magnificently underscoring erin

i had my very first real mexican study. and it was wonderful. i am in big fat luv with this girl. her name is lidia, she's nineteen, and she is an absolute sweetheart. when i first met her i thought she was much younger, so i was surprised by the maturity and depth of her comments. she is so eager to learn, and is quick to make application of each scripture we read. after i taught her how to use her bible, that is. she read ahead for the first study, and would have looked up the scriptures if she had known how. she says she will for next week. in the third paragraph of the first lesson where it discusses opposition to studying the bible, she couldn't understand why anyone wouldn't want her to study. she was confused that anyone could think the bible was harmful. and normally i would politely skip over the scripture in matthew that discusses being persecuted for righteousness' sake, but she went straight to it, read it, and said that it told her that some people might make fun of her for doing good, but that she shouldn't listen to them, and should continue doing what makes God happy. i wanted to hug her. i can't wait to go back. when i left i realized that she is the reason i am here. i hope Jehovah directs me to more people just like her.

sunday i went to the convention in spanish. that was the biggest culture shock i've had so far. i think because i expect all my brothers and sisters around the world to act the same, i am less forgiving of differences in the truth. which is wrong, of course. but on the other hand, i think it's wrong to talk through the entire session. but we all have our own opinions. it's strange, because these people don't just whisper, they actually talk. of course, they are also incredibly generous and loving. i had packed a lunch, but as soon as we were dismissed, the girl we had gone with, belen, hands me and britanny a container of chicken and mashed potatos. it was great. and then we met lots of people at lunch. belen introduced us to everyone she could think of who spoke english. it was good to listen to spanish all day, and by the end i was picking out words and phrases i understood. i was so excited during the closing prayer when i understood that he was asking that Jehovah bless those of our brothers and sisters who have been in the truth for forty or fifty years, or more. muchos muchos anos.

after the convention we went to the malecon, which is the walkway by the ocean. apparently every sunday night that is the place to be. all the spanish brothers and sisters know to go there if they are looking for something to do. so we went with belen and her friends, and they toured us around and introduced us to people. we worked on our spanglish. and then we went dancing at hotel playa. we learned a mexican line dance. i had sworn against line dancing many years ago, however, this was a mexican one, and, well, when in rome...

tuesday has become a regular beach day. enid has started calling me her little brownberry because i am getting so dark. yesterday the water was too choppy for me to surf. the more experienced ones went early in the morning, but even they said it was a lot of work, and the waves were really big. which was great for them, but they didn't stay out too long. i'm hoping to go again this weekend... probably not until sunday actually. i have to be out in service for the rest of the week. i should stay away from the beach long enough to get all the sand out of my hair. or maybe i should just accept that as a part of mexican life, and move on. moving on it is.