The funeral itself was very different from anything I have ever done.
We started at the farm and walked with the body to the church and then to the cemetery. This was no small feat......it took 4 hours!
The men carried his casket on their shoulders the WHOLE way! I was so afraid they were going to drop it at first as they were trying to get their rhythm down and get used to it.
There were 150 - 200 people or so. A truck went first with the big flower arrangement wreaths they use here and then some of the people and the men carrying his body. Another group of people followed as well as a mariachi band and a "Mexican oompah band" (as we like to call them.) Then there were the horses........
He was a charro, which is basically a cowboy. There's a riding association he helped found. So, 14 horses and riders came to participate in the funeral. They also had the man's own horse walked by his only son. It was empty, no rider, but had his hat hanging off of the saddle. That was sad. It followed directly behind his casket the whole time.
At the end of his road, before we got onto the main road, they had a little ceremony for the riders to all honor him. We stopped and they said a few words. Then they called out the names of each rider, he would yell "present" and then ride his horse up to the casket to salute. It was moving. His son walked his horse up to "say goodbye". The family really had a hard time with that. Very sad.
Then we began the walk. We first walked to our street and took him and his horse to his old house where his wife lives and they raised their children. At her doorway, the wife sprinkled his casket with "holy water" (in a Coca Cola bottle) by using some white carnations dipped in the water. Then we headed back to the church. It took an hour to get to the church. They had a mass and then we left the church and began the walk to the cemetery. Wow...........you should have seen where we had to walk. It was pure hills. The cemetery was at the top of a very high hill. It's close to our home, but there is a hill so steep you can not even walk up it. (remember, we live in the mountains)
So, we had to talk the long way. We wound through hills and streets for a long time. It was uphill the whole way. I felt so badly for the men carrying the casket. It took us over an hour to get there. At the cemetery it took another hour and a half or so to bury him.
You are your own gravedigger here. The family did everything. The grave was prepared before we got there, but the family mixed the cement and everything. After they finally put his casket in, they poured the cement and then put all of the flowers on top. They did not fill it with any dirt on top. They just left the cement.
The mariachi band and the other band took turns playing the whole 4 hours--- except for during the mass. The horses and their riders were all lined up at the cemetery. It was really a neat tribute. But the family...........I can honestly say I don't think I've ever seen anyone grieve so deeply. 2 of the daughters were so distraught. One passed out and the other almost did. They were so weak and had to be carried along by friends the whole day. It was very sad.
There's more, but I won't bore you with the details. It was just really sad to sit in some of it, walk with the people for hours and think, "We're the only Believers here."
When the son brought John home at 5:30 a.m. he told him that he noticed John was the only one not drinking and drunk and he really respected that. His little girl is Faith's best friend. Please pray we can continue to minister to this family and show them the love of Jesus. It breaks our hearts to know there is so much tradition and ritual, yet no real hope.
That evening they started the days of prayer. The priest comes to the house 2 hours a day to lead them in the rosary and prayers and lighting candles for his soul. Then the mom was telling John on Sunday that now they have a 40-day period where someone MUST stay at his farm constantly and they MUST NOT shut the door or his soul will not find rest. It's really sad.
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