Caceres, Spain

This past weekend, Sunday, we headed to the southwest about 300 kilometros, to a 'little' town of about 100,000 people, called Caceres (accent on the 'a').  Paco and his wife Susi, and Sister Bake and I all went down there at the invitation of Elder and Sister Redd.  They are a missionary couple serving in Member Support.  We met them long ago (2 1/2 months) at the conference for YSA, in Toledo. They have a lot of members who could take advantage of the principles of self-reliance.  We finally were able to work out a time when they could get together, and that we could come.

On the drive down there, I asked Paco what Caceres was famous for, and his answer surprised me:  he said that a lot of the 'conquistadores' of the Americas left from there!!  I thought for sure he was pulling my leg, but he stood by that answer for the entire trip.  As we traveled there and back, I was able to figure out why, possibly, the 'conquistadores' went from there--there is nothing else to do there, so they got bored, and had to travel!!!  (Maybe?)  Another answer was: they are famous for the bulls and the pigs!!  A lot of the meat eaten in Spain is produced there, and we saw evidence of that as we drove along.  I did not take any pictures, but we did see a lot of bulls along the way.  Not so much on the pigs, however.  Some of the bull-fighting bulls are raised there, also.

The first thing we do to help people is to put on a 'Devotional'.  This is a class/presentation where they have some forms to fill out that show them exactly where they stand, financially, and how much more they need to make in order to become self-reliant.  It takes about 2 full hours to go through the forms, and to then decide on which of the three groups they join in order to achieve their self-reliance.  The three groups are: Job Search-- Education for Better Employment (this is to qualify for a loan through the PEF)-- Start/Grow My Own Business.  Each of the groups will then meet once a week for 12 weeks, working their way through church-produced materials, to help guide them on their way to self-reliance.

We had more people come that they had originally thought, and two of them were not members of the Church.  We had a great time with them.  None of them were of Spanish decent--all were immigrants from Central or South America.  Those folks, especially, have a tough time making it here.  If they have studied in their native lands, and have achieved some level of professional  growth, most of the time, those studies and titles, and degrees, and not recognized here in Spain.  It is so tough to have the money, and the time, to start all over again.   When that happens, all they are qualified to do is a lot of the menial work, that does not pay much.  Also, many of them are taken advantage of, because employers know that they have them over a barrel, so to speak.  They truly have the odds stacked against them, but . . . we try to show them that the Lord has promised them that He will " . . . provide for His Saints." It takes a lot of faith, and a lot of determination, but the system works, if they will work the system.  They were so appreciative that we would come all that way, just to try to help them..  It makes one feel rather humble, to have so much, when they are happy, having so little, but that they are thankful for the little that they do have.

One of the ladies in attendance there, came up after the closing prayer, and with tears in her eyes, thanked us for making the effort to come to them, and to teach them.  They were all grateful for the fact that we thought them to be important enough to make the trip, just for them.

My first "real" attempt at teaching in one of the Devotionals!
Elder and Sister Redd in the background.

The "maestro" Paco, He is a real 'pro' at this!!

All seeking better employment--a better life--SELF-RELIANCE!!

                   It takes work--to look for work!!

Of course, Sister Bake made treats for them!!  And, Sister Redd had made real chocolate-chip cookies, with chocolate chips bought from the only COSTCO in all of Spain, in Sevilla! We really need to make the trip to Sevilla--sooner than later!!

Even though it made for a real long Sabbath Day, we had a few minutes of daylight left before heading home, to walk through the Plaza Mayor (major) (main one).  Caceres is modern now, but at one time had some ancient beginnings, like most of these Spanish towns.

Driving with Paco can, and does, get a little hairy!! Narrow streets, in the older parts of town, are nuts!!

These old buildings are so neat, especially the old wooden doors.

Some of the 'modern' among the old,  If you want your business to thrive,
get it as close to the 'old' as you possibly can.

