The Jesus Tortilla of Lake Arthur, New Mexico

(I go through the tiny village of Lake Arthur about once every three months, but I first heard about the tortilla in this book.  The tortilla is also the basis for a 2007 movie.)

From roadsideamerica.com:

No one realized at the time, but the 1977 appearance of Jesus Christ on a flour tortilla set the international standard for miracle sightings. Once confined to obscure grotto appearances, the Tortilla was the crossover miracle that put God in the Extra Value Meal of the average American.

Now, no object is too outrageous for an Almighty (or Virgin Mary) cameo. He's materialized on a Pizza Hut billboard in a plate of spaghetti; on a bowling alley chimney; reflected from a porch light onto a car bumper (until the light was turned off and the car moved); on a diner place mat; and even on a dead priest's shoe.

But the Miracle Tortilla was the first to fully wrap around the collective pop subconscious.

In October of 1977, Maria Rubio was rolling up a burrito for her husband Eduardo's breakfast, when she noticed a thumb-sized configuration of skillet burns on the tortilla that resembled the face of Jesus. Needless to say, Eduardo went hungry that meal as Maria told family and neighbors of the miraculous event. It happened in the small town of Lake Arthur, New Mexico, 40 minutes south of Roswell.

Space Alien fever had yet to infect the state, and visitations were of a predominantly religious nature. NM's historic Santuario de Chimayo, with its miracle dirt pit, drew thousands of annual visitors looking for spiritual connection to the miraculous cross that burst from the hillside in 1810. Elsewhere, statues occasionally shed a tear, or passing clouds took on the shape of the Blessed Mother.

Wide-eyed believers call them "signs."

Cranky skeptics ascribe them to a human faculty for delusion called "pareidolia," a perception of pattern and meaning from natural randomness. At the same time, scientists believe humans are hardwired to recognize facial patterns, our hunkered fore-apes' need to quickly identify foe, friend or mate. We'll perceive a familiar face in an unfamiliar place, before seeing, say, a locomotive or a cotton gin.

Despite the braying of scientists and skeptics, the Holy Tortilla quickly developed a solid fan base. By 1979, over 35,000 people had visited, bringing flowers and photos of sick loved ones.

Mrs. Rubio quit her job as a maid to attend full-time to the hastily constructed "Shrine of the Holy Tortilla" in her home. When away, she'd leave the door unlocked so that no one would be denied access.

She mounted the Tex-Mex Relic in a wooden frame under glass, a puffy wad of cotton along the bottom making it appear as if Tortilla Christ was suspended just inside the Pearly Gates.

In the wake of this first Tortilla visitation, all heaven broke loose. November 1977 -- a competing Miracle Tortilla appeared in the skillet of Phoenix housewife Ramona Barreras. It was the face of Jesus, this time accompanied by the letters K, J, C, and B, which Ramona believed stood for "King Jesus is Coming Back." According to the Phoenix New Times in 1997, the Barreras Miracle Tortilla "rests in a Plexiglas box in a kitchen drawer."

In March 1983, housewife Paula Rivera claimed the image of Jesus appeared on a corn tortilla she was making in Hidalgo Texas. She created her own "Shrine of the Holy Tortilla."

In the meantime, the faithful still traveled to Lake Arthur to see the original. Mrs. Rubio eventually moved it to a small wooden shed in the backyard. Years of merciless southwestern heat have literally fried and refried the tortilla. The image, once recognizable even in photographs, has faded to a half dozen brown spots and a wiggly burnt blotch.

There are no signs that any healings have happened recently -- no leftover crutches -- so perhaps this miracle has run its course. But Mrs. Rubio's family is perfectly happy to open up the shrine for any and all visitors....

UPDATE - December 2006: Disaster! In 2005, Mrs. Rubio's granddaughter took the Miracle Tortilla into school for Show and Tell, and it was dropped and broken! The shed shrine has been closed and the remains retired to a drawer in the Rubios' home.

Our First Tea Party

I got a funny e-mail about tea parties, and I may still use it, but first I thought I would show you actual photos of the Odessa Tea Party held on April 17 of 2010, to give you an idea of what a tea party is like, at least in my neighborhood.  Your experiences and your mileage may vary.



Robert claims this park for the United States of America.

  It was cold and misty on this day.  Glad the planet is warming up, or it might have been much colder.

Sleepless in Midland's blog has another review of the event, plus he took better pictures than I did.

I did not see anyone carrying a plunger.  However, we were in Roswell the previous month and just barely missed seeing Joe the Plumber.

I didn't see anyone throwing crumpled dollar bills at any disabled person, or any other act of cruelty.

I didn't see or hear any racist remarks.  I didn't see any police presence at all.

