Singing Men of Texas
Spain Journal
Tuesday the 27
We left Cádiz at 8:15 and drove back to Sevilla. Before going to City Hall, we had a short bus tour of this city, which has a population of 800,000. There was a lot of traffic. One thing that impresses us in this country is the fact that pedestrians, horse-drawn carriages, motorcycles, small cars, and buses coexist so peacefully on the narrow streets.
We met in the beautiful city hall and had a formal reception with the mayoress, and presented her a pair of spurs. She is obviously a very busy woman, and we appreciated her taking the time to meet with us. The men were able to sing a song on the inside staircase, and the music echoed throughout the building. After walking around the area a bit we were admitted to the Cathedral of Sevilla, which our guide says is the third largest cathedral in the world. It was built as a mosque in 1184-1198. It became a Christian cathedral beginning in 1248. There are 40 different chapels in the cathedral. The building is 23,500 sq. meters in surface area, and contains the memorial and grave of Christopher Columbus. Before finding this as his final resting place (as he had requested) his remains traveled to several places. Our guide joked that Columbus traveled around as much after his death as he had during his lifetime! Unbelievably, the group was allowed to give a short concert here, with hundreds of tourists from all over the world gathering around to listen as they took their tours. What an experience!
Because we were all so tired, we decided to cancel our scheduled walking tour of Alcazar Castle, so we walked on to McDonald's. There was also a Subway and a Baskin-Robbins on the street, so we sat outside and ate lunch.
We loaded up again at 2:30 and drove to Córdoba, arriving at 4:30. Córdoba is the home of the best-preserved Arabic mosque (mezquita) in Spain, and the second largest mosque in the world - second only to Mecca. It is 2252' around the outside of the building. One small area of it is used as a Catholic church. With its many styles of architecture, it is one of the more impressive buildings we have seen.
We again had 45 minutes to check into our hotel and change clothes before going to the Amistad Concert Hall for our final concert. For the first time, we had rain - cold rain! We had to walk several blocks with our equipment. We set up, rehearsed and ate a meal of sandwiches and fruit before the concert. Everyone has been so gracious to us here. After an opening song, the 8:30 concert began with gift presentations; the Deputy mayor accepted the hat on behalf of the mayor, and presented gifts to the choir.
This is the city where Pastor Antonio Gomez pastors a Baptist church, and we are so glad that God worked out the details for us to present this concert. At intermission times, we have been giving out small presents - Texas key chains, magnets, flags, pencils, etc. We have made many new friends on this trip. At the end of the concert, the Deputy mayor made a short speech, thanking us for coming. He said that this kind of musical concert is new and unheard of here. He said that this group was not only planting seeds of cultural interchange, but also seeds of peace. Then the local Baptist church here presented a beautiful engraved gift to the Singing Men. Tonight we echo the lyrics of the choir's final song - "To God Be the Glory!"
Click on picture to see the large version.
Handbell ringers from SMOT were assisted by wives Gloria Deeds and Terri Miller
Grace Borgan tries out handbell ringing. Handbells are relatively unknown in Spain.
Hope Borgan giving Jakie Shirley a lesson in handbell playing.
Spain's exhibition building from the 1939 World's Fair, the Plaza de España
Bob Matthews
The cathedral at Cordoba
The cathedral at Cordoba
Our diplomatic group with the mayor and assistant mayor in Sevilla
Sarah Malpass, missionary journeyman, serving as teacher to the Borgan children.