7-15-97, 7:00 PM

Kourtnee and I arrived at the church at 7:00 PM. We walked into the vestibule area of the church. The vestibule area of Greater Buelahland Interdenominational House of Rest was fabulous if not glorious. As you entered the church doors, there is a bookstore, the GB Bookstore, to the right of the entrance. Books, CDs, Bibles, cassettes of the service, and a host of other things could be purchased at the bookstore. To the left of the entrance, there is a small prayer room. About 15-20 people could fit into the small prayer room.

Greater Buelahland Interdenominational House of Rest had two floors. The main sanctuary was on the first floor. The pastor and first lady's offices were on the first floor as well as the baptismal pool. The balcony, choir loft, kitchen, dining hall, classrooms, and some offices were on the second floor.

There were people walking in the vestibule area. There were people ages 13 and older walking at the church. On Tuesday, the Drug Ministry and Money Matters Ministry held their sessions at 6:00 PM. At 7:00 PM, several ministries met at the church. The United Choir rehearsed on Tuesday. The PV31 and YMOM ministries for teenage girls and boys met. The ministers of the church had classes on Tuesday.

I was walking close by Kourtnee. People were speaking to us. Grown-ups mostly spoke to Kourtnee and the teenagers spoke to both Kourtnee and I. I saw a couple of the girls that were in the choir. They asked me if I was going to the PV31 meeting. I told them no. They looked at me strangely. I was supposed to go to choir rehearsal with Kourtnee. I did not want to go to the PV31 meeting by myself.

Kourtnee and I walked into the massive sanctuary. The people were already sitting in their appropriate sections. The sanctuary had four sections of rows, two on either side of the aisle. The altos were on the far left side of the church. The tenors were next to the altos in the next section. The baritones were in the next section. The sopranos were on the far right section of the church. Dr. Nicolas was standing near the organ talking to the musician. Kourtnee told me to stay towards the back of the sanctuary. Kourtnee walked to the alto section.

At 7:10 PM, Dr. Nicolas walked to the front of the sanctuary and began choir rehearsal. A guy named Joshua Traylor did praise and worship. While Bro. Traylor was conducting praise and worship, Dr. Nicolas walked to where I was. When she reached me, she said, "Why are in choir rehearsal? There is a PV31 meeting going on now." I looked at her and said, "I know. I am here with Kourtnee." Dr. Nicolas said, "Why don't you go to the PV31 meeting? You will be alright without Kourtnee." I didn't move. I just looked at Dr. Nicolas. She smiled and walked back to the front of the church and got Kourtnee. They both walked back to where I was. Dr. Nicolas said, "Kourtnee, I told LaDawnya about the PV31 meeting that is going on right now." Kourtnee looked at me and asked, "Do you want to go to the PV31 meeting?" I said, "No, mame." Dr. Nicolas appeared to be getting restless as she said, "Kourtnee, you know that I do not like people who are not in the choir at rehearsal." Kourtnee said, "Sheronda is it ok if she stays this time? I promised her that she could do everything that I did this week." Dr. Nicolas responded, "If I let her stay, everyone else will want to bring guests. She has to leave, Kourtnee." I looked at Kourtnee. She asked Dr. Nicolas to go back to the front of the church. Kourtnee turned to me and said, "Come on. I will walk you to the room where the PV31 ministry is meeting." I sighed and got up slowly. I understood Dr. Nicolas' philosophy because Sis. Crawford had the same philosophy. Kourtnee hugged my shoulders as we walked out of the sanctuary.

7-15-97, 9:30 PM

The PV31 meeting dismissed at 9:28 PM. All of the girls walked downstairs to meet their rides home.

The PV31 meeting was ok. At the meeting, we discussed personal hygiene and the female body. The discussion was lead by the director of the ministry, Sis. Mary Esther Ruth and Dr. Amy Colson, a gynecologist that attended Greater Buelahland Interdenominational House of Rest. After the discussion, we were allowed to ask question. You would be surprised to find out all of the questions that were asked in the meeting.

I found Kourtnee. She was talking to Dr. Nicolas. I walked over to them. Dr. Nicolas asked, "Did you enjoy the meeting?" I looked at her and said, "It was ok." Dr. Nicolas said, "I'm sure it was more than ok." Kourtnee said bye to Dr. Nicolas and we headed out to the car. On the way home, I told Kourtnee everything that we discussed at the meeting. She listened to everything that I had to say. She told me what happened at choir rehearsal. I caught her off guard when I told her that I was going to need some sanitary napkins soon. She looked at me. I had to tell her to look at the road. She went back to driving. She didn't say anything to me for a while. I didn't say anything to her either. Finally, she asked what kind of products I used. I told her the kind that I used. She said that we would go get some on tomorrow. We rode in silence the rest of the way home.