I recently purchased my first bilingual Bible. Ever since I began studying Spanish this past summer, I have been enamored with the beauty of the language. I had a Spanish Bible, and whenever I found a verse that touched my heart, I would look it up in Spanish to see how it translated. The Holy Spirit simply abounds through God’s Word, and learning to study His word in Spanish blesses my Spanish language acquisition, as well as my love of His word. How incredible is it to call Jesus “La Brillante Estrella de la Manana” (The Bright Morning Star) or to hear Jesus say, “Permanenzcan en mi amor” (Remain in my love)?

Now with my bilingual Bible I can engage the heart of God in my native language and the language I am learning simultaneously. I love going back and for the between the two, seeing truth weave itself into the words. Initially, the two languages seem so different from one another. But in Christ, the truth transcends language.

“Yo amo Dios” and “Jesus te ama”—some of the first words I learned from my bilingual Bible. “I love God” and “Jesus loves you”—simple phrases with profound implications. With those few words, God laid a foundation for true communication with the people here.

I recently taught the students in my English classes the familiar Sunday school song, “Jesus Loves Me.” When I told them what the words meant, their faces lit with joy. As we continued to talk of the love of God, I heard a child cry, “Dios ama todo del mundo!” God loves the whole world! The same words He has been inscribing on my heart were there again, and I marveled at the way God has taught little children to give Him praise.

Those sweet words have been riding on my heart and God has been showing me why they are there. A couple of weeks ago, I was visiting an orphanage where over the past two months, I have been getting to know the kids better. One seventeen year old girl has been particularly glad of my company when I visit. I didn’t know much of her story before that day, but I knew she hadn’t been in the orphanage long, and she’d come from a hard life.

On my last visit, she started opening up to me—telling me how she was sad and wanted to leave. She tried to convey to me something she wanted but she couldn’t get. I didn’t quite understand, and when I questioned one of the directors of this orphanage, she told me that this young lady had been very involved in drugs. I guessed that was what she wanted, and was trying to ask me for.

I’m not qualified to counsel teenagers with drug problems, and my Spanish is still too limited to hold very complicated conversations even if I was. But the words God has taught me were rolling around in my heart and head. God gave me a beautiful opportunity to share them with this young lady on that day. I told her as adamantly as I could in Spanish, “God loves you. Jesus is better than anything else. Love Jesus!” I repeated these words, and asked if I could pray for her, broken and nonsensical as my prayer might have been. It wasn’t really mine at all, for it was in the name of Jesus, the King who holds her life and mine in His mighty hand. I don’t know how He’ll grow my relationship with my little friend, and how He will choose to use it. But I’m so thankful that the few words I could convey were the most important things she needs to know in this life.

Sometimes the language barrier can be frustrating. Many times I’ve been misunderstood and misunderstood others. God continually calls me to lay down my pride and my need to communicate perfectly. He calls me just to take hold of opportunities with the tools He’s given me now. His grace is sufficient for me, and if the only thing I can ever tell someone in Spanish is “Jesus loves you,” then that is more than enough. And when I am flustered and wondering what this whole journey is for in my own life, those same words are the only assurance I need. Jesus me ama. Jesus loves me. Really, what else matters in the end?