Rastrillo

Rastrillo is literally translated "rake," and more loosely used to mean either "flea market" or "thieves' market." Our school has hosted one for several years in order to raise money and as an outreach to the community around us. Imagine a cross-between a giant yard sale and a school carnival, all in one.

Here is the "flea market," venue. About 50 people (Americans and Spaniards alike) reserved tables and brought their items to sell, some selling them at a bargain, others at not-so-bargain prices. One Spanish lady sold hand-crafted jewelry she had made. We were delighted to find some great deals ourselves on books and toys for the kids.

Under this huge tent were the concession stands...

Various entertainers (pictured is Jacob Bock, a veteran missionary here in Spain, whose children have attended ECA for most of their schooling.) The Bocks were in children's ministry/evangelism for many years and are tremendously talented and well-loved by all of our students.

There was a silent auction. Beautifully wrapped baskets full of mainly American goodies - a rare treat for us! We bid on a giant bag of M & M's but were outbid at the last minute. :(

Some of the baskets - you can see the one with the Betty Crocker cake mix and ready-made frosting...Yum!

For food, we served "American Food and Pastries," including homemade smoothies, hot dogs, quesadillas, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, rice crispy treats and, our favorite, Dominos Pizza.

Dominos just opened their first store a few weeks ago in Alcala, the large town about 15 minutes away. The school ordered 60 pizzas and sold every piece. The Americans were happy and I'm sure Dominos was happy. :)

Then there was the game tent, including...

face painting...

What a cute cat! :)

Ping-Pong Slide...

Potty-Toss...

And various other children's games. Rachel had a blast. We all had a blast. It is a ton of work to pull this thing off, but it was a great success.