A Time for Everything Under Heaven Nov 12, 2011

“you can kiss your family and friends good-bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart, your mind, your stomach, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you.” ― Frederick Buechner



The time has come to leave Cuba. And we leave with plans to return in February to do more work on the church building, to work with life groups and visit the new missions, to bring resources for the Children’s Camp in April, and to finalize plans for the Youth Camp in July.

When we arrived last week it seemed that we had just left Cuba. It was great to recognize and greet the young people who we met at camp last July; to see once again the familiar faces of the men and women who are now our friends and family. It was a bit of heaven.

Rachel and I attended one of the youth home groups on Monday night. Some I recognized and some were new. I shared with them about God’s calling. Afterwards, we played volleyball at the church courtyard. No net, just the string that is used to hang clothes to dry.

We attended the prayer meeting on Tuesday night. On Wednesday while Rachel and Rosalva went to the children’s small group, I attended a class taught in partnership with the Moore Theological College program out of Australia. The six people there that night were excited to have me join them and to participate in the study.

We were able to be with Rachel’s family on Friday and celebrate two birthdays with them. We also shared some of Cuba’s beauty with the Team as we made our way to Havana for our departure.

So we seek God’s guidance and as He opens the doors and brings the team together for our return February 17-25, 2012.

We go there to carry their burden, literally. To put our shoulder to the task – side by side. To live inside their skin and experience personally their struggles, their joys, their love. To quote Alexis, the pastor of Remedios, “We miss you, but we are happy -- especially with your visit. It serves as encouragement and support to us.” The people in the church of Remedios send you their greetings.


Thank you to all of you for your support in prayer, with donations, and funds; for the support of SVCC as a whole in making Cuba a focus country for the Kelton Campus.

-- Oscar

The Hand of God - Friday November 11

Throughout the trip, we experienced God’s power in the work He’s doing in Cuba. We saw people whose lives were transformed, whose commitment was strong because of the challenges they faced from family and friends about their beliefs. We met people who feel compelled to share with others that with God life is abundant and joyous even in the midst of difficult circumstances. And people who on foot travel several miles to reach tiny towns with this good news.



Rosalva almost didn’t come on this Mission Trip to Cuba. She had several obstacles to overcome. Like JR, who closed his business for a week, she is self-employed. So she doesn’t have the benefit of paid time off or vacation. No work—no pay. Then there was the issue of funding the trip and getting a visa. But it was smooth sailing as, in amazement, we saw how God worked everything out.

God had work for Rosalva on this trip. The man who says there’s no hope; the woman who feels isolated and lonely; the girl who listens to really bad music lyrics somehow open up to Rosalva. And with love she shares hope, points them to Jesus, gives them a glimpse of a better way to live. To the women working at the church she is an encourager working side by side with them. Rosalva loves life, people, and music but more than anything she loves God. And all of us were blessed by her being there.

-Rachel

Leaving Remedios

Here's another comment from Esther.

“There's something majestic and healing about worship in Cuba that I've never heard anywhere else in my life. I think about all of you often and hope that Jesus continues to move in what often seems like a beautiful, yet broken place. ... I talk about life in Cuba often. My students are fascinated and ask a zillion questions about Cuba. But, I understand... I mean, who isn't fascinated about Cuba?” - Esther

Until Next Time - Thursday Nov 10



It’s early on Thursday morning and we are waiting for the van that will take us from Remedios to Havana for our return trip home.

The beams are down and the sanctuary has a feeling of openness. But there is still a lot to be done. The walls where the beams were anchored need to be repaired. The carpenter who was coming to do the doors now says he cannot come for 2 months. The courtyard doors need to be painted. And more demolition and construction is planned.

There’s also a problem with the electric power. The ceiling lights won’t stay on in the early evening hours. Maybe it’s that there isn’t enough power to reach the back of the building; or too many people using electricity; or the ballasts are wearing out. Whatever the reason, it’s dark without light.

