My Host Brother, Manuel

Here's the last of my host family, Manuel. He's on the left. He doesn't go to church, so it's been harder to get a picture of him. Because Manuel doesn't go to church, his sister Teresa calls him a pagan. I think that's hilarious. There is some history on why he doesn't go to church which mama Lidia told me, and which I will not repeat on this stupid blog.

I once had a conversation with him about not going to church. He asked me why I read so much, and I said because maybe it'd help if I want to write a book someday. But I also said I didn't know what the book would be about - maybe God. That's when his mom butt in and yelled that this one never goes to church. I told them I never went to a Christian church until I was 20 and that Jesus basically did nothing special in the Bible until he was 30. And that at 17, Manuel's still technically ahead of the curve.

Your brother,
Stephen