We went to Mt. Rubidoux church today. I had a fantastic time. I was in for a lovely surprise too. Their pastor was in the midst of a sermon series on the Sabbath. He chose today to wrap it up, instead of the day after I am to leave. It was a very real, and thought-provoking message. I also bumped into an old friend and her family while we were at church. Another great surprise was that Jamayia slept for a good chunk of the service today too! Yay! She woke up during the sermon, though, and I had to step out to feed her. However, I didn’t mind. See, at this church, they make efforts to ensure that the message is being heard. In the foyer, they had a large flat screen tv connected to a good quality speaker system. Their mother’s room is also equipped with a flat screen tv and proper audio, so that you’re truly able to still see and hear the service. They have such a great facility too. When I first visited this church a couple years back, they had no foyer, and the sanctuary was tiny in their old facility. In fact, they used to hold 2 services to accommodate their worshippers and members. Now their new sanctuary is massive, complete with balcony. They also have classrooms (yes, plural), offices and a gym. Good for them!
I did see something quite frightening at church today. I was in the mother’s room feeding Jamayia, and in walked an older lady alone. If you’re in a mother’s room, you should have a child of some sort with you, right? My friend then whispered to me that she has 2 yr old twin grandsons who come and tear the place up. Sure enough, the door then opened, and there appeared a family. The Grandma’s son and his wife were dropping off the twins for Grandma to watch, while they got a break and kept their 1 yr old son. Well, as soon as those boys saw their grandmother, they erupted into tears and screams. My friend then filled me in—they don’t like staying with her because she beats them. Well, I’d never seen any parents literally drop their children off. They actually plopped these boys into the Grandma’s lap, and ran from the room. I hope I was able to mask my horror. Meanwhile, Jamayia’s getting antsy because there are some screaming little bodies carrying on next to her. As soon as the door closed behind the parents, the licks started. She was slapping their legs, practically simultaneously, as she emphasized that they needed to behave in church. Well, I was with the boys. How are you gonna behave when the lady’s acting a hair shy of abusive and your parents abandon you there?? Anyhoo, I too, grabbed my child and fled the room.
Again, due to some unfortunate events, I didn’t eat until late in the day. My cousin was driving down from Pasadena (about 1 hr away), with food. We were going to celebrate Amanda’s birthday. But we were rudely interrupted, and she couldn’t make it anymore. We’ll just have to go see her next week instead.
Jamayia’s naps were just shot for the day. She slept during the car ride in the afternoon. Then, in the evening, we went to visit the same friend from church. We hung out with her family and got into a very interesting discussion on parenthood later on in the evening. I’ll have to share more on that later.