A couple of days ago when the lights wouldn’t turn on I went to my room to find a flashlight. It’s not often I find myself surrounded by such darkness. It was so dark I couldn’t even see my hand. Literally. All I could identify and “know” was what I could feel and touch. The rest might as well not exist.

The culture in Cuba is one that accepts only what can be seen and identified. And worship is a spiritual dimension that does not fit that culture. But to those that believe in God by faith, His power brings light into their darkness to make them whole, to give them a new kind of life that cannot be found apart from God. So worshipping God IS a majestic and healing experience for people in Cuba who believe. It’s the spiritual dimension of peace, joy and hope to those whose lives have been illuminated by God’s light . It’s an experience that cannot be found apart from God.





Rachel

Elvia's Hope - Wed Nov 9

It’s 8 PM on Wednesday night. Rosalva and I walk with Yudilen to an apartment complex where Elvia lives 7 blocks from the church in Remedios . Elvia is a retired elementary school teacher. If I remember correctly she taught the lower elementary school grades. She loves children. She talks to them; she cares about what happens in their lives.

So she started a “grupo de vida” (group of life) in her apartment complex. The group started with 2 or 3 children. Now there are 14 boys and girls who come twice a week. They arrive one by one. They greet each other with a kiss. The group has grown by the children inviting their friends to the group.




All of them eagerly raise their hands when asked specific questions about last week’s Bible lesson about Daniel. Where was he living? How did he behave? Whom did he serve? How did he end up being thrown to the lions? Why didn’t the ferocious hungry lion attack Daniel? Their answers go beyond the obvious. They get it.

These children don’t attend the programs offered at the church 7 blocks away. Their parents don’t attend either. But they come to the small group that meets in the apartment complex. Some may say that they come for the small cakes that Elvia lovingly makes for them. But I could tell they come for much more than that by their level of participation. Here they find hope. Here they find that we all serve someone or something. And Yudilen and Elvia are teaching them that no matter where they are or what is happening around them, their eternal hope is God.



Rachel

I miss Esther

I miss Esther. She was the blogger on our last trip to Cuba. Being the blogger on this trip I miss her twice as much. Today I was able to check the comments and saw her comment about church construction. Typical Esther. I can hear her voice in what she wrote. That made me miss her even more and compelled me to share her comment with you.

From Esther:

Reading about all the construction reminds me of the theologian C.S. Lewis thoughts from Mere Christianity. (As a teacher, I would underline the book title, but Google doesn't allow me too!)

"IMAGINE YOURSELF as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what he is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised.

But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is he up to? The explanation is that he is building quite a different house from the one you thought of — throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards.

You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but he is building up a palace. He intends to come and live in it himself.

C.S. Lewis, in Mere Christianity

So glad to hear that we, as followers of Jesus, in America were able to partake in the building of the church in Cuba... the one that Jesus intends to come and live it in himself... and I pray that He does the same in my own heart. -el

Yay - The Beams are Down

Wednesday Nov 9 the beams come down.



It’s Wednesday, our last full day in Remedios. And the beams come down today. It’s taken a lot of work. Finally the concrete has been chipped away and the re-bar is exposed. Men from the church have come to help and today Junior joins them.

We met Junior at camp this summer. He has a heart for God and people; and a beautiful singing voice. On the photo you see him standing on the ladder. He came by last night and told us he is coming today to help and learn. Sure enough, he wants hands-on experience, so JR gave him some instructions and off he went.

JR and Junior. JR is not easy to for Spanish-speakers to say. The “J” is not hard, but the “R”…is just as hard as it is for English-speakers to say the Spanish double-r.
JR wants to know the name of Junior’s father and Junior wants to know how to pronounce JR. Quite a surprise for them to find out that Junior is not named after his father, Manuel; his name is simply Junior. And that JR is really a junior named after his father Oscar Henry.

