Day 12 - Day of Rest and Basketball

Today, I got to sleep in until about 630 but then after a quick restroom break, slept more until 9ish. It was good rest. I then took my time making breakfast, read my Bible and prayed a little bit. Afterwards, I watched Robots the kids movie on my computer and then just relaxed a little more before lunch. I was going to watch the movie with Jonathan but he was in trouble and not allowed to so I watched it by myself. For lunch, I walked around town to see what was open. Most stuff was closed but thankfully, Alexander's was open. I am pretty sure in my 12 days I have been here, I have eaten there at least 12 times. Haha. It is really good. 

After lunch, I took a nap/watched the Little Rascals. After that, Powell and I headed to the basketball courts and started to play. This whole event was a little sour and sweet. It was a great workout and really fun but it brought about my competitive nature a little too much. In the States, I have been working on getting less aggressive when it comes to my attitude while playing basketball. I have gotten a lot better at not getting frustrated, not trash talking and just playing for fun. Today however, I digressed. It is really hard not speaking the language and getting taunted. 

There is a guy here that is kinda the big dog around town. He is probably around my age, maybe a little older and he is bigger than most others here. Because of his size and his pretty good athletic ability, he pretty much gets his way in everything. I have watched him play volleyball and every time there is a close call, he argues and gets his way. If he does something good, he taunts the other people to the point where he stands, points, and laughs at them. It was kinda hard to watch him do that but I was not about to interject in a different language. Haha.

Anyways, he is one of the best players on the basketball court too which means we are never on the same team. They always put us on opposite teams and he always guards me. This pressure combined with the fact that American basketball and Ecuadorian basketball are so different, it caused an intense rivalry. I let it get the best of me. Basketball is not really the main sport down here and since I play it so much, I am able to get lucky and score a lot. Because of this, this guy tries harder and taunts me every time he scores whether I am guarding him or not. One of the only things he can say in English is in your face which he yells at me every time he scores. When I score, he says nothing and I try not to either (also, I can't say anything he will understand so I don't). 

Later on, after my team had won several times, his team went on a winning streak and he began standing, pointing, and laughing at me every time he scored. Now up until now, I was trying to not get a bad reputation with the locals and just play for fun while being a witness of Christ. This did not happen once the pointing and laughing didn't stop. I had been trying to pass a lot and let everyone score and just play but I got frustrated. I started playing harder, fouling harder, and talking a little. By the start of the following game, he was talking so much stuff and coming up to me to say he was the Champion. This is when it went down hill. I basically put together the little Spanish I knew, bet him 5 dollars we would win the next game to which he happily agreed. We beat them 7 to 1 and in the process I hit him pretty hard going for a loose ball. In America, it would not have been a foul at all because we both jumped for a rebound and I caught him in the throat with my elbow. I showed no class or sympathy and simply kept playing. 

After the game, I felt so bad, I went up to him and tried to apologize but I don't know if it translated. I told him he didn't have to pay me but that wasn't the point. The point was, I am down here to learn how to serve and be a witness, not do the opposite. This is a problem that I have when it comes to any sport. If you remember last week, I wasn't above talking Kelsey to catch a Frisbee. Haha, just kidding, that was in all fun. In all seriousness, to those that read, if you could pray that God would teach me how to be a witness in all situations. I know and believe that I do not need to speak the language to be a witness. Sports are almost a universal language and love definitely is. Thank you so much for reading and I really appreciate your prayers. He must increase, and I must decrease. . . in sports, social life, and everything else.

After basketball, I got cleaned up and headed to Kelsey and Melissa's house where they were making tacos. Samuel was there and as cute as ever. I wish you could meet him. He is super tiny, has a huge tummy and really big cheeks. I will try to get a picture up some time. Well, now we are about to eat and then I will head to bed ready to wake up at 5 for another week. There is a new team in town too that I will meet tomorrow. This means new friends, more dinner outings, and more stories to hear. I like meeting people and hearing their stories. I don't mind telling them either. haha.