Iglesia Sinai contact Zone

The second contact zone that I wanted to explore is Iglesia Sinai. This is Latino church that is located in 1213 E Lincoln Ave, Goshen. The neighborhood that surrounds the church is not very wealthy. It is predominately white neighborhood. If you go a few blocks west you will see a fairly large Latino population.

Sinai is a Pentecostal church with about 100 to 150 members. They have services Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays. They have two services on Sundays though, one starts in the morning and the other starts in the evening. They are very welcoming and nice to everyone. The pastor is Nemuel Campos and the senior pastor is his dad. 

Services last about 2 hours. On Sunday mornings they have Sunday school. Everyone gets divided into age groups and they are given a lecture that suits their age. They sing worship music for an hour at the beginning of every service. Most of the music is modern, they have a worship group leading the singing.

The members of the church come from 5 different countries. All of them being from Latin America. The first time that I attended the church, I thought everyone was Mexican but I was wrong. Sinai is a very diverse church. Also, the members come from different towns of Elkhart county. 

When it comes to outreach programs, Sinai offers a summer bible camp for little kids and they have a radio station. One of their goals is to grow big enough to reconstruct the church. They really want new people to come and learn more about god. I also saw a border while looking at the outreach programs. The fact that the services are always in spanish, is a border when looking at their neighborhood. But a bridge that I saw was that they have a pastor who is bilingual. This could definitely help the church grow as time goes by.

A way this church serves as a contact zone is the simple fact that these people are brought together because of their faith. Despite their differences they get along with each other fairly well. This church has the potential to grow and do some great things in the Latino community. Overall, my experience at Iglesia Sinai was very unique and special.

Business as a Contact Zone

The business that I chose is called, La Panderia Gutierrez.  Many of the customers, including myself, call it La Gutierrez. This business is a local Mexican Bakery located in Downtown Goshen. The address is 122 S. Main St. This business is family-owned and family-run. This business is mainly for profit: they sell rich baked goods and they also sell small supermarket items. And they also sell birthday cakes.

The owners are from Michoacán, Mexico. The owner is Mr. Gutierrez and his family helps run the business. When it comes to employees, they about 5 to 6 of them not counting the family members. They have the tuck driver(s), people that make the bread, and they have a butcher. The business first opened in 2001. When they first opened the business they were located on US 33, going to Elkhart. After a few years of being there and seeing some success in the business, they moved to Downtown Goshen.

The business serves all people in the community and they very are welcoming. The butcher, Juan, told me that they mainly get Mexican people as customers, and once in a while they get Americans. He also said, that the job environment is very calm and the owners are really into helping the Latino community. The owners are always at there running the business and they have direct contact with their customers.

This business serves as a contact zone and bridge between people of different ethinicities, mainly Americans and Mexicans. Another contact zone is also among the Hispanics that come from different parts of Mexico. Having Mexican restaurants and business in the United States, such as this one, serve as a bridge between Hispanics and their hometowns (Pueblos). It reminds them of home and it brings them happiness. This is exactly how my aunt feels about the La Gutierrez.