We left later than expected, to go home.  We (Sister Bake and I) could have made it all the way home without eating, but these crazy Spaniards are used to eating late.  We stopped at a gas station/convenience store/bar, at 10:30 night, to get something to eat.  Way too late for my stomach, but not for our dear friends who were doing the driving.  Anyway. we arrived home at 12:40 am on Monday morning, and had to be at work early enough to make it a real short night!! We had a good time, but were worn out from all the driving.  On the way home something weird happened--we were still about 96 kilometers from Madrid, when, all of a sudden, traffic came almost to a stand-still.  A couple of times, we were not progressing at all.  It was a good two-land road, similar to our freeways, but the traffic was like rush-hour.  I asked Paco what was up, and his answer really surprised me--"People coming home to Madrid at the end of the week!"  I thought, "No Way!", but he assured me that that was the case.  Crazy--and so far out from Madrid.  After some time, the traffic began to stretch out again, and we were able to make it on into Madrid, at the aforementioned time.  

See you all real soon--when there is something fun to report.

Elder and Sister Bake

4th of July and Friends

Thank Heaven for the Temple Missionaries!!  They try to include us in their plans, and we really appreciated it.  We really don't have any other "couples" close enough for us to things with, so when they invite, we are happy to tag along.

A week ago was our 4th of July Celebration.  Going down into the underground parking lot at the Temple, there is a little strip of green grass.  It was there that we set up a  few tables and tried to pull off the bbq.  It turned out to be a good place to eat, because the sun had, by then, gone down behind the building that serves as our office, and the housing for the temple missionaries, and the upper three floors that house the MTC.  And, since it was a little below grade, the temps were just a little cooler.
Yes,  we have been having the same stretch of very hot weather that you guys have been experiencing, and, any place that is cooler, is very much sought after.

There's that strip of green--can you see it?

Most of those present were temple missionaries.  The couple in while tops
are the Larsons, and they work in the mission office.  They are our best friends at
the moment--they help us figure out how to do things here in Madrid.

--

Proud to be an American!!

Their charcoal is not quite like ours, but it keeps a fire longer,
and burns hotter for a lot longer. Really makes for a good bbq.

We really did not lack for anything, except, Hna. Bake says, a good
frosty mug of A&W Rootbeer!!

We also had some patriotic messages and a video with some
simulated fireworks!  We stood and sang the Star-Spangled Banner.
I'm not quite sure the Spaniards in attendance understood the real
significance of the standing and the singing and the hand over the heart,
but, they joined in anyway.

Even in Spain,  can't keep the little ones out of the candy!!

The Church parking lot (underground) is a nice place to park.  I am seeking opportunity to see if we can park our car over here, where it is watched over and protected--from the birds!!

This is the entrance, just across from where we did our bbq.

Inside----and all kinds of room for  my chariot!!!

The remodel job has been completed, except for all the furniture, and the windows, which have to come from Germany.  Could be here any day soon.  I am hoping for sooner--rather that later, as I have a class to teach in one of the new classrooms, starting this Tuesday!!  Could be fun without the tables and chairs!!!  Here's what she looks like inside.

This is where the wall used to be.  You can see into one of the rooms.

Looking down the hall toward the second room.  On the left
is a small office space/classroom, depending on what is needed.

From the other end, looking back toward our present office.

Where the new windows will go when they arrive.  You can see the
big metal louvres on the outside.  They help to keep out unwanted stuff--
sun and burglars!!  You can see where we held the picnic, out there in the background.

Today, Sunday 12th of July, we had Elder Francisco J. Vinas in our ward as a visitor.  He attended all three meetings with us.  During High Priests class, he took part and had some nice things to say.  After the meeting, I shook hands with him and welcomed him to our ward.  We have a small thing in common--He has been working in Uruguay for the past 25 years.  I think he is on vacation right now, because he said that he was heading for Sevilla tomorrow.  That is his hometown.  Really nice man, and so easy to visit with.  He treated us all very kindly.  The only disappointment I had was that he did not talk to us during Sacrement Meeting.  I would have liked to have heard him preach some to us.  Oh well . . . .  All is still well.

For three weeks now we have been having temperatures dancing right around 100 degrees.  Quite not normal, they all say.  One of the men today said that, maybe by this coming Friday, things will quiet down a bit.  Let's hope he knows what he is talking about.  It is getting a little old.  Thanks heaven for the air-conditioning in the piso!!

