4 ( COMPLETED )

Chapter 18

E'mani POV

| Los Angeles, CA |

Faith Inspirational Missionary Baptist Church

We lift our hands in the sanctuary
We lift our hands to give You the glory
We lift our hands to give You the praise

And we will praise You for the rest of our days;

Yes, we will praise You for the rest of our days

I sung along with the choir as I stood with both of my grandmother's giving the lord praise and worship. I haven't been to church in a long time since grandma Kathie used to take me, lil E, Erica and Derek when I was a little baby girl. I'm actually glad that I came. Everyone welcomed me with open arms and bright smiles, not to mention they were very inviting, making me feel comfortable.

The choir stood before the church in their regalia of white and crimson, looking sharp as they sung Kurt Carr's infamous song, In the Sanctuary. Swaying back and forth with bright smiles and on cue, made me even happier.

I looked over to my mother's mom as she clapped her freshly manicured nails which was graced in stiletto nails and painted with rose gold chrome gel paint. She wore an all-white jump suit and a pair of Chanel heels to match and of course topped it off with one of her big floppy church hats in which her long grey hair hung down to the middle of her back.

"Yess father god!" she screamed as she balled her fist up and jumped up and down. "Thank you, lord. Sing it sannnng it!"

I giggled to myself as I looked over to my grandma Kathie who was swaying back and forth as well wearing a cream-colored Sundays best sun dress and her short hair was freshly curled. She fanned herself with her right hand and wrapped her left arm around my waist.

"I'm glad you came baby!" she yelled over the music before kissing my cheek.

"I'm glad I did too grandma.", I admitted honestly.

I couldn't lie, I was happy with the church outfit I had assembled. I pulled my long hair up into a tight bun and swooping my baby hairs, a fresh face of makeup with a natural look, an all-white Armani Button up with a pair of peach colored Capri pants and a pair of white Givenchy pumps and a gold satchel to match.

After singing a few more songs, we were getting to the end of service with the pastor's message and prayer and we ended service with a closing song of Marvin Sapp's, Praise Him in Advance and was released to the front of the church. People hugging, kissing and catching up while some kids ran around while their parents spoke about service and who was going where for Sunday dinner.

While my nana Vanessa was showing me off to everyone and gloating that I was her granddaughter I heard my grandma Kathie call my name.

"E'mani"

I turned around as my grandmother was walking towards me. "I want you to meet this young man. He is very handsome and he praises the lord every Sunday."