a few weeks ago they brought the little interpretation apparatuses in. There's a few of us that take turns interpreting the lessons which is fun.

Sorry for the background information, but I thought it would help you understand better my excitement in "developing mis skills."  Sunday School and Relief Society are pretty low-key, the gran kahuna is and always will be sacrament meeting. It's been my dream since our first day in the ward to interpret in sacrament meeting. It just seems so official. So professional. So amazing. Sitting up in the corner by the piano with my little microphone...aaaaaaahhhhhh....who wouldn't want that!?

It's not as easy as it seems to get up there and take control of the mic. You see, people are called to be interpreters, there's at least 4 of them, I can't take their responsibility away from them. Yes, I probably could have just asked to do it for a Sunday but I'm actually not as brave as I might appear.

Now to the juice of the story... We quietly slide into our row Sunday morning. The meeting was just starting. I look up to the interpreter corner (as I like to call it) and only the man interpreter was there (there is always a man and a woman, clearly, to depict the voices properly). I didn't get my hopes up because this has happened before. The girl is a tricky one. She get's me excited thinking she's not coming and right when I get the courage to stand up, she walks in and runs up to the front. But not this Sunday. This Sunday we got to the sacrament and she still wasn't there. I told myself that if she wasn't there by the end of the sacrament that I was going up, no turning back. The sacrament ended, I quickly looked around and jumped up to the front and told the Brother that I would help him.  Yay! My big moment had finally come!

I checked the program quickly and there was only one female speaker which was a relief, ease myself in slowly. I peek over at her and see her holding a General Conference talk that was marked up and highlighted from top to bottom. OH NO, I thought. One of my hardest things with interpretation thus far has been people reading quotes and scriptures without me having the English one in front of me. They are so hard to interpret on the spot! She got up and was actually quite easy to interpret for, only reading one thing from the talk, which I will share with you for kicks and giggles because I was stumped and have no idea what I blurted out, but it definitely wasn't what she said.

This is what the scripture she read says in English:

“For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:

“And though … worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.”³⁰

“Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.

Yeah, DEFINITELY not even close to what I said.

And there you have it, my interpretation story of the week. Hope you're having a good one.

Totally me in a few years. Except let's hope I stay in the realm of "gospel vocabulary" :).