Liz was interviewed by a reporter for the Midland paper.

Here's the man we mostly came to see.  His name is Mark Williamson, founder of Federal Intercessors, and he also happens to be our preacher's son.

Above: Here is Mr. Williamson on February 17 of this year, leading the opening prayer before the U. S. House of Representatives. (You don't have to watch all 16 hours and 10 minutes of the video.)

After about an hour, we were ready to leave.  We needed to go shopping and find adequate facilities.  Meanwhile, Robert and two boys were staging a lightsaber fight on the hill.

Robert was decidedly not ready to leave.

Two Churches Fight in Roswell

From God Discussion:

Members of two different churches in Roswell, New Mexico, are fighting over who interprets scriptures correctly.

Armed with signs, Bibles, and a camera, members of Old Paths Baptist Church showed up in front of the Church on the Move on November 28 to proclaim that Church on the Move's members were headed to hell.

This weekend, KOB Eyewitness News released a video of the ensuing shouting match and physical fights. Associate Pastor Savino Sanchez, 63, of the Church on the Move was taken to the ground by members of Old Paths Baptist Church. Three members of Old Paths Baptist Church, including their leader, street preacher Jeremy De Los Santos, were charged for the incident. Members of Old Paths had been in at least two other incidents around the city just a day earlier.

"They may not like our method, they may think or method is too confrontational, nevertheless its our right to preach in public," proclaimed De Los Santos.

I Know Where Demons Live

Dexter, New Mexico - 19 miles southeast of Roswell.

http://demonfit.wordpress.com/

Roswell 2008

I can't get enough of this stuff, and I really don't know why. So here we go:

Associated Press - July 8, 2008 9:55 AM ET
ROSWELL, N.M. (AP) - International UFO Museum and Research Center officials say attendance at Roswell's annual UFO festival jumped more than 25% this year.

The museum's executive director, Julie Shuster, says 7,216 people attended lectures, workshops, celebrity appearances and other events Thursday through Sunday.

She says she would have been happy if last year's attendance total had been met, especially with the economy the way it is and with gasoline prices rising.

The annual festival marks the anniversary of the Roswell Incident, a purported UFO crash on a nearby ranch in July 1947. The military later said it was a top-secret weather balloon.

Information from: Roswell Daily Record, http://www.roswell-record.com/

Miss New Mexico Galaxy 2008 Joan Marie Yazze-Gallegos and her dog 'Misty' participate in the CBS live broadcast of 'The Early Show' Thursday morning, July 3, 2008, helping kick off the 2008 UFO Festival.(AP Photo/Roswell Daily Record, Mark Wilson)

'Baby,' sporting designer glasses, participates in the pet costume contest held at the Roswell Convention and Civic Center Saturday morning July 5, 2008, during the 2008 Roswell UFO Festival. 'Baby' eventually took the 3rd place prize.(AP Photo/Roswell Daily Record, Mark Wilson)

Roswell Space Center owners Sharon Welz, left, and her husband Larry Welz, are pictured outside their store in Roswell, N.M., Tuesday, May 22, 2007. Sharon Welz said that 'we would welcome something like an alien roller coaster or a theme park, absolutely,' regarding a desire by city officials who want to build a UFO-themed amusement park, complete with an indoor roller coaster that would take passengers on a simulated alien abduction.(AP Photo/Jake Schoellkopf)

Roswell's biggest attraction is the International UFO Museum and Research Center, which has drawn 2.5 million visitors since opening in 1992, seen here along Main Street in downtown Roswell, N.M., Wednesday, May 23, 2007.(AP Photo/Jake Schoellkopf)

Alien eyes adorn a lamp post along Main Street in downtown Roswell, N.M., Wednesday, May 23, 2007.(AP Photo/Jake Schoellkopf)

Hot Links

I haven't had much time to blog lately due to house projects, so here's some miscellaneous reading to keep you occupied in the meantime........

Does politics bring out the worst in Christians?...

This blog was quoted in a Yahoo! answer several weeks ago. (You have to scroll down to the 22nd answer to find it.)

Here's a stupid joke involving Kermit...

A sinkhole in Daisetta, Texas (near Houston) has its own blog! How cool is that?

Wink's Roy Orbison Festival happened this past weekend, but I wasn't able to go...

When frogs fly: Yes, Winkler County has an airport!

And it's time once again for the
Roswell UFO Festival !

Stephenville Texas! Start Designing Your Rose Parade Float Now!

Stephenville, Texas is about 70 miles west of Fort Worth, and it's suddenly being called the new Roswell. I have family in Stephenville, so this is especially interesting to me.

View a previous article here.

From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram:

UFOs put Stephenville in world spotlight
BY BUD KENNEDY

Stephenville's latest close encounter is weirder than any light in the sky.