Bobbi and I were talking before we left and we both agreed that we could live in a high rise in the middle of a big city.  We both thought that we would enjoy that.  I found that I need to have a small place to get my fingers dirty.  I have missed some gardening.  There are 4, I think, gardeners here and the temple lot is big.  I had noticed some large weeds, they were calling my name,  lol. I had to get permission from the temple engineer and a message was sent to security, but I get to do some weeding!  Sounds crazy, I know, but it was nice to so some service and get my fingers dirty! 

Seems a little weird, climbing around inside the planters at the temple!!

Elder Bake actually pulled weeds too, but someone had to snap the fotos, right!?!

This weekend, we, along with two couples of temple missionaries went out for a combined dinner and Flamenco dance  performance.  For the first time I finally felt that I got my money's worth of food for a dinner eaten out.   My former experiences have been that you get not a lot of food, and the price goes in the opposite direction.  That's just how it is here, especially in the places that attract a lot of tourists, and there were a ton of tourists there that night.

I expected the ladies to be wearing a full-length, full-blown dress, with a lot of color in it.  What we got was one lady, wearing a long, but snug dress, that was essentially black or dark gray in color, with a little bit of colored trim.  Not bad--just different than what I had imagined.  They can really dance!!  I also expected the gal to use the castanets, but that was not a part of the program.  

Their shoes have metal on the heel and toe, much like our tap-dancers, but the movements are way different.  It was like the guy was tap-dancing in cowboy boots!!!!!  But still, really talented.  To know what the Flamenco is all about, you need to "google" it.  It is a sad tale they tell, through the music and the dance.  They even had a couple of singers that sang (or, wailed) the words to the sadness.  I count not understand most of it because it has Gypsy origins, and such.

The poster on the wall shows somewhat of an "original" guitarist
might have looked like.

For me, the highlight of the evening was when one of the guitarists played a solo!!  Now, that's what I had hoped for!  What a neat experience, to watch him use the entire neck of the guitar and lay out a melody that  ran the entire length of emotions, from sad to happy, from slow to fast.  He was really accomplished!!!  I need to get a cd of that!

As in typical Spanish fashion, dinner was at 9:30, and the show began at 10:30.  We walked out of the place at midnight.  An hour's ride on the metro, and we were in bed close to 1:00am.!!!  Not my typical night out, but we had a good time.

 

Finally, here is Lucy.  She is the best part of my mission so far.  I have truly met a friend.  She is such a giving friendly lady;  single mom, one daughter.  She was told 17 years ago that she only had a few months to live.  She was given a blessing and her mom told her that if she lived she would need to  let the Lord know of her thanks by serving,  She does that everyday.  Her kindness to others is a joy to watch.  I hope to grow up to be like her.

Till next week.....

"THE DEAD--SMALL AND GREAT!!"

First, a little update on the remodel job:

The hole  was opened over the weekend.

 The worked on it all  week long, while we used the office.

The will probably have the door installed when we go in to work tomorrow.  If that is the case, more pictures will follow on the next blog.  Paco is so excited!!  I am nervous, just to see if all the effort will pay off in the future.  Time will tell.

All three Spain missions received new mission presidents this past week.  Our new president is President Pack.  He and his wife, and two children they brought with them (a 13 year-old boy, and a 15 year-old girl) are from Mississippi.  He has been the CEO of a telecommunications company for a good chunk of his life.  They arrived about 24 hours before the previous mission president left, and I am certain he has been running himself ragged just to try to figure out where he is.  And, to make matters worse, this is the week of transfers!!!  One of these days we will get to meet him and to let him know a little about us, in case he has future plans for a good senior couple to go out into the world and to make a difference somewhere!!

