On Nov 15, the Samford Spanish Club (SSC) and the Latino Student Organization (LSO) joined to lead Spanish Worship Night. The event, which was part of International Education Week, featured prayers, songs and scripture-reading in both English and Spanish, a personal testimony; and a sermon spoken entirely in Spanish from Professor Tiffany Robayna.
Shaun O’Neil, President of the SSC, opened the worship night by welcoming the congregation.
“Tonight is all about resting in the Lord and seeing the beauty and the vastness of our awesome God. He works in every language across the world… No matter what language learner or level you are, I pray that you would just find the Lord, let him meet you here tonight,” O’Neil said.
A student worship team led the congregation in bilingual versions of “Tumbas a Jardines” (“Graves into Gardens”), “Nada Más” (“Nothing More”) and “Construiré Mi Vida” (“Build My Life”).
Luna Mora, a member of the LSO and SSC and former LSO president, was part of the band.
“I loved it when we were singing the bilingual version of Build My Life, and you [could] hear people praising God in English and Spanish! It’s a beautiful experience to witness worship transcending language and cultural barriers,” Mora said.
The night’s focus scripture was the Old Testament book of Job. Samford student Tressie Nunez took part in the service to introduce the story of Job from the Bible to the audience.
“The main purpose of the story is no matter what life throws at you, no matter how rocky your path is, God always has a plan for you,” she said.
Shortly afterwards, student Natalia Meza was able to share her testimony of faith for the first time in a public setting. Having moved from Guatemala to America for college a year ago, Meza shared about her childhood, transitioning to college and committing her life to Christ during Samford’s revival in Reid Chapel last spring.
“The revival… I remember walking through those doors. I felt a very interesting sensation roll all over my body. I felt something changing in my heart. I look back and realize that was the Holy Spirit. The holy spirit changed me, and it changed my life,” Meza said.
After Robayna gave her sermon in Spanish, the worship team ended the night playing “Rock of Ages,” entirely in Spanish.
Mora expressed satisfaction with the night’s attendance.
“The worship night was incredible,” she said. “We had a great turnout, from students to faculty and staff, and members of the Birmingham community. I am always happy to see how the Samford community is open to learning about different cultures.”
Staff Writer
