All Saints' Day in Alcora

Last night we were unexpectedly reminded of the season (and the American commercialism) as a group of four boys knocked at our door and greeted us with the traditional "¡Truco o trato!" or "Trick or treat!" as we say in the States.  This imported "holiday" of Halloween is still pretty new to Spain and has yet to oust the traditional holiday of All Saints' Day (El Día de Todos los Santos).  Today is a holiday, so this morning we decided to go on a little field trip to participate in the culture a bit.

So where do you go to celebrate All Saints' Day in Spain?  To the cemetery...which isn't as creepy or weird as it sounds, especially given that we went around 1 p.m. and there were quite a number of people, young and old, paying their respects to their lost loved ones.  It was interesting to overhear people saying things like, "Oh, I remember him.  He was the brother of the butcher where my grandmother would always go to get meat." A vast majority of the graves (they're almost all above ground, so I'm not sure if that's the adequate word) were adorned with flowers from loved ones and a handful had notes of "I love and miss you" or "You won't be forgotten."

The truth is that I kind of like this holiday.  Praying to the dead or for the dead to leave purgatory and get into heaven, of course, is not Biblical, and I'm sure of how many people in Alcora actually do that.  But to a certain degree I find it healthy to revisit the people we've lost, to remember the past.  In remembering those who have gone before us, as followers of Christ, we are reminded of the hope we have for the future and the reality that death in this world does not have the final word.  Just at the entrance of the cemetery is this cross with the inscription in Valenciano that reads, "I am the Resurrection and the Life." May this truth, this hope be evident through our lives, and may Alcorinos come to know and experience Jesus, who is the source of that hope, indeed the Resurrection and the Life.

A Visit from the Director

A few weeks back we had the privilege of hosting ECMI-USA's director, George Brown, for a few days.  Let me brag on him for a couple of sentences.  We were already impressed with George's professional abilities as the director--he has done and is doing a lot to organize ECMI in the U.S. and to mobilize people to re-evangelize the peoples of Europe.

But we discovered that he's not one of these top-down, "I sit in the big chair while you sit in the short chair," sorts of leaders.  He chatted with us for a few hours just after arriving to hear about how our transition to Spain and through Spain has gone.  He participated in the Bible study we host in our house.  He held little baby Miriam when she was fussy and we needed to get lunch on the table.  He washed our dishes after lunch...more than once.  He prayed with us and for us, and he wanted us to pray for him.

One of the more memorable things George and I did together was hike to the top of the hill that overlooks our town, Alcora, so that we could pray together for the town and the people, asking God to soften hearts and minds to the good news of His love and salvation (see the photo above).  If you come to visit us, I hope you're a guest like George was...and I promise to take you to the top of the hill so that you can catch a better glimpse of a town that we hope you're praying for.

¡Fiestas del Pueblo!

Every year during the last week in August and the first week in September, the sleepy little pueblo of Alcora becomes a booming, dare I say "happenin" place.  "Why?" you ask.  It's the town fiestas (formally known as the "Festes del Crist" or the "Party of the Christ," and Alcorinos plan their lives and vacations around these two weeks of the year.  Even people from the surrounding towns and villages come to participate in the grand festivities.

As a newcomer to Alcora, I found it interesting how much the native Alcorinos take pride in their fiestas.  Even the hardware shop owner had to make sure that I knew about it and had a schedule for all of the main events.  Unfortunately, we had to leave about midway through the fiestas because of a speaking engagement in Madrid, but we were still able to get out and enjoy a bit of the local culture.  We made sure to see two key events, one being the toros:  not to worry, the bulls weren't killed, just taunted and teased mostly.  The other event we went out to see was the procession of "The Virgen" and "The Cristo," which started down in the center of town and ended in the chapel just above the town...a pretty good hike uphill if you're the one carrying the statues.  You can see a few more photos by CLICKING HERE.

One word of reflection.  Rachel and I were commenting on how these town fiestas seem to be a contradiction in terms.  The fiestas, as we mentioned above, are officially in honor of Christ.  But when we went to see the bulls, there was a live intermission show with an old obese Santa Claus looking fella dancing to music on top of a car wearing nothing but a red thong.  A friend of ours from here told us that normally it's two well-endowed topless ladies, but this was a demonstration in mockery of the current economic crisis (apparently the ladies cost more).  The very next day, after a lot of people had spent the night getting drunk, was the procession in honor of the Santísimo Cristo (the Most Holy Christ) in which a good number of the same people (quite a crowd) turned out to throw flowers to, light candles to and show their "devotion" to Christ (or the statue of the crucified Christ, I'm still not sure).  I don't have a strict party-pooper version of Jesus or Christianity (see John 2), but let me pose a question that reveals why we're in Alcora:  Do they really understand who this Christ is and what it means to honor Him?

An Update Video

Well, if you've checked in on the blog recently, over the past month and a half or so, you've noticed it's been pretty dormant.  Our apologies.  We've had lots to do, and the blog was left on the back burner.  In an effort to make it up to you, here's a short video giving you a visual on our life transition from Córdoba to Alcora, as well as a bit of an introduction to the town of Alcora and some of our hopes for ministry there.  You'll notice that it's pre-Miriam, but take a peek anyway.  We promise to keep the blog a bit more up to date!