As part of our additional work here from Pastor Lupe we are to visit the small church in El Rosario a couple of times a month. We got a bit of a shaky start with them however as we arrived late for the first visit, essentially arriving just in time to see them going out the door. Sadly, Lupe had given us the wrong start time for services. But we did get to visit with a couple of families and got an invitation to one woman's home for some ice water which we gladly accepted because it was scorching hot that morning! So we proceeded to the modest little home and found that she wanted to show us a beautiful mirror and mantle that were salvaged from an old house in the area. Goodness, the mirror itself had to be six or seven feet tall and four or more feet wide. It was surrounded by a carved molding about six inches wide. It was balanced on a carved mantle at least a ten feet wide and a foot and a half deep. Gargantuan thing but very beautiful. It absolutely overwhelmed the small home we were visiting but obviously was a great source of family pride!
Smack behind the present church there are the remains of the old church, now just a ruin where iguanas live. You can see how close it is to the back wall of the present church, that's that gray strip in the right of the first picture.
On our second visit we arrived prepared to hear Pastor Ignacio preach but discovered that several members of the Mazatlan church were there doing the service and had brought along a guest preacher! Foiled again. Then we were saddened to learn that they just sort of invaded, didn't ask to come, weren't invited and didn't even tell the pastor they would be there. He was upset but handled it graciously, so much so that we didn't learn of the problem until after the service. When our friend Carmen realized what happened she apologized profusely to Ignacio for the intrusion.
Our third try was this past Sunday and again we didn't get to hear Ignacio preach because the folks from the Mazatlan church were there again with one of the Mazatlan parishioners preaching, Amir. We were determined to get to know Ignacio better though and settled in for a good visit with him and hopefully sometime soon we'll be able to hear him preach!!
He works full time at Citrofruit, a huge concern here in Mexico with plants in three states (Sinaloa, San Luis Potosi and Veracruz) and one in Texas. They produce nothing but frozen fruit juice concentrate and are in their busiest time of the year right now. He's presently working seven days a week, so he doesn't mind having the folks from Mazatlan come and help out at least until September when things will settle down a bit for him at work.
Citrofruit produces juice from just about any kind of fruit you can name and 70% of the frozen concentrates they make here end up in the US used in all kinds of products marketed under all kinds of brands. Pretty amazing enterprise!
He is married to Mari and they have two kids who are completely adorable. His mother-in-law is also part of their family. They live in Rosario, close enough to walk to church. Which is a good thing in that town because it has the most confusing street structure we've seen yet in Mexico and that is saying something!!
We've gotten lost in one way or another each time we've gone there, and likely will for a while. One of our team members says people joke about even the devil getting lost there it is such a confusing and confounding little town. Very narrow streets, lots of one ways, very little in the way of signs. This is the one way street the church is on, at the end it turns left into an even more narrow street where no parking is allowed and because straight ahead they have turned the street into a plaza. Complete with trees, flowers and a non-functioning fountain. Just beyond that little plaza is the small centro mercado with it's own little plaza surrounded by shops and including a strange statue that even Carmen could not explain and she went to school in El Rosario!
On the highway going and coming from El Rosario you pass through prime mango growing country, but we've also discovered it is also the prime area for cireula, a small, sweet plumb no bigger than the end of an average thumb. There are red and yellow varieties, but they tasted exactly the same to me. They are only available from the very end of May to the middle of July. Roadside stands are set up to meet the demand from passers by and from those who make the trek just for them. They are also sold on a limited basis here in town. They are good, but extremely perishable. The roadside stands also have big bags of mangoes dirt cheap too!
And on the way there this last Sunday we saw our first snake since arriving here. We'd heard tales of big snakes, five six feet or more, but haven't seen nary a one in nearly 19 months. Can't say that anymore. This guy was very long and slender and dark. He took up three quarters of the traffic lane on the highway before he retreated to the shoulder as our truck approached. Let's see, if a lane is about a dozen feet across or so that would make him very long, like 8 or 9 feet. Glad we were in the truck! There is always something interesting in our travels here.
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