A Dark Date Night

October 19, 2014

It is now 5 O’clock in the evening and I have just started my shift here, at Royalty Burger. On the radio is the Halloween station which really only consists of the classics like Thriller and the Michael Myers music. The weather is starting to look quite stormy based upon a cool moist wind with numerous dark clouds and there are quite a few customers to my surprise.

Apparently Sunday is a valid date night because the pheromones are quite thick at this time. In total there are three apparent couples eating. One in particular is noticeable because they have the new couple vibe coming from them. When I say “new couple vibe” I mean they have a certain level of tension between them as well as being overly touchy. One of them, the boy, is white while the other is Hispanic, they are about the same age and seem to be having a good time.

Another one of the couples consists of two young white people. The boy has a thin and almost sickly demeanor with thick clothes and far too much cologne, while the girl is really short, probably only 4.8ft., with long brown hair and a nice smile.

While there are two couple here there are also a couple older men that I recognize from campus the other morning. They were passing out Bibles a few days ago in multiple places. They were of average height, thin, and more cheerful than most of religious old people I had met. For example, they did not seem at all offended whenever somebody did not accept one of the Bibles they offered.

There were also three nerdy guys that I have previously mentioned in another blog post. Comically enough they seemed very envious of the two couples, not that I blame them, seeing as I am myself single. After some thought when, at least in my case, people seem to be overly aware of the opposite sex when they are single themselves, however when people are in a relationship it is typical for them to be a lot less aware of the opposite sex. For example, my best friend, whom I call Sasquatch has had a girlfriend for nearly a month and is already less aware of girls. He had guessed that chicks were checking him out when they were obviously not before, but now on the rare occasion that one does he is completely oblivious.

It is now 5:30 and the elderly religious men are trying to hand bibles to the couples in the lobby, which I find hysterical. The white couple accepted, but the other pair denied them. They did not seem at all fazed, told them both to have a nice night and left quietly. Soon after both couples left simultaneously like there had been a time limit almost because they had entered and left at about the same time.

The nerdy guys seem to be wrapping up as well. I have noticed most people get refills with the exception of old people and I have yet to figure out why. I have though perhaps they are unaware that it is allowed or maybe they just feel the need to watch their intake of carbonated drinks.

In conclusion it was a dark and stormy date night here at Royalty Burger and although it was slow in the lobby people seemed to be leisurely enjoying themselves.

Sit, Stand, Kneel, and Listen

It is late in the morning and the sun is shining bright and the sky is clear. As I near the building, I hear the church bell rings. I hurry into the building and find a seat near the back. There is chatter among the people filling in almost all of the pews. Some are kneeling in prayer as the service nears the start.

Two children, looking to be young teenagers, start down the aisle heading toward the front of the sanctuary. One boy and one girl, they wear long white gowns that reach the floor with a brown rope tied around the waist. As they proceed down the aisle, they carry tall poles with crosses on the top of them. Once they reach the sanctuary, they priest greets them and they take a seat to the right of the stage.

Everyone stands and bows their heads in prayer, then join in song. The worship group plays a very upbeat song that everyone sings and claps along to called, “Asi Se Alaba A Dios”, or in translation, “So God is Praised”. Following, another prayer is said and everyone crosses themselves. The singing continues as everyone remains standing. Afterwards, another prayer is said and we are asked to be seated.

I noticed that the age group varies greatly. There are people from very age group, from infants to elders.  Also, within the first twenty minutes of my study, I found that there is a pattern of stand and sing, kneel and pray, and sit and listen. The pastor sits in a seat the represents something like a throne. He also, like the alter children, wore a long gown at about floor length, except for his was black with a gold rope wrapping around him at the waist. When singing the song “Aleluya”, or “Hallelujah”, the worship leader walks across the stage, back and forth, holding a bible up high in the air. Then he stands behind the podium for the rest of the song still with the bible in the air.

There are padded bars beneath me to kneel on, and we are asked to kneel and repeat after the pastor. This prayer is called “Prefesion de Fe” which is a confession prayer for everyone to come clean of their sins. Then, the pastor begins his sermon. His words are powerful and he really uses his voice to move the people.

A group of people come to the front of the sanctuary with woven baskets. It was time for offering. The music plays as the baskets are passed around from one pew to another. To my surprise, the offering basket didn't come around just once, and not even twice, but three time. During offering “Como Cusca la Cierra” is playing in the background as the pastor prays as well as the people.

The alter children then each pick up a candel stick and walk from the sanctuary to the end of the aisle, nearing the doors, then back up to the sanctuary.

Leading up to communion, the pastor reads inserts from the bible and the crowd says back to him with a written response that is projected up on the screen. It is as if they are having a scripted conversation. Then, the pastor holds the wine and bread in the air while a prayer is said. Everyone kneels and prays, then stands and sings. Although some are strangers, we all come together as one. We join and hands and raise them in the air. Following, we are asked to greet and bless our neighbors.

Once communion comes, everyone stands. The pastor stands at the front of the sanctuary and the people spill into the alter to receive their daily bread. I also went up for communion. As I reached the Pastor, he placed the bread on my tongue, held out the chalice to my mouth and I took a small sip. Another surprise, the communion consisted of the drinking of real wine. 

The Church

I'm not really someone whom has much of an interest in religion. Though I am a Catholic, I didn't normally go to church on Sundays. But in this day, I decided that it would be fair to go to a different church to see what it was like in there. My curiosity was getting the best of me, so I decided to check out a Christian church.

Typically, Christian churches and Catholic churches don’t differ much. They are both quite similar, especially on their beliefs towards God, so I figured, “why not check it out?” So, the time I was there was at 1:30. According to the schedule, it was a Spanish mass. I understood Spanish, so I shouldn’t have a problem. As soon as I went inside to sit down, I noticed that the majority of the entire area were Mexican, just like myself.

I went to go take my seat, which was in the back. All around, I noticed that many people were having conversations, mostly in Spanish. Some were whispers and some were loud. But one conversation that got my attention the most was with a man and his son in Spanish. The son asked, “Dad, if I went to church every Sunday, will I go to heaven?” I couldn’t help but listen in considering that I have not gone to church in weeks. The man answered with, “No, my boy, you will not. If you have faith in God and keep in your life no matter what you do, you will make it to heaven.” It was incredible. My whole life, I believed that the way I lived made me worthy of going to heaven.

Afterwards, the pastor walked down the aisle to the podium. When he reached the podium, I saw that he has a smile on his face, as if God was shining down on him. He ordered everyone to stand. Everyone stood. He began to speak of how God is the savior and how much importance faith has. As he spoke, he spoke with such passion and strength. It had everyone to a point where they believed they could do anything. It sounded like he was motivating us to open up to the Lord.

After he finished speaking, musicians began to play. They looked like a mariachi band. They even had mariachi instruments. Everyone began to sing along with the band. The sound was so soothing and sweet, as if to relieve those filled with sins. After the band finished playing, everyone sat down.

The pastor spoke again, asking for everyone to open up their books to a certain page. One page was in English, the other in Spanish. The pastor read the Spanish page. I followed along in the English section. The text spoke of the story when Jesus visited a sick man. Jesus relieved the man of his illness using his divine power. After reading, the pastor asked for us to stand again. The band began playing again. That same tune played along, having everyone in the area sing along with the band. I felt as if God had forgiven me of my sins. Once again, we sat down after the harmonious song. We were to read another piece of text from the book. I could not remember what the text was about, but it was a letter to the Corinthians.

Soon after reading, the band played one more time, only to sing Hallelujah. Then, we resumed to read one more time. The story was about Jesus again, only this time, he spoke to his disciples about faith. I thought to myself, wow, faith must be very important. And then, we finished reading.

The pastor spoke for 20 minutes on how good God is. After he finished, a couple man stood up from the aisle to pick up money from people and put them in baskets. I thought to myself, hey, I used to do this! The baskets were passed along the aisles, with people throwing money into it. Some were coins, some were bills. Then, it reached me. I only had one dollar. But with everyone as my witness, I threw the dollar in.

After that, it was time to receive the Lamb of God. I hardly ever went, so I stayed seated while many stood to receive it. After that, it was over. I figured I should head on home, but as I walked towards the door, I heard a man talking to the pastor. The pastor told him that God goes to you to tell you about how you should live. The man totally agreed. And I believed it. I believed it.