Sunday and perceptions

Today (sort of) was Sunday. That means today was a good day.

Omar and i picked up Perla and went to church to join set-up. Omar is in charge of hospitality, so i always go early with him. He and Javier have trained me to do set-up for the lights, so... that's what i do. After we got everything set-up, the three of us went 5 blocks over to a "Mexico going green" party in the city or something. Everyone was on bike, skates or running and there was excellent live music. (we went because Perla has a friend in one of the bands). Afterwards, we picked up a different friend of Perla's (who she's been inviting for 4 months, and he finally came) and headed to church for the second service.

The service was great, Carolina came and Perla's friend (Alejandro) had a good time. We went out to eat (Alejandro and Carolina came), then Carolina, Sheryl, Javier and i went to his house to watch "The Prince of Egypt." We stopped to pick up Lulu on the way, but her parents didn't want her to hang out with us today. So, we watched the movie, watched Mexico win against Uruguay (it was a big, big deal), learned some Judo (from Carolina) and played a board game.

*tone change*

an obervation.
So, when Kyle asked me to lead a homegroup, he did it very strategically (which is good, because i wanted to say no). After i had been leading for a couple of weeks, he told me something i hadn't thought of: if you're in leadership, you become more attractive. There is an increased amount of attention on you, you're seen as mature and spiritual and all that, you give attention to everyone and you're always seen in an authoritative (therefore somewhat confident) role.

Before i came to Mexico, i was talking with some friends about my concerns and mentioned that i didn't want to send wrong messages to the girls here. The reaction i got was surprise, because it sounded so prideful ("i'm just worried everyone will get crushes on me, you know"). But, in reality, it was a genuine concern (though i'm sure there's pride in it, too). I didn't think of it too much, but being in missions has a similar effect for similar reasons, but more intensive.

A person going on a mission trip appears to be more spiritually mature. (true motivations are in the heart, check them, but) Ideally, someone on a mission trip has the goal of spreading the gospel and understands God's vision for all nations. They are sacrificing time and money (theirs or someone else's) to serve the Lord (again, disclaimer about motivations) and, when they're on mission, usually have a very intentional, Jesus-focused mindset. Not to mention the novelty factor; when someone shows up who looks, talks, dresses, etc differently than everyone you see everyday, it catches your attention (Especially accents. I knew a guy who had a ballin' accent, but was a really, really weird guy (no disrespect, i liked him a whole lot (most of the time)). When he first switched into my school, the girls went crazy over his accent, then backed waay off when they got to know him). A missionary can have the same experience, but then, when you get to know them they seem so "holy." So, it's dangerous.

Anyway, avoiding all details, that's something we're being cautious about right now.