This is JR’s first trip to Cuba. God’s plan for this trip was to include JR and he has been invaluable. We could not have accomplished this work without him. His keen eye and knowledge of how to improve how everything works will continue to impact future trips. He has brought humor to our team; patience; and his love for authenticity is contagious. He speaks truth without being brash. Alexis and Yudit will always remember he prefers bread and “no more crackers”. ☺

Rachel

Construction – November 7 and 8, 2011

Construction – November 7 and 8, 2011

In the early 1960s many churches in Cuba were closed. Abandoned, many fell in disrepair. The ones that were not closed were like a treasure for the believers, where they could gather in large groups for congregate worship. Now those exciting churches are running out of space.

Unlike in the US, in Cuba when a church building is not available there is no option to meet in a school gym, rent a theater or find space in a shopping center. And financially, like many churches in the States, they’re unable to construct new buildings.

So, church buildings get re-invented and remodeled to use every inch of space available.

The church in Remedios holds three Sunday services: two in the morning at 8:30 and 10:30 and one at 8:30 PM. And they are out of space.

Construction…or rather demolition started today. Old concrete beams and columns built without a permit have to come down. Andres, Ivan, Alexis, Umberto, Alibex and JR have been busy all day chipping away the old concrete to get to the re-bar that it holds in place. It’s hard work. And it’s taken all day, using a small electric chipping hammer and huge demolition hammer.

I feel this is such a minor job compared to all the energy invested and all that needs to be done. But then God reminds me that this is not a small job; this is important work. Needed. Essential, before we can move forward.

Now the floor is full of chunks of cement that are going to be used to improve the entrance road to a farm. Repurposing is good.

Rachel

Under the Stars

Monday, Nov 7 - Under the Stars

There are 9 small groups of young people (Junior and Senior high schoolers) that meet twice a week. Tonight two of the groups come to the church. We meet in the patio under the starts where it is cool – maybe too cool for some. There are 10 young men and 7 young women. They answer questions about doctrine, history and blessings at lightening speed.

I wonder what it takes to be able to answer so fast. A total awareness of what God had done for you? A compelling need to saturate yourself with the word of God as an armor around you? Is this what it takes to stay true to God in an environment that denies God’s existence? This is what I see in Cuba. More than objective proof of God’s existence they want the experience of God’s presence. What they need is not just to know that God exists, but that there is a God right here in the thick of their day-by-day lives. God may not be writing messages about himself in the stars but He gets the messages through our blindness as we move around in this world, knee-deep in the fragrant muck and misery and marvel of the world. That is the miracle we are all after. And that is what I get here, and the miracle we all really want.

Rachel

Blessings and Salt

SUNDAY

We arrived in Cuba Friday night. It tooks us 23 hours to travel –not half-way around the world, no---just from California to North Central Cuba. Plane schedules made it a long trip. Saturday is a blurr. So on Sunday, with our feet firmly planted we went to visit…

Three small missions--Dos Sierras, Adelas, and Vinas. Forty people whose love shines in these 3 small towns at the foot of the mountains. They started small. One or two persons in each town. And changes followed. An alcoholic, someone who unable to cope with life and attempted suicide, another whose illness overpowered her life -- emerged transformed because their wants are now aligned with God’s plan for their life…with God’s desires for this world. Now they are like salt, enhancing the taste of what true life is about. There is hope, there’s a plan, life is abundant, joyous, and blessed when you follow God’s plan.

They greet each other on their small town´s streets....“Sister!....blessings”. “Brother!....blessings” . Everyone knows who they are and what they believe.

As each mission group has grown, the rule of God expands bringing blessings to their neighbors around them. The town’s people know who to go to when they’re in distress, when they are seeking good council, when life is too difficult to bare.

So here, in these small towns we have been encouraged, loved and yes…blessed. We found living examples of what it is to be “salt of the earth.”

