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Sandoval, Andrea
Professor Morinini
English 114B
14 April 2014
Where Memories Lie
I find it difficult to describe a place sacred with out mentioning God. I grew up with the
idea that the sacred of sacredness is where God manifests his presence. Being Pentecostal
Christian I have learned God is everywhere, but this does not mean his presence manifests
everywhere. It is easier to see his manifestation when taken out of the routine of normal life.
Every second turns into sacred time. Five hours can feel like fifteen minutes.
There is no place were I would rather be but there, in his presence. Benny Hinn, the
fonder of the World Outreach Church in Orlando, Florida and the World Healing Center in
Dallas, Texas, shares his own experience with the most sacred space of spaces. In his book,
Good Morning, Holy Spirit, he shares an incredible atmosphere he encountered the morning of
his twenty-first birthday. My room had been lifted into the hemisphere of heaven. And I wanted
to stay there forever. In this excerpt, Hinn longs to stay in his room forever. His room had
become sacred because the presence of God was established there. There was nowhere else he
would rather be.
Sacred space is not only where the presence of God is manifested. Sacred space can also
be where memories are shared. A sacred place is any place that brings your past to the present.
The pain comes not from returning home but for longing to return.(99, After the Flood) I can
call Chicago home. The experience I shared with my friends there will never be forgotten and
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will be forever a pain. It will be forever a pain of longing to return to the exact week Brenda,
Griselda, Herla, Pablo, Obed, Cesar, and myself shared.
Our worship team was determined to go to the Jesus Culture Awakening Convention in
Chicago, IL. We did not have any money. All we had was the desire. With our hearts pounding
with excitement of a trip that was still not paid for, we decided to raise the money. We needed to
sweat our hearts off. We used that desire to motivate each other to accomplish the goal. The goal
was $10,200. This covered everything. It covered the plane, hotel, event, evangelism workshop,
transportation, tourist sightseeing, and food.
One Sunday morning I was drawn to one of our Sunday school classrooms. There was a
tangy sour smell that drew me to this room. I was not sure what to expect when opening the door
but there I found Cesar with boxes full of mangos. At that moment the trip became a reality. I
called the rest of the team and we grabbed some peelers and jumped right into the batch of
mangos waiting for us. The blade slid through the mango like a knife would slide through a stick
of butter. My hands were sticky. We needed to place these mangos in bags to sell. It was
impossible to open the bags without getting mango juice all over them. It was finally the last
mango of the day. The total was about 100 mangos. Everything was ready when we realized we
did not have lemon, salt, or chill for the mangos. Luckily for us we had a supermarket down the
street. Service was about to be over so I rushed down there to pick up some lemons and Tajn,
which is a kind of salty chili powder. I felt my time running out, as I was running back. I felt my
heels giving up on me. I made it just in time. There was a line of costumers. I cut as many
lemons as I could. One squired directly below my eye. We were working hard. We were working
fast. I felt the sweat find its way down my nose. It was hot. The sun beamed on our backs. We
were wearing our Sundays best but it did not matter. What mattered was the trip.
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We continued to sell for the months leading to the event. We sold whatever would give
us the best profit. We counted dollars and coins. The deadline for the event was sneaking up. We
needed to pay the event itself and the plane. The team was nowhere near the expenses. We kept
selling. We started having yard sales and even asking for donations. Donations are where we
made most of our money. We asked specific individuals whom we knew we would count on. We
had donations of $25 to $100. The donation that was a huge blessing was from our pastors. Our
pastors saw how hard we were working. Without asking, they called all seven of us to their
office. There they presented us two checks. I had goose bumps running up my back when I saw
one of the checks. It had the exact amount we needed for the event and plane. It was $4,095. The
second check was $700. They told us one is for food and other one was to help with the rest. We
only needed $2,300 left. Just a little more selling and donations and we were ready.
It was finally the day. I packed all my belongings the night before. Driving to the airport,
all I could think about was if I forgot anything. I went through the list in my mind. A cool breeze
brushed my hair as I walked into the airport. I ran to my friends full of excitement. We walked
up the escalator as we were waving goodbye to our families. We were ready.
The flight was not as bad as I expected. It was easy and there was no turbulence. We
heard the captain announce we were landing soon. We looked at each other and smiled. One,
two, three bumps were felt as the plane turned into our terminal. We finally made it.
Inside the airport we were shivering. The hairs on my neck were up. I did not understand
why it was so cold in the airport. The airplane said there was going to be a thunderstorm. It was 3
oclock in the morning, all we wanted to do was check in and call it a day. Thanks to the
conference we had our own personal chauffeur. All we needed to do was find him. First, we
obviously needed to call him. He was ready for us. We had all of our luggage and we ready to
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experience Chicago weather. The doors opened. We took just one step outside and we felt the
reality of Chicago weather. We were not in California anymore. All of a sudden the clothes on
our backs were glued to our bodies. We were not able to take a breath because of the moister in
the air. We were looking around to see if we could find our driver. He was nowhere to be found.
