This picture shows Bill and Betty Pritchett as they studied Spanish before leaving to go to Latin America.

Longevity Secrets from the Life of Bill Pritchett

And don’t allow yourselves to be weary or disheartened in planting good seeds, for the season of reaping the wonderful harvest you’ve planted is coming! Galatians 6:9 TPT

Dad was 39 when he discovered that we were going to be sent as missionaries to Latin America. We moved from Texas to Glendale, Arizona where my parents studied Spanish in language school. It was truly a wonderful school with state-of-the-art technology. The only problem is that the emphasis was business and not ministry.

Dad struggled with learning Spanish. He told a hilarious story about how he didn’t know how to take up an offering or pray when he got to Nicaragua. Still, he preached in Spanish, as best he could. There were two ladies who came faithfully and wanted to help him. In the middle of the sermon they would begin to argue over what he meant. His punchline for this story was, “The only problem is that the wrong one would win.”

Thus began a quest to master preaching in Spanish. He prayed on a daily basis, “Lord, give me the anointing to preach in Spanish.” He followed up with a daily habit of reading the Bible out loud for one hour every day. He was humbled by the fact that Mom learned quickly and spoke with impeccable grammar. As kids, we picked up the language skills almost effortlessly. He continued to persistently pray and read out loud.

Over the years, that prayer was answered. He would start his sermon searching for the right words. Then when the anointing would come, his vocabulary expanded and it was a miraculous testimony to the faithfulness of the God.

He would chuckle and often say, “I guess I just should have asked to speak Spanish like you kids do.”

Longevity Secret 16:

When you have a goal, pray about it and then do something every day to do your part.

This post is part of the Write 31 Days 2019 challenge. Click here to find more longevity secrets.

Author, speaker, corporate trainer, ordained minister and Hope Catalyst, Karen Sebastian enjoys sharing her rich life experiences with others – engaging them in adventurous discoveries of the beauty of hope in a dark, cloudy world. Her books will inspire you to embrace hope no matter what you are going through. As a caregiver and widow she took brave steps forward to fulfill God’s calling on her life. She has now remarried and enjoys her new hubby and spending time with their children and grandchildren. To increase hope and improve relationships with yourself and those that you love, check out her Facebook page – The Power of Hope.