That was your moment . . .

So . . . Burger King delivers to your house . . . .

My friend and I have a joke here: every now and then, one of us will eat something sketchy, and (normally) I will say, "That was your moment"--as in, that was the moment when you got sick; remember it, so you can know what to regret. Missionary humor is very closely related to gallows humor; some situations can only call for laughter or tears--but laughter keeps you on the field for longer.

On Wednesday I went out exploring the bus system with the teenager. We were out from 1:30 to 7, riding buses. I came home and saw my friend and said, "I think I had like 5 moments today." She replied, "What did you do?"

Well, I was waiting for the teenager at the bus stop, and I found myself possessed by a raging hunger. Suddenly two young men appeared, carrying giants trays of donuts on their heads. One guy was no-handsing it, strutting around, spinning, and talking to people. I wish I had gotten a picture, but I was so mesmerized that I didn't get my camera out. The other guy sat down and started hawking his donuts. As the donuts were totally exposed to the elements, I opted to exercise some caution, so I watched to see who was buying them. Eventually, I bought a donut and ate it. That was my first moment. I texted my friend and asked, "Is it wrong to eat a bus stop donut? Because it was delicious."

I met the girl, and we set out to explore the town. We rode our first bus down to the Centro, where we ran into a bunch of her friends, which was awesome. We decided to get tacos, and she asked me if I wanted some real Mexican tacos. We found this little hole-in-the-wall place where she showed me how to order tacos. I ordered tacos al pastor (moment #2), which (I think) are pork, slow-cooked, piled in a huge layer, on a spit, with pineapple on top to enrich the flavor. Near the cooked meat was a spit full of uncooked meat, just waiting.

I ordered three tacos, and they offered me the option of having chopped onion and cilantro sprinkled on top. I adore cilantro, so I went for it (#3). Cilantro grows in fields and is very hard to clean, and thus a little risky. Then I put a bunch of salsa on them (#4) and ate them.

They were delicious. I washed them down with some horchata, and the teenager and I hung out till the rain had abated, and we went out to explore the Centro. She showed me some interesting places. There's this one area under a building, where they sell goth clothes; Yu-Gi-Oh, Magic the Gathering, and Pokemon playing cards; shoes (it is León--she told me that you can't have any kind of shopping area here that doesn't sell shoes); and anime paraphernalia. They also play cards and video games, and there were two guys competing to arrange Rubik Cubes. We also walked around in search of hippies selling bracelets and necklaces, but we weren't able to find any, due to the rain. We ended up walking across a bridge out to the area where the Feria was, and then we walked all through a mall (there was a comics-themed bar). After that, we jumped on a bus and ended up riding around for a few hours, covering the main routes. She taught me a lot about the city, about where all the hippy kids hang out, and where the art stuff happens. She knows at least one graffiti artist, and we ran into a  bunch of her friends in the Centro. I look forward to seeing what happens as I get to know her. I'd love to connect with that group of young people.

Anyway, when I came home, I told my friend about my culinary adventures. She agreed that sometimes you just go ahead and eat the food. In her words, "You just eat it. And then you pray. And then you get sick." See--missionary humor! I have decided that if I get a tapeworm I'm naming it Edgar; if I get an amoeba, I'm naming it Small Tina. Small Tina, the Amoeba. I think it works.

Prayer requests

• Protection over my health. :) Some risks just need to be taken.
• To be able to focus well on my Spanish homework, and for the vocabulary to sink in.
• Wisdom in what relationships to invest in.
• Wise use of time and adequate rest.
• Open doors to share. I've figured out how to share my parents' testimonies and some of mine, and I need to learn how to present the gospel 1) in Spanish, and 2) in this culture.
• That God would work in the hearts of people here to draw them to Himself.

Praises

• Today I got to have a good conversation at the place where I tried the posole. I was able to learn a lot about the lady who runs the place, including that she worships the old gods of Mexico. There's a lot to learn here.
• The time riding the buses with the teenager was really sweet. I hope it was as fun for her to show me around as it was for me to learn from her.
• My Spanish classes seem to be going well. The one lady (the professor) has a real desire to see CPD have a youth ministry. I suggested the idea of maybe developing some kind of youth ministry team instead of trying to have one youth minister. She said it was really important, because they don't have an identity. Because she said that specifically, I told her about the youth materials I've been working on with the youth pastor at my home church. She was super excited about that and thinks we might be able to do something with those materials--get them in Spanish. We're going to pray about it and talk together.

Thank you for praying for me!

-Jennifer and Edgar