Stephenville is under assault — not by Martians, but by people hunting them.

The phones haven't stopped ringing at Steve Allen's trucking company in nearby Glen Rose. He's the guy who was out Jan. 7 watching the sunset at a friend's house near Selden when they all saw some weird flashing lights.

Now, he can't work for all the phone calls from London and around the world.

Some of the callers are scarier than space aliens.

"I'll be OK," he joked Tuesday, "as long as I don't get abducted."

I couldn't even get a call through to county Constable Leroy Gaitan. He told reporters that he and his son, 8, saw the lights from nearby Dublin.

All I can say is, if space aliens were hovering over Texas last week, then maybe that explains the Cowboys. The Stephenville newspaper, the Empire-Tribune, actually broke the story Thursday. But as far as I can tell, absolutely nobody in Texas paid attention until after Dallas was knocked out of the football playoffs.

The news finally went national Monday.

But technically, we all got scooped.

On Dec. 11 — more than a month ago — a Scottish writer and evangelist wrote exactly what would happen.

Catherine Brown , 43 and a mother of four, wrote about a heavenly vision predicting a "stunning star" over Texas that would make "front-line news."

I'm not kidding.

She posted this last month to the Web site for Elijah List Ministries, an Oregon-based publishing house that seems like sort of a clearinghouse for end-of-the-world religious prophecy:

"I see Texas ablaze and a stunning star, like the star from the East rising over the land. I hear the Spirit of the Lord saying to: 'Watch for cosmic signs and wonders in Texas.'

"He said there will be a cosmological phenomenon that scientists cannot explain, and the media will carry as front-line news.

"People will begin to ask about 'the Light.' ... For a period of four months -- from Christmas to Easter -- there will be a window of opportunity for salvations, signs, healings and wonders in Texas."

Brown has never seen Texas in her life, she said Tuesday by phone from her office at Gatekeepers Global Ministries in Ayrshire, Scotland.

"I saw this huge light over Texas," she said "It was actually just a short vision. When I saw the news today, I thought — how interesting."

In 2003, she predicted a rare earthquake in the Netherlands.

In Glen Rose, Allen said he hopes to talk with Brown. He had been quoted by The Associated Press saying that Texans are curious about the flying lights because "this is the Bible Belt, and everyone is afraid it’s the end of times."

A pilot, Allen said he is a greeter at a Baptist church near Chalk Mountain.

"I knew it wasn't like anything we've ever seen before in these parts," he said. "It definitely gave you a Biblical flashback."

Most experts are crediting a more worldly source: military training or defense aircraft testing, maybe pilots testing the giant flares that fire off in a circle of flame around aircraft to divert missiles.

This isn't the first time folks around Stephenville have seen weird things fly.

In 1897, six years before the Wright Brothers' maiden flight, farmer C.L. McIlhany of Stephenville told The Dallas Morning News that he and more than 20 other leading citizens had seen an "aerial monster" 60 feet long land in his pasture.

The aircraft had a pilot and engineer from New York, McIlhany said, who claimed they were testing it for investors and landed to make repairs.

In yet another good prediction, McIlhany is quoted as saying: "What you reckon is going to happen when dynamiters get to riding in airships and dropping bombs down on folks and cities? Is this world ready for airships?"

Apparently, they're always ready in Stephenville.

Quiz: Are you a UFO expert?

Report a UFO here.

Alien Rose Parade Float Wins Prize

From Ufomystic.com :

"The State Tourism Department of New Mexico has just won the award for 'excellence in creative concept and design' from the Pasadena Rose Parade’s Grand Marshal. The entry, titled 'Passport To Our World and Beyond' was designed to draw more tourists to the state.

It’s sort of unfortunate that New Mexico still needs to capitalize on the Roswell Incident to get people to visit. The rest of the state is incredible enough. If you’ve ever been to a ceremonial dance at one of the Indian pueblos in the middle of the winter, skiied at Taos Valley, camped in the redrock canyons of Gila National Forest, or had a heavenly bowl of Hatch red chili you’ll know what I mean."

Hello!

Hi! Glad you could join me for the launch of this blog.

Many blogs that I read are sources of great wisdom. This one is not.

This blog, for the moment anyway, will focus on
odd news.

I may from time to time post stories of offbeat religion news also.

I am especially interested in unusual church of Christ news , and I may post these if I can find any.

I may not attract any actual readers....

I will kick things off with a story about the 60th annual Roswell UFO celebration. I've never been to this event, but I have worked in Roswell on occasions, and I can say with certainty that alcohol was involved .

Next time, I will tell you about Kermit, TX, and how it came to be Frogtown.