Mission San Francisco de la Espada

When we first arrived at the Mission San Francisco de la Espada, I didn't like it. Honestly, all I saw were old buildings that needed remodeling. Nothing that caught my eye. Then the tour guide started explaining in detail how in the 1690's Mission Espada started in Mississippi, moved to Austin, and ended up here in 1731 which is now the furthest mission south. The way the Spaniards taught the male natives how to kiln bricks and the women how to use the loom interested me as well. There were two churches built; the first one was considerably small with a socrasty, an altar, and a dirt floor where the congregation would come to worship. But soon after the church was built, a weakness in the walls was noticed. So before the church became any more unstable, another one was built about two times larger with and oddly made door. This one still stands and is still active today. The entire mission had a wall surrounding it to keep the hungry apaches and comanches out. I found out that the mission is not a church, but rather a town with a church. Espada has many descendants possibly attending the church today, although its history for the most part is a mystery. Names, faces, and personalities might have been lost along the way, but their story is told through the physical remains of these buildings and through the lives of their descendants as well. So now I don't just see old buildings, but the beginning of a legacy that is vibrantly living on today as what we call the TEX-MEX or Spanglish culture.