November 18, 2006

More Romaria Pictures.

Due to computer and schedule issues, I have been lax in posting pictures from recent activities. The other day Jim Leonard gave me some pictures he took during our evangelistic campaign among the romeiros (pilgrims) who come here each year to worship Padre Cícero. He got some great shots, and gave me permission to include them here. He also took some good pictures of the Padre Cícero museum and statue, which I will post later in order to explain more about this religious phenomenon.

During the Romaria, Juazeiro do Norte--normally somewhat crowded--becomes jam-packed with people. Some 200,000 people live here. This year the city hosted 400,000 romeiros.

Juazeiro is a city built on the industry of idolatry. Many "idol shops" just like this one can be found all over town.

Padre Cícero in assorted shapes and sizes.

One neat thing about this time is that the Northeastern Brazilian culture is on full display. Here sugar cane is being processed to make "suco de cana", a scrumptioius (non-alcoholic) beverage.

Farmers from the region bring their wares to be sold. Pineapples, anyone?

One if the ministries we cary out is to offer free water to the tired and thirsty romeiros. Here we see them lined up to receive it. While drinking the physical water, we also share the message of the Living Water available through Christ.

Our students cary out various ministries in the main square of the city. These include puppets (shown in an earlier post) gospel magic, and a tool called the "three doors". Here, seminary student Francisco shares the gospel with a romeiro.

These pilgrims are praying at one of the many religiously significant spots around town.

At the end of the week, the pilgrims gather at the chapel where the padre is buried to say "goodbye". This shot shows them waving their hats--a ritual they carry out every year.

Posted by Andrew on November 18, 2006 7:43 AM.