We thought to ourselves this thunderstorm broadcast was a joke. At that very moment it started
to rain. It was the worst rain you could have ever felt. The rain was hot. We were not sure if we
should cover up or undress because of the heat. There was no wind. We decided to jump in and
enjoy the warm rain. We were just happy to be there. It was weird but it was something new.
Then we saw a bright light from the corner of our eyes. It was not our bus driver. It was lighting.
We waited for the thunder, but nothing. We saw it again right in front of us, but again no
thunder. Something was definitely wrong with Chicago.
Finally we found the driver and he took us to our hotel. This driver was talking up a
storm while everyone else was wondering about the storm happening outside. He explained how
its humid in Chicago but in the city it tends to be cooler.
We were ready to check-in to our hotel when they told us check-in was not until morning.
They explained that our rooms were not ready. We were drained from the flight and wanted to
rest. We did not have anywhere to go. He was kicking us out. We told him if there was anyway
we could stay in the lobby. The conference was going to start in the morning around 8am. He
said that was fine, but not to make noise. We needed to be at the Allstate Arena at 7am for
check-in but the problem was check-in for the hotel was at noon. We needed a place to leave our
luggage. We thought that when the time came we would figure it out. We did not want to ask for
a place for our bags because he had already done us a favor. Later on he offered us to watch our
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bags. He said there was an empty hall where we could leave them and we would find them in our
rooms when we returned.
Returning to the hotel was one of my favorite experiences. Everyone was always filled of
joy of the nights encounter; it was almost impossible to sleep. The first night Brenda and Pablo
had to grab the key from the front desk alone. It was seven of us. Brenda was going to give the
signal for us to fall out to the side of the hotel to sneak in. The sweat dripped from our faces as
we pretended to be secret agents. We rolled and jumped from the parking lot to the door. We
walked in with asphalt on our faces and a smile that reached both ears. The following night
Cesar, Brendas brother, threw this sandal and smacked Brenda right above her chin. Brenda ran
to Cesar and pushed him to the ground. It was all fun and games with those two. They are family,
what else would you expect? After a few rounds of playful wrestling, Brenda had Cesars face
pushed against the ground. Mercy, he laughed.
The parking lot was fun but the real talk in our rooms was always better. We would
gather all in one room and talk about the nights event. We shared what God personally told us.
We grew closer every night. One night Pablo raised his bottom off the couch and soon after the
room filled with a stench of death. We could not open the windows because that would only
cause the humidity to enter. We had to bear with his fart. When the boys were not around, us
girls were able to express more. Girl talk was much more personal. We would laugh and cry, all
at the same time. We shared an experience that would last a lifetime.
In the conference there was a different atmosphere of sacredness. Every night was
powerful. Every night God manifested his presence. The last night was the best. I felt chills run
up and down my hands. I knew something incredible was about to happen. Then all of a sudden
we heard a loud roar. Everyone, in total harmony and synchronization began to sing, woo oh.
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The arena was full. The place began to shake. It was a completely new experience of Gods
presence. I had never felt it like that before. Every man, every woman, carries in heart and mind
the image of the ideal place, the right place, the one true home, known or unknown, actual or
visionary (Abbey). Edward Abbey could not have written it any better in his short excerpt of
Desert Solitaire, The First Morning. Everyone has pictured his or her ideal place but this was
beyond my imagination. This was more than imagination. This was reality and it was the right
place, my true home.
We felt so consumed with power that we could have taken over the world. Sadly this
event came to an end. We took everything we experienced to heart and packed our belongings to
leave Chi Town. Reflecting back to this experience, it was made sacred because of the presence I
felt and memorizes I share with my friends. We still continue to remember this experience. I
return to childhood, only by diving through memory (94, After the Flood). The author
expressed this in complete perfection. I was not a child when I went to Chicago, IL, but the only
way I can return to Chicago is through my memories. We find ourselves talking about the
wonders that happened and the connection we shared. We grew closer that week than ever
before. It was something one should strive for. We should strive for being connected to a higher
being and connected with the ones we love. If this experience had never happened, would we
still be close? Would we have drifted apart?
I want only the best for my future children. I hope they too are able to experience what I
shared with my loved ones. Every parent wants the best for their kids and I truly have seen the
best and know it is reachable. I have set a bar for my children. Lets hope they reach it and go
beyond it, making their own sacred place. Chicago has become sacred to me. Not just because I
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felt Gods presence manifest but because in Chicago lie memories. These memories will never
be forgotten nor will they be replaced.





















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Work Cited
Hinn, Benny. Good Morning, Holy Spirit. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, Inc. 2004. Print.