My first funeral in Central America

In my last email update you may remember that I mentioned a dad that was killed by a gang. On Easter Sunday, around 5pm, a gang was looking for 3 guys. 2 of them were brothers. Nobody was at home at the first house the gang went to, and then they went to the home of the 2 brothers. Again, nobody was home. However, a few min later the gang walked past the brother’s dad on the street and they shot/killed the dad. There are far more questions than answers, particularly the question of why the gang was looking for the boys. The boys say they don’t know why they’re being hunted. I’m told that it’s very unlikely that this will be investigated by police, much less solved, due to the corruption within government and the police. It just so happens that this incident took place while I was visiting Bobby and Britney in El Salvador, but this sort of things happens frequently in Latin America.

This was cause for my first exposure to a funeral in this culture. The body was taken to the morgue on the day of the murder (Sunday) and it was released the following day (Monday). Embalming is very expensive, and therefore almost never done, and thus the funeral/burial process is quick. The body was in a casket, which looked more or less similar to a low-end metal casket in the USA. Per normal, the casket/body was delivered to the family’s home the day after the death. Then family and friends come to view the body and pay their respect to the family. In the case, the casket was in a living room type of area. If the family has money, something simple to eat and drink may be served to the visitors. In this case, no food was offered. The local church (via Bobby) provided folding metal chairs for everyone. The family stays with the body all night until it’s time for burial the next day. Friends come and go throughout the night. Unlike a typical USA casket where the top half of the casket is open for a viewing, this casket had a small hinged door (approx. 1’x 2’) and a pane of glass that allowed everyone to see just the head.

The next day, Tues, a few friends/family members went to the public cemetery in the morning to hand dig the hole. Typically, family/friends carry the casket from the home to the cemetery, and everyone walks behind the casket in a long procession. In this case, it was quite a distance, so they paid to use the funeral home van to take the casket to the cemetery. I’ve seen times where the family has borrowed a truck to transport the casket and the family/friends walk behind. When we got to the cemetery the hole wasn’t yet finished. Bobby & Brit tell me that this is often the case. Ultimately there was a grave side service. Fortunately, this service was short, but I understand that it can go on for hours. Throughout this entire time, there were several people who roamed the scattered crowd, selling fruit, candy, water, etc. Then a few men used straps to lower the casket into the hole. The funeral isn’t over until the hole is filled back in with dirt and the family puts fresh flowers on the grave site.

As a side note, a cemetery near the ministry here in Guatemala has rental spaces (along with ground spaces) in their cemetery. I also saw this same thing being done in Ecuador years ago. Essentially there are tall, deep, concrete walls with rectangular holes to fit a simple casket or box. When a family can no longer pay the monthly rent for the spot, the remains are tossed out (in this case, over the edge/cliff on one side of the cemetery where the trash dump beings). There are specific walls that are less deep for children.

Once again, things are quite different here. Not necessarily wrong, just different. This was my first personal experience with a funeral here. I’d prefer it to be my last…but I doubt it. And would you believe that I hear an ambulance going by as we speak? How’s that for timing? Anyhow, this does once again cause me to pause and thank God that because of the sacrifice of Jesus, I know where I’ll spend eternity.