Now, on to the title of this week's message.  We had noticed, on one of our longer walks, that there was this huge cemetery just across the freeway from where we were walking.  For some reason, Sister Bake has always had this fascination with cemeteries, so,. . . a plan was hatched to go and see it.  I think that fascination had something to do with her Grandpa Sandy taking her into the cemetery in Idaho Falls, Idaho, when she was a  young, to see the graves of her grandmothers, and others . (Michelle, "Actually, I have always felt at peace in a cemetery.  There is a reverent feeling there. I remember my mom telling me what her mom told her, when she died and then was brought back.  We will live after we die. I had those feelings again as we walked through the graves.  These are loved ones, they will be united with their bodies and families again.)

Anyway, we left early on Friday, to beat the heat (if that is indeed possible!!) and walked about 2 miles to get there.  (We don't mind walking these days.)  The place is just huge!  There are easily more than 300 acres there!!  

The name of the cemetery is El Cementerio de la Almudena, named after a 16th century icon of the virgin Mary.  It is the largest cemetery in Spain, and possibly the largest in the entire world!!  We wandered around in there for the better part of an hour, just looking, and thinking and wondering about the millions buried there.  Yes, you heard me right!!  An article we read about the place said that there are more buried there right now, than there are living in Madrid right now.  Madrid's population is about 5.5 million.  It was the main cemetery for Madrid from about 1884 to 1973, and from the 1920's, has been almost the only one for the majority of Madrid.

We learned some interesting things about how things are done there.  You are not allowed to own the spot where you are buried--you only get to rent the space, normally for only five years!!  Then, if you don't continue to pay, the remains are moved to a common burial location, and the space is rented out again!!..Different--I know!!  You can also rent for up to 50 years, but, then you pay a lot more.  Families can also continue to rent, for extended times, but if the payments ever fail, things can change rather quickly.  A handier way to handle the issue is to cremate, and lately, that is the preferred option for most of the people.  That way, the spaces are smaller, and the rent is less.

Below are some of the pictures, and some of our thoughts that go along with them:

Some of these plots have been here a long time.  It was difficult to know if we were walking in places that we should not have been walking, but we tried our best to be reverent and respectful.  I thought of working in the Family History Center and hoping that someone had found and written down the information of these people. The carvings are weathered, and broken up on so many of the markers now.

In older times, before things got crowded, if you had enough money, you could build a sepulcher for yourself and family.  Over the years, all family members end up in there.

This the the Mateo Lopez Sanchez family.  If you look real hard, you can see the stained-glass windows in the background.  Really a nice-looking place for the rest of the dead.  As you look inside the sepulcher, there is a chandelier, a place to kneel and pray and reflect.  The caskets are enclosed in granite, layered on the sides. Very beautiful! I was talking to another sister missionary, Sister Gilgen, and she shared with me her experience of making a suit for a toddler who had passed on.  She said that she could not make it good enough for this young boy.  She wanted it to be perfect.  It gave me the understanding of why the soaring cathedrals, the gold and silver plating, the tremendous amount of money spent on churches and even the tombs.  They want it perfect to celebrate Christ, who died for us, as well as those who have gone on.  

Obviously, most of Spain is of the Catholic Religion, and that is seen in the motifs
of the graves.

Some of the newer spots for the final resting place for the ashes of a loved one.

Almost the entire cemetery is laid out in some neat geometric formations, as can been seen from this angle.

This cemetery goes on forever, and ever, and ever!

Some of the wrought iron was intricate in design.  Some of the older stuff was about gone, but still held its shape.

Portion of an older wall with places for ashes.

Detail of a man who passed away in 1870, 16 September.

Mark, can you find some symbolism here?  Anyone else want to try?  Look real closely at the inside.
See Judges 14:5-18

Revelation 20:12-13

Many think of death as such a sad event, and at times such as this, many lose hope of ever seeing their loved one again.  How blessed we are to know that death is not the end.  I Corinthians 15:20-26

Just something to think about!!!

Just across the main road that passes the cemetery, there is another portion call the Hebrew Cemetery!!  This particular architecture is definitely not Spanish.  It looks more Arabic than anything else.

These names, and the ones in the background, are German.  Same thing for the two that follow.

While we were wandering and pondering, Michelle made a grand comment:  "Won't this be a neat place on resurrection day, when all these families get to be together again!!