so here we're standing in the convento or friary. this is where the missionaries would have had their living quarters, offices, classrooms would have been here. so it's a structure that's behind the church. and of course today it's missing the roof and the second floor. this would have been a two-story structure. but you can still really see the artistry that went into these buildings. and the whole idea behind these missions was to claim this land for spain. and by doing that, or by establishing spanish colonies here, they are hoping to claim this land for spain. they had started to get nervous with the french that were showing up in what is today louisiana. and while spain had been in what is today mexico for 200 years prior to their establishing these missions here, they hadn't really had much interest in establishing these missions until they started to feel that pressure from france in what is today louisiana. they established some missions out there in what is today east texas and established these missions here to serve as a k