My neighbor, the giant reptile

So there's this vendor that goes through our neighborhood at certain times of the day, selling camotes, which are apparently sweet potato-adjacent, and he has some kind of steam whistle on his cart. Every time I hear it, I think of Jurassic Park, because it sounds just like the T-Rex roar. Every time I hear it, this is what I expect to see around the corner:

Just saying. I see no reason whatsoever why Mexico shouldn't be the land of dinosaurs.

This has been a slower week than the last few. One of my teachers has been on vacation, so I haven't had quite as much homework. On the other hand, I am now well and truly in the process to go with our big missions agency, so there's a lot of writing going on with that.

One interesting thing that happened this week was that, on Thursday, my friend came home and wanted to go out to eat. She ended up taking me to this big, fancy, new mall that has a food court on the third storey, open to the air, with a beautiful view of the mountains. We ended up going downstairs to Liverpool, which is like a Macy's or a Dillard's, and I found a teapot! You don't even know the joy. I took the teapot over to the saleslady, and I asked her what it's called in Spanish (tétera), and we ended up talking. She asked why I was learning Spanish, and I told her it was because I want to teach the Bible. She asked, "Are you a Christian?" "Yes," I said. She responded, "You have that profile." Careful inquiry revealed that she had lived with three Christians while she was studying in university, and they were all unusually tranquil, and they didn't feel a need to go out and be crazy. She said I seemed like that. I responded that it's peace in the heart, and she seemed thoughtful. I gave her my number, and she asked me to come back and look for her any time, and she'd help me with Spanish. I'm not sure quite what kind of opportunity this is, as it's difficult to talk to people much while they're working, and I wouldn't want to get her in trouble, but it's definitely cool.

I also met one of the neighbors last night while I was on the way from Spanish class. She's really sweet, and she speaks amazing English. My friend and I offered to have an English games night, and she said she might be interested. It's definitely something to pray for.

Prayer requests

• My friend and I are thinking about following up with the Iranian guy this week. Pray for wisdom about how to do that and when, and what to say.
• Please pray for wisdom for followup with these ladies I've met.
• I'd like to spend some more time with the teenager who went on the buses with me. I need wisdom about what that might look like and where we might go.
• On Monday my friend and I are heading to this ranchito to eat field corn with the teenagers, which is kind of a big deal. I'm supposed to have Psalm 139 memorized for that. Please pray for that time, and that our study would be fruitful, and that God would give us good connections with these teens.
• I need wisdom for how to organize this next week, and also wisdom for how to work on this application.

Praises

• It was really encouraging to hear God working in that lady in Liverpool. Encouraging to see that I might demonstrate peace even if I don't feel particularly peaceful. It was also very encouraging to watch myself communicating relatively well with her.
• I've been having some good conversations with both of the ladies who are helping me with language. I really do think that we're going to be friends through this.
• I feel like I have seen some Spanish progress.
• It's just been a sweet week in general of being able to spend some nice time with believers and just kind of enjoying Mexico. Last night on the bus was hilarious; these two guys got on with a guitar and proceeded to sing a "You Ain't Nothin' but a Hound Dog"-style song about waiting for the bus in the San Jeronimo Station, after spending all their money. It pretty much made my day to be on a bus with some jovial, goofy people enjoying themselves.

Thank you for praying for me!

-Jennifer