First 3 Days

Well, it's midnight here and I've finally gotten around to posting something after reading a powerpoint about HIPAA protocols and catching up on some other stuff. During the last few days, I've gotten to know Noah, a 15-year-old guy from Baltimore who will be an intern for the next few weeks, Stephanie, a 17-year-old intern who will be an intern here all summer, most of the missionaries, and a couple of the local pastors. We don't have a team come in until Tuesday, and that one is only 5 or 6 people, so the next few weeks shouldn't be too busy. I've learned some Spanish, picked up a few games from Ben, painted some stuff, helped move some stuff, and hiked on a mountain with some beautiful vistas of the metropolitan area of Monterrey. The size of the city is mind-blowing-- buildings stretch almost as far as the eye can see from even the top of the mountain. But despite the sprawl, the beauty of the city still comes out if you can get far enough away from it to see it in its context of rugged mountains and expansive pancake-flat valleys. Monterrey encircles several chains of mountains like an ocean surrounds islands, and juxtaposes nicely with the natural greens and greys and contours of the mountains. I like it here.
But it's hot. I was drained this afternoon after painting in the sun all morning, and am thankful for the tradition of siestas from 2 to 4 every afternoon. There are a lot of differences here, as you would expect. For instance, lunch and dinner are eaten at about 2 and 9 here, and there are absolutely no traffic laws. The people are very friendly and more relational than people from the U.S., and as a result, time is much more fluid here.
I've got to go to bed here, but I'll leave you all with a couple prayer requests:
-The grandson of Scott and Cathy, the couple I'm staying with, sustained a head injury today and was taken to Johns Hopkins (he's 2 months old). Pray for his quick recovery.
-My relationships with Noah and Stephanie. I am seeking to serve them and ease their transition to their new situation here in any way I can.
-The church here. That it would grow, and that we interns and the short-term teams would properly serve its spiritual and physical needs.

I love you all and am praying for as many of you as I can think of!