Rachel

Ready, Set, Go

It's the waiting that's hard -- that space between "set" and "go", The excitement builds up, heart pounds, whole body and mind are set for our Mission Trip to Cuba. GO!

This is a Mission Team of four: Rosalva ,who has been to Cuba on several mission trips, is a vibrant woman, full of love for others; JR on his first trip to Cuba --I think he'll find himself right at home and I look forward to seeing Cuba through his eyes; Oscar who has a newly-found passion for Cuba; and me. So, I'm excited, expectant, joyful of what will come from this trip.

We leave tonight at midnight - a red-eye flight to Florida-- and after a few hours in Miami we will board our plane to Cuba.

Rachel

Invitation: Come Visit Us in Cuba

Dear Friends:

Sometimes we are so busy with daily life, that we don’t see the spectacular things taking place around us.

Pastor Alexis and his wife Yudith

This has been my experience in the last few days. We have with us a team from the U.S. that gaveup their comforts of home to share their Christian experience with us.

This past week Rachel, Oscar, Seth, Christina, Paul and Esther came to participate in our youth camp. That they would endure all these inconveniences for a larger gain can only be possible because of theirwillingness to be used by an immense God who loves us so much that uses limited and imperfect people for his glory. There’s no doubt that their presence here is the plan of our great God.

Why here?

Cuba has lived under communist doctrine for over 50 years. In school, our children are taught how to be communists andthat religion is merely a drug. They teach that God does not exist, that we merely evolved as humanbeings, dependant not on the divine, but by the “grace“ of chance.

But, our children are starving for spiritual food that they do not receive atschool. I see today-- this moment--as the opportune time to teach our children about Jesus. They need to know the gospel, what it means for an immense God to, not only love us through our imperfection, but to want to be glorified through us. What’s more, they need desperately to know how to live out the values ofthe Kingdom of God. This is what our church is doing with the youth in the urban city of Remedios.

I welcome you to come see what Jesus is doing in Cuba. Come visit us in Cuba! I promise that what you witness here with us will far outweigh the conveniences you leave behind.

What are the requirements to come?

To understand that what is eternal is greater than the temporal, that the celestial transcends the earthly, that any sacrifice or lack we experience will be outweighed by the future benefits. And most of all, to keep in mind that when we leave this world we cannot take anything with us. That is why we should send it ahead, before we leave for eternity. Amen

-Pastor Alexis

-------

Spanish Version:

Dia 8, Julio. Alexis

En ocasiones estamos tan ocupados en lascosas cotidianas, que no percibimos las cosas expectaculares que estanocurriendo a nuestro alrededor. Creo que esta ha sido mi experiencia, enestos dias.

Tener entre nosotros a personas de EEUU.que estan dispuestas a compartir sus experiencias cristianas, a olvidar suscomodidades. Que esten dispuestas a sufrir ciertas privaciones para lograrvienes mayores. Es algo que proviene de la mente de un Dios inmenso, que nosama sobremanera, y que ha querido glorificarse en personas limitadas, e imperfectas.NO tengo la menor duda que todo lo que hemos vivido en estos dias es el plan denuestro buen Dios.

Por que?

Mi pais ha vivido bajo la doctrina comunista por mas de 50 anos. Los ninos aprenden en la escuela que quieren sercomunistas, en el trabajo son premiados los que dicen con mayor fuerza que soncomunistas. Tambien se nos ha ensenado que los EEUU. son enemigos, y que nadabueno vendra del Norte. Lareligion es una droga, y Dios no existe pues surgimos por obra y gracia de la“casualidad”

Que les parece?

Indudablemente Dios esta en control, yeste tiempo es especial y oportuno para lograr ensenar a los jovenes acerca deJesus. Y los valores del reino eterno. Hay cosas que nosotros podemos hacer, y de hecho lo estamos haciendo. Pero hay cosas que no podemos lograr solos. Por lo que necesitamos personas como Rachel,Oscar, Set, Pablo, Cristina, y Esther, para formar un equipo que nos permitalograr cosas mayores aun que este campamento.

