Recently in Tijuana I met these two young Missionary girls here from the U.S. It was while shopping at one of my favorite little vintage boutique’s where I source a lot of my looks from called Creations of Lily. The boutique is an extension of an orphanage that is attached to the same building. All of the money made goes directly back to support the expenses of housing these little kids. I really love what they do for the community and that’s why I shop there.

After talking to these Sisters of Christ I was very surprised how open minded they where to people from all walks of life. I found that really cool that they where into what I was doing with the Metal Mouth Style and with my power tool performance art show despite our varied beliefs. A friendship began. We went out for tea a week later and then that lead me to a week later from that joining them for church on Sunday. Yesterday to be exact.

I didn’t go to church because I was seeking god/religion. I went because they invited me to join them for the experience. They weren’t trying to force their beliefs down my throat they where genuinely inviting me to see something that was very important to them. The same way I invite people to read Metal Mouth Style, or watch my This Week In Metal Series on Youtube, or listen to The Metal Mindset Podcast. Those are things I do, find deep value in, and have dedicated my life too. These sisters of god have dedicated their lives or at least a year and a half of their young lives to purely serving their god.

That kind of dedication to a task is truly admirable. It’s actually very similar to why I’m here in Tijuana myself! I’m not from Mexico, I’m from Canada. I choose to come here. I chose to come here to see what all the fuss is about while bringing my own form of alternative creativity to it. I was inspired by the likes of now passed Anthony Bourdain to push past cultural barriers. I have dedicated this portion of my life to doing that in Tijuana. A place that desperately needs more beauty and kindness. Building out my power tool performance show I used to play live in Canada now solely online. Taking a huge pay cut to do so. All while sharing my stories of life in Tijuana as an expat in real time. This is not my forever home but it’s where I’m at for now and I am relishing in every moment of it. Good, bad, ugly and pure horror at times. It’s all shaping me into a much more open minded empathetic human being than I was before.

In closing, the point of this post today is to show you that I do not believe in god/religion yet it didn’t stop me from going to church to support my newfound friends who do. Just because of my disbelief in god it does not mean that others who believe in god are wrong either. No one really knows exactly what happens when the story ends on this life. If they did we wouldn’t have so many different options for religion. There would only be one answer to that question if it was so absolute. We all choose what type of belief works best for us to get us through this life. To cling onto some sort of faith whether that be in one’s self or something greater than one’s self.

Whatever works for you and makes you a kinder, happier person is what works for you. It’s time we all start accepting everyone’s beliefs equally and respecting their right to choose them. These moral divides must stop and the time is now. Mix it up, go to church to support a Christian friend, check out a Satanic church event to see their not devil worshipers, push yourself to mix in places you normally would not for fear of not fitting in. You never know what you will learn or who you might meet on the other side.

Dress LulaRoe Creations of Lily : $4

Bucket Hat Nine West DTLA Fashion District : $10

Shoes Prada Tijuana Flea Market – $3

Bucket Bag Creations of Lily – $3

Shades Tijuana Flea Market – $5

Half Gloves Aliexpress : $4

Waist Cincher Aliexpress – $3