This week has been pretty awesome. Elder Zenteno and I have had some of the funniest experiences I have had in my whole mission. I really love this guy... I think he's officially my best companion.
First off the World Cup here is super crazy. I have only heard and heard about fútbol all day. It is a really fun culture and I have loved being here during the World Cup... but the worst part was that I couldn't watch too many games ("ojo" dije no pude ver muchos partidos ;) [look closely, I said I wasn't able to see very many games]). But seriously, everyone here is addicted to soccer.
When México was playing there was no way that you could get a lesson in. People were either so facinated with the game or so drunk that they wouldn't give us the littlest bit of attention. When México won their first games everyone turned loco. People were yelling in the streets, kids were running around with Mexican flags, and there were a whole bunch of fireworks going off. Soccer is crazy here... I love it!
On the other hand when México lost, the whole city was super depressed. It even made me sad... okay not really but it was pretty crazy.
I was able to get a couple of games in with some people in lessons though. I saw part of the game with Germany vs. Brazil. We knocked on a door of a future investigador and they invited us right in and told us to sit down. Well as good missionaries we obeyed... and the TV just happened to be turned on right in front of us. The game was pretty pathetic I might add... it was actually pretty sad and I felt bad for Brazil. But I'll be honest it was great seeing part of that game. And then after what some people might call two misionaries being disobedient... we set two baptismal dates with some people after finishing a a game of soccer. I love the mission.
Something that has been happening very frequently lately is that Elder Zenteno and I are being praised for our race. That's right. Everyone yells at us and tells us congradulations! But what the people don't understand is that we aren't GERMANS. But we tell them thank you anyways. :) It's honestly hilarious.
Another funny thing that happened this week was that we were getting rejected in the street at night and kept walking. We saw a taco stand and I turned to Elder Zenteno and said (in the Mexican tongue) "That looks so good. I want some tacos." My companion then said, "Well go buy one if you want one." I said "I don't have money." Two seconds later we walked passed a man and he said "Hey young men, (jovenes) I invite you to some tacos." I looked at Elder Zenteno with a huge smile and we went and had dinner with a random guy on the street. This man turned out to be a preacher but uses a different method of teaching. He preaches super loud yelling at people in the street and praising the Lord. Let's just say we received some pretty funny looks from everyone at dinner when he blessed the food. :) I love being a missionary :) ¡Y tacos al pastor estan bien ricos! ["and tacos al pastor are really good!" Also, Tacos al pastor directly translates to "in the style of the shepherd" but means meat cut from the spit and are usually pork]
My Birthday was awesome. We went and bought some awesome things at an awesome place and went to a mall and I had a great time. :) My birthday last year was honestly pretty bad... having your birthday on a P-Day makes a huge difference. Thank you everyone for wishing me a happy birthday and thanks everyone for supporting me in my mission of Guadalajara paradise.
Love,
Elder Summers