as of tomorrow morning, the hardcore gentleman standing between ryan and me will be a hardcore missionary for the church of Jesus Christ of latter day saints (picture quality is poor because i have no idea how to shoot manually with an automatic flash and after setting things up a couple times i decided that i was just going to work with what i got).
so i've mentioned jorge before, and i mentioned already that i think highly of him, so i'll spare you the adjectives. friday night we all gathered together (hooray for that! i also mentioned that those spanish branch members can put on a party, but i forgot to mention that nowhere on earth can you find such delicious rice and beans. and guess what? i love rice and beans!) to party it up mission farewell style, which meant that near the end we sat in a circle and sister perez, jorge's lovely mother stood to welcome everyone. then she picked branch president para to speak. so he stood and spoke on the importance of missions. then president para looked around and picked someone else. . .seemingly at random. so i leaned over towards ryan (who was translating everything for me) and whispered, "you know that game popcorn from elementary school? you would read for a little while and then pick someone else to read for a little while? i think the spanish branch is playing popcorn."
and they were. because next up was christian, who has only been in america for a few weeks and he started his little speech off with, "well, i don't really know jorge, but he seems really cool. . ."
ryan got up (i don't really know what he said because a friend stepped in for translation about half way through) and i got up, but i can't really remember what i said, either, since i was crying and everyone was looking at me. and that is a very alarming thing to have happen and even though my mouth is still moving (and sounding coherent, i believe) my head is screaming, "THEY'RE ALL LOOKING AT YOU! THEY'RE ALL LOOKING AT YOU! DO NOT DO SOMETHING STUPID! TRY TO SOUND SMART!" that's why, in case you were wondering, i always talk longer than i intend to. because i have no idea what i'm saying or what's going on. i'm just opening my mouth and saying things, hoping that they pertain to the subject at hand (for example: jorge).
anyway, i remember this: rarely in life do you meet someone who makes you feel better about the world because he is so good. if there are people like jorge around then we can't be all that bad off. i'm so grateful for his golden heart, his goodness. colorado is a lucky, lucky state.
and jorge? i'll see you in two years. it's going to be awesome.
5 comments:
he sounds like such a great guy, and will make an awesome missionary. Maybe when he and my sister, Kathleen, get back from their missions they can meet (she'll be fluent in Spanish by then, too!).
And I LOVE rice & beans. I could that for every meal.
You calling Jorge hardcore reminded me of one of my mission friends. He was originally from Guatemala but he grew up in downtown LA. He would always say "do remeber when Reginald Denny get beat up on T.V.? Yeah you can see my backyard on the helicopter footage." Anyway he was totally ghetto. He would come all fubu-ed out on p-days with his hat cocked to the side. I don't know if Jorge is hardcore like that but it would cool if he was.
I forgot to say we called him the Ghetto Teddy Bear
we eat rice and beans twice a week. for economy and because they are just good. i hope there's a rs sister who will make you some homemade tortillas. so heavenly!
i love your description of getting up and talking in front of people- that is how i feel! the only difference is that YOU DO sound smart and coherent and I, in short, do not.
Aria: that is a GREAT idea! Kathleen would be perfect for Jorge. I would approve of that. What a happy, happy thought.
Hambly: Unfortunately, Jorge is not that hardcore. That is a pity. Because I'd get a kick out of Ghetto Teddybear.
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