Dios ha abierto una brecha, y estoyconvencido que muchos mas se sumaran en este empeno de dimensiones eternas.

Que requisitos son necesarios parasumarse al equipo?

Entender que lo eterno es superior a latemporal, que lo celestial trasciende a lo terrenal. Que cualquier sacrificio oprivacion que sufrimos aqui no es comparada con los beneficios futuros.

Tener presente que cuando partamos deeste mundo no podemos llevarnos NADA, por lo que debemos enviarlo antes departir hacia la eternidad. Amen

Picture Albums: Cuba Team 2011

Photo Album #1:  Images of Cuba

What does Cuba look like?   Are their beaches nice?  What is Havana like?  Did you meet Fidel?!  Was it obvious it was a communist country?   Fear not, just click the beach picture below to get your questions answered or you can just click here.

Photo Album #2:  Youth Camp

Did you find Jesus in Cuba?    Of course, we did!  And, where He dwells so also is lots of joy and laughter.  Here are some glimpses of the youth camp that we attended and helped out at.  Click the picture of the kids with the blue crab they caught or just click here.

No Language Barrier Here

During the trip I spoke with a woman who said that Cubans have a great sense of humor. It's been this sense of humor that has carried them through difficult times, including the Special Period when the economy crashed after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Those were difficult times.

If they can joke about the Special Period, they can laugh about anything. Laughter is their escape valve. Instead of the "road rage" we see in the U.S., they have "laughter rage."

At camp there were four teams in competition. The competition, it ends up, wasn't about the prize. (The winning team got candy) Competing was its own reward. One day the competition was to portray laughter, panic and anxiety when buying a loaf of bread. Oscar and I had to select the winner. The winner was pretty clear, so Oscar decided to portray his emotions when he announced the winner.

Hope it brings, at least, a smile to your face.

 

"So those who went off with heavy hearts will come home laughing, with armloads of blessing.” Psalm 126:8 (TM)

-Rachel

Enough:

If I had a magical power, I’d take away suffering from the world for just a day.  Deeply empathetic, there are days when I get overwhelmed by all the pain in the world.  This is partly why I left teaching in the South Bronx.  I saw so much poverty, violence and hopelessness there that my heart didn’t know how to process it all.  Eventually, it broke my faith. 

While God has put my faith back together, questions still remain unanswered.  If Jesus really loved this world, wouldn’t He fix it - the institutions and the structures that prevent people from being equal and free?   Being unable to reconcile the concept of a loving God with suffering has been difficult.  I find that I can’t trust God fully, even though on most days I not only need to, but want to…

So, today, I sat on a hard wooden bench in the back row of the Inglesia Bautista Church, listening to the worship of people who live on less than $2/day.  Hungry for the gospel, they walk miles just to come to church not once, but twice on Sunday.  They sing like their hearts are going to burst, so loud that the wooden walls of their old church quiver each time the chorus is sung.   I’ve never heard worship so pure and beautiful.

Then Jesus begins to whisper: 

I have not abandoned the poor.  In fact, I never left.  Can’t you see that I dwell here among them?  They are my people and I am their God.  I wept with them in their suffering and pain.  I know their struggles intimately.  I rejoiced in their joys.  I have loved them always.

That’s when I begin to cry. 

Tears stream down my face and I just can’t stop, because these people who have so little, believe that Jesus is enough.  He is for them, not against them.  There is much struggle in their lives, but knowing Jesus, the suffering God who redeems and makes all things anew, makes all the difference.  He is what gives them hope and joy.

It reminded me of that song,

He is the one we have waited for…

He is the one we have waited for…

He is the one we have waited for….

-Esther

Back to Remedios (Youth Camp Ends)

It’s Friday morning and time to go back to Remedios.  We got to ride in a truck that has been retrofitted with seats.  This is a common way of transportation in Cuba and I’ve always been curious how it is to ride in it.

