John-Roger, Jsu Garcia and friends are currently traveling in Europe, screening the Spiritual Warriors movie. Below is an update from Jsu from their adventures.
Click here to view a photo slideshow by David Sand & Ezra Mack from an excursion in Segovia Spain.
John-Roger, the usual suspects and I arrived after a long 24 hour flight to get to Madrid. It started off with the usual testing of the movie at the theatre making sure everything technically would work for both screenings in Madrid. Followed was a press conference, that Maria Luisa Merlo organized at her son’s theatre. While J-R and the guys rested from jet lag, I went off with Marcos Cajina and shot locations around Madrid City for SW 2.
Our first screening in Madrid started with J-R and co arriving to a full house, and much commotion in the lobby.
The ministers in Madrid welcomed J-R with loving arms, and the film began with a full house of 279. At the end of the showing we did a Q&A with Maria Luisa Merlo and myself, and as usual, Spain is no different than any other country that we’ve showed the movie to, they all ask in-depth questions of a spiritual nature. J-R signed many books and chatted with many people, many of whom are not in MSIA, having their first contact with J-R.
That evening 30 of us traveled on a bus for an hour and a half to El Paular, a village high in the beautiful Spanish countryside, at about 4000 elevation. Our final destination was a hotel that was an old monastery, where we enjoyed a banquet of wonderful food.
Day 2
Even more exciting than day 1. A VERY sold out screening, so sold out that we made some of the Americans give up their seats for the many locals that were having their first experience with J-R. After the showing we had another Q&A and thanked the pillars of this incredible experience of bringing this movie to Madrid, Maria Luisa Merlo, Esperanza Aguilar, Arturo Navaro and Yulay Sanchez. It was a year ago in London at the London screenings of SW where Maria Luisa stood up at the Q&A and pledged that she would bring SW to Madrid and so she has fulfilled that to our highest expectations. Sold out showings and exposure of this film — to 90% newcomers.
After the second showing of “Spiritual Warriors” in Madrid, the usual suspects and some of the locals, 36 of us bussed out another hour into the countryside to Segovia a roman city, under Moorish and now Spanish ruins. We had a scrumptious lunch and walked around the town very similar to Italian and French towns — massive aqua docks facing us as we meandered up to the town. And at the top of the Plaza Mayor we were confronted with the cathedral of Segovia and then we continued on around the town and went to the famous Juan de la Cruz where we witnessed and saw his death mask.
We met a beautiful priest who liked me after finding out I was Cuban and talked to me for about 20 minutes about his adventures in Cuba and his return back to Spain in the 90s. He talked about the Pope John Paul and how he explained to him the colors of the church. We then went to the Iglesia Vera Cruz (Church of the True Cross) — a church for the Knights Templar — and on the door it said from the order of Malta owns it now. We then got back on the bus and headed back to Madrid for our final night in one of the greatest countries in the world.
And as I sit here rolling along in the countryside in the back of the bus as Zoe types my article I am so grateful and just really glad and really happy that John-Roger is here on the trip. Once again the film has created a vehicle for all of us to get together around the world. I pray that we continue this experience of the Spiritual Warrior.
Click here for the Spiritual Warriors tour in Barcelona.
Click here for the Spiritual Warriors tour in Paris.
