Teenagers are awesome in every culture.

That 10:00 mocha may have been a tactical error. I spent the evening with a group of teenagers from CPD, and they are awesome. Several of them thought I was their age, or maybe in university, which was both flattering and fun. We went to the feria (actually, I took a taxi, all by myself--I feel so grown up and resourceful), and we rode a bunch of crazy rides. Let me tell you, safety standards here are . . . different from safety standards in the US. There was a massive fireworks show in the middle of the crowd, with no safety barriers, and I'm tolerably sure that there were more rides than in the old Mid-South Fair and in LibertyLand, packed into a space about the size of a football field. All of the rides are so close together that they could touch if angled differently. And I'm pretty sure the speed controls here are different than in the States. I've never felt all of the blood in my body rush into my feet so quickly in my life. 

I loved it.

One of the girls was totally fearless, so we tried the craziest rides together. The boys and the other girl were slightly less inclined to risk their lives, so we rode some of the tamer rides as a group. But it was really fun just to be with them. I look forward to spending more time with them in the next couple of weeks.

Had a fun conversation this morning with my language teacher. It got a little heated when we ended up talking about monks, and he asked if I thought that people who were dedicating their lives to contemplation were wasting their time. I said, yes, that we really are supposed to be in the world, though not of it, and that it's easier to retreat from the world than it is to live in the tension of the world. I'm hoping it didn't end up closing a door.

Tomorrow morning my friend and I will be prayer walking in an area in which the CPD missions team hopes to start a new church. I'm looking forward to that a lot. Then tomorrow night I'm supposed to lead the group Bible study. Eek!

Please continue to pray for my teacher, and for the teenagers. Some of them are the only believers in their families and come from crazy situations. It's amazing to see what God is doing in them. 

Thank you for praying!