Mexico: Funeral

As I mentioned in the previous post, there was a funeral last week.  On Wednesday an older sister from the church passed away.  Tradition in Mexico is for the body to be taken to the church or the deceased's home  and for the family to stay awake all night with the body.  Since the church is right next to my bedroom I'll admit that I was thankful when her body was taken to her home.

I did not go to the 'visitation' but from what I have been told, visitations in Mexico are different because people come and basically hang out for a while.  Maybe that's too loose of a term but Matt and Ruth took a bunch of chairs to the house so people could have a seat and stay awhile.

The funeral is the next day because normally they do not embalm the body.  Marshall told me that after a person dies they usually have a scarf or something similar available to tie the jaw shut.  Also, a man whose wife was related to the deceased was at Marshall and Jan's when the call came that she had passed away and he had to hurry to the hospital with the burial clothes before her body was too stiff.

I went to the funeral which began at four in the afternoon on the front porch of the home.  Some people were under the shade of the roof while others were outside carrying on a conversation that was plenty loud during the funeral service.  There were people there from the church and the community...probably around 60-75.  Only a fraction of the people had a chair and there was a fair amount of people wearing denim skirts or jeans.  After the funeral service, some songs, and a prayer, the casket was loaded into the hearse--Marshall's pickup.  The family, that was able to, walked behind the casket to the graveyard.  This walk can be from 1-3 miles!  For those stuck in a blizzard at home it may be hard to imagine that this was a hot afternoon and even the ride in the van felt long.  Along the way, some people from the small town joined in the procession.

The Caravan (Photo credit Keith Herrmann, Grant's uncle)

By the time we got to the cemetery there were probably 100 people attending.  The casket was taken into this little room near the entrance where the family said their goodbyes.  Then it was carried through the graves which are tall and close together.
(Picture taken at a different time)

At the graveside the AC's sang some hymns with guitar accompaniment.  With the tombstones being so close the family was at the foot of the grave while it was getting filled in and the singers were standing among the other graves of the cemetery.  A little different than back home!

I know this funeral was different than the traditional Mexican funeral since it was Christian and most Mexicans are Catholic.  However, the simplicity of it all was really humbling.  In the States funerals cost an arm and a leg and because of that are very nice.  But here the casket was a slightly embellished wooden box.  The funeral was held on a porch.  The hearse was an old pickup truck.  And you know what?  She didn't know the difference.

I'm not trying to sound morbid when I say I really really like the following song (pardon the bad grammar). It's called "All My Tears" by Plumb and says:
"...
Gold and silver blind the eye
Temporary riches lie
Come and eat from heaven's store
Come and drink and thirst no more
...
It don't matter where you bury me
I'll be home and I'll be free
It don't matter where I lay
All my tears be washed away"

So, from an eternal perspective, this was such a beautiful funeral.  Another soul made it Home!!!