It’s relatively early in the morning, there’s a nice breeze and it’s not too hot yet, so we are in luck. 

We’ve survived the mosquitoes, the bathroom shortage, and the girls who stayed up giggling until almost midnight.

We’d been well fed by Yudith, el Chino, Carmen, Raul, and the small rotating crew of kids from camp.  Everyday delicious food miraculously appeared before us.  Breakfast, snack, lunch, Cuban coffee, dinner and bedtime snack. 

No wonder the kids had so much energy!

We had fun.  Rain poured down, lighting struck nearby, power went out, and yes, mosquitos feasted on us.  But, we feasted on God’s love.  We got to meet 50+ kids and their leaders who are intelligent, creative, passionate and loving.  Everyday we saw God’s love and compassion reflected in all the people there.

Couldn’t ask for anything more.

-  Rachel - 

Team Cuba at Youth Camp in Cuba

Our team is here scattered in the picture.  Esther is missing because she's the photographer taking the picture.

Holy

Today, I was sitting with my ziplock of toiletries, towel and clean underwear, waiting in line for what else but the bathroom.  The rest of the kids had gone to the beach for the afternoon and it was actually quiet and peaceful in the church.  

the 2nd shower

I sat there reading a book while Carmen, the pastor’s wife, cut cucumbers and one of the girls filed her nails.  (There are some aspects of being a teenage girl that cross cultures.)  Raul, the pastor, came in and started singing.  Then Carmen joined in and their voices melted together in a simple, beautiful harmony singing “Santo, santo, santo.  Santo eres tu.” 

Holy, holy, holy.  You are holy.

60+ people have invaded their home for the past week.  They crammed their bed into the kitchen so we could sleep in their bedroom.  We’ve shoved their entire belongings into a corner, scattered all our stuff over their shelves, and then piled all our luggage on top of everything else.  


And yet every time Carmen comes by to get something from a drawer, she apologizes at least 3 times, excusing herself for bothering us so much.  She was cracking up today with the most ridiculous and joyous laugh.  Raul keeps taking pictures of us so he can remember everyone who came.  And in the midst of all the piles of clutter and craze of teenagers invading their home, they sing praises together, lifting their voices in worship to our Lord.

-Christina

Thoughts Leading Youth Camp by Rachel

Moses and God have a chat.

I was overwhelmed when Pastor Alexis asked Oscar and me to give the Bible and Missions studies at the Youth Retreat.  Alexis told us his objective: deepen the faith of the young people and challenge them to live out the gospel in their daily life.  But, we had to come up with all the material. 

I felt like Moses.  He had so many excuses why he could not do what God wanted him to do.  Like him I said: " I have never been a good speaker. I wasn't one before you spoke to me, and I'm not one now. I am slow at speaking, and I can never think of what to say."  

But the LORD answered, " Who makes people able to speak or makes them deaf or unable to speak? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Don't you know that I am the one who does these things?  Exodus 4: 10-11.

So, being quite aware of our shortcomings and trusting God we forged ahead.

Now, here we were, at the Youth Camp on Tuesday morning after breakfast, after worship, in an interactive Bible study with 50+ people ready to learn whatever God had in store for them. 

 

Not far into the Bible study I realized:  These kids are smart.  They are interested.

Many participate and ask questions. They actually know the Bible content as well as the sequence of the books. 

God was at work in our Bible study.

Youth camp kids having morning devotions.

The objective of the Mission study was to widen their view of world missions.  We had three sessions.  Two of them I almost changed because I thought they weren’t appropriate.  I’m glad I listened to God’s whisper and kept those sessions in the study.

It was those two sessions that most impacted the group.  The kids were inspired by two teenagers in a small Texas town who collected donations to take to a tribe in Africa and by a 90-year-old deaf woman who went to the Czech Republic for missions. 

“Your love, LORD, reaches to the heavens, 
your faithfulness to the skies.”  