Chronicles of Growing Courage

Thursday, March 20, 2008

Oink

Today I went for a run with Nattie, and we ran past a lady standing out in her front lawn with a very pink, Wilbur-sized pig. As I ran past, I heard her telling it to sit. The pig just looked at her and grunted.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Out of my element: My experience at the Nigerian immigrant church

Last Sunday I attended a Nigerian immigrant church in the heart of Los Angeles for a school paper. I really didn't know what to expect, but it was a rich and rewarding experience. The church was small, only about 30 people, and I have a feeling that we were the first white guests to spontaneously pop into the little run-down room they use as a church. We were warmly welcomed and celebrated as visitors, and I felt much more at home there than at most Western churches I visit where it usually takes a few months for people to talk to you. Let me highlight a few of my favorite moments:

- One man who was giving the announcements asked any visitors to raise their hands(of course, my friend and I were the only ones that did). They then broke out into a song that began, "We love our family..." and each person danced past us, hugging us or shaking our hand.

-Their music was all leftover 80's and 90's American worship choruses, yet they had changed the feel of them into their own distinctive style. It was exciting worship!

-The giving of tithes was an experience in itself (Praise God I had some money in my pocket). Everyone who was giving tithe came up to the front, blessings were said, and then a celebratory African song was played while everyone danced(literally) up to a large gold cauldron and put their tithe in.

-During the sermon, one of the choir members was nodding off- consequently, one of the ushers came and stood sternly over him until his eyes opened. I almost laughed out loud at his sheepish look.

-Afterwards, we were ushered into a small back room and fed as many grapes and bananas as we could stomach. Everybody was so amazed that we had come and begged us to come back.

-The pastor, a woman with a powerful spiritual presence, was reluctant to let our hands go when we were saying good-bye.

All in all, I think if that church was closer to my house, I would go back. It felt so good to be worshipping in a new culture!

Thursday, March 06, 2008

Am I susceptible to sugar pills?

Is anyone else slightly peeved about the Airborne lawsuit? I will admit that I bought into their marketing scheme: hook, line, and tablet. Every time I felt the smallest hint of a cold coming on, I would go out and spend the 8 dollars, and religiously consume the tablets every three to four hours until the cold symptoms went away. Was that really all due to a placebo effect? Am I just a giant pawn in the game of marketing economics? Is that second grade teacher who supposedly invented it, sitting in the Bahamas, drinking a pina-colada, and laughing up her sleeve at us "sickies"? My favorite part of the whole deal is that the company magnanimously is offering to repay those who can "prove" their purchase of Airborne. Anyone who is diligent enough to save their Airborne receipt from three years ago deserves to collect from that company...and maybe with interest compounded from every cold experienced.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=87937907