A fine rain falls as night falls in the Valencian Country square in Alfafar. In front of the town hall, closed tight, the only light that illuminates the scene, which comes from the open gate of the parish of Our Lady of the Donstarts a light shine on the wet layer of mud that covers the street. From the outside, the image of the patron saint can be seen illuminated in the background and, in the foreground, an improvised help center that accumulates food and utensils in the side chapels. up to the middle of the temple.
The other part, the one closest to the altar, still in darkness, has the benches ready for the celebration of mass, which will begin at six in the afternoon. The complete image is a synthesis of a church that provides both material and spiritual nourishment.
“It is an unusual time, six in the afternoon, but it is when the neighbors can come, after spending all day cleaning their houses and the streets,” explains the parish priest, Javier Francés, a while before the mass, while coordinating the distribution of food at the entrance of the church. “The first day after the flood there was no electricity and only the vicar and I celebrated, but then we spread it among the people and more and more people came. Yesterday there were more than thirty of us,” he adds about how the idea of resuming the event arose. the celebration of the Eucharist.
«We were lucky that the church, which is located in the upper part of the town, was not very affected. From the first moment we have turned it into an operations center for what has been needed in the town and we thought that we could not stop celebrating the Eucharist because it is a way of reminding people that in the midst of this tragedy and destruction there is also the resurrectionthat there is life after DANA,” adds the parish priest.
Rumors that raise suspicions
An hour before mass the sky gradually blackens and at some point distant thunder is heard. A few drops fall, just a drizzle, but it is the first rain since a light shower on Tuesday was the innocent harbinger of the blanket of water that devastated the town. Nervousness spreads.
«Run, run! “We must suspend all aid, because they have said that the water is coming.”
Those who pass by on the street bring rumors, almost always hoaxes, that spread through the affected areas in the absence of official information. “They told me that the UME says that we should all get inside the house, it’s coming at a flood,” shouts a man who runs – as fast as the mud allows – in front of the door.
«Run, run! “We must suspend all aid, because they have said that the water is coming,” says another shortly after. «But where does it come from? “Is it because it’s going to rain or the ravine is going to overflow again,” the priest asks, although the haste of the improvised messenger leaves him without an answer. They are nothing more than rumorsbut they continue to raise suspicion. The confusion of Tuesday’s alert, which instead of talking about a flood, signaled the danger of heavy rain in an area where it barely sparkled, is still very present.
The priest hesitates between closing the temple and sending volunteers and those waiting for help home or continuing with the parish open to serve those who arrive. In addition, they are awaiting the arrival of a shipment of freshly made sandwiches sent to them from the Genovés parish. Javier opts for a logical solution, calling the police to verify the veracity of the rumors. The answer allays fears. “Rains are expected, but typical of autumn in Valencia, this time there is no danger of flooding” we heard through the speaker of the telephone, which the priest has activated to share the tranquility with all of us there.
Improvisation, the only guarantee of success
This time the planned plans go ahead, in a world in which, since Tuesday, improvisation is the only guarantee of success. A few minutes before six, Javier goes to the sacristy to dress while some parishioners arrive. Juan tells us that he lives next door and that, since he found out that mass was being resumed has come every day. “I am a believer and this is also a way to comfort the soul at this time, it is being very hard and at home all the time I just feel like crying about everything,” he explains.
“This is being very strong, I feel committed to helping in any way I can”
Also joining the celebration is Ester, a young teacher from a nearby charter school, who has been helping distribute the aid all afternoon. “This is being very strong, I feel committed to helping in any way I can.” The bell rings and the attention of the twenty faithful who have arrived at the church is focused on the altar, where the priest and the vicar arrive in a brief procession.
For just over half an hour, the church, oblivious to the chaos and destruction that surrounds it, will enter a moment of oasis and prayer similar to the one it experienced every day until Tuesday. A relief, which becomes food to move forward.
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