1 - In The Beginning

Year: 1977. I must have been about 6 or 7 years old. My parents didn't go to church anymore as they did years ago as teenagers. Church was something we didn't talk about much at home. My sister, Bonita, who is three years older than me, somehow developed an interest in God and in church. She began to visit the Church of Christ, which was, I believe, a modalist fundamental church that was located only about a block away from our home. Sis seemed to be having fun when she went, but more than that, I saw a strong desire in her eyes. Perhaps it was more of a curiosity to find out more about God. She began to talk a lot about him. She relayed to me bits of important spiritual information that I just could not comprehend with my young mind, which was mostly occupied by Darth Vader, The Muppets and my new bicycle. I remember her inviting me church and me tagging along with her. I was very shy when I was little, and was scared to death to be around people I didn't know, but my need to find out what the big deal was proved even stronger that my timidity. I remember going to the kids' meetings and taking part in projects like hobby craft - pasting noodles to a paper plate, spelling out "Jesus loves you" or something. We continued to attend now and again and I remember as a highlight receive some kind of patch for completed some project in the children's class. I was really excited, and couldn't wait to get home and tell my parents. When I got home, my dad was still at work, of course. My mom stood in the kitchen cooking something up. She listened to me and just said, "That's nice, mijo". I could feel that something bothered her about us kids going to church...