Sana Nakakapag Tagalog Ako

Imagine you were of German decent and grew up speaking German.  You lived in a German community in America.  In your community, almost everyone spoke German, but everyone also knew a bit of English, at least enough to get by.  If someone moved to your town who didn’t know German and tried to build a relationship with you, how would they go about that?  Most likely by learning German!
 
This is somewhat similar to my situation here in the Philippines.  The Philippines has two official languages:  Tagalog and English.  Most people’s main language is Tagalog, though most also know English (though to a native English speaker, it is usually broken English).  I can get by just fine most of the time with my English, but I have found this lacking:  the ability to truly connect with Filipinos and build relationships with them.
 
The longer I am here, the more I want to learn Tagalog so that I can build these deeper relationships with Filipinos.  I am SO excited that my mission is going to help me learn Tagalog.  However, they have asked me to wait a year to start so that I can get settled in at Faith Academy.  I am doing some minimal language study on my own, and I hope to go to language school this summer, after which I will have a private tutor.
 
Being here has allowed me to value more deeply the time that most missionaries spend in language school.  As supporters it can be hard to understand why they would spend one to two years in language school before starting “ministry,” but those years are crucial to being able to build strong relationships in order to share the gospel with others. 
 
I look forward to the day that I am no longer wishing I could speak Tagalog but can actually speak it.  Until then, I pray God will still allow me to be a light to the Filipinos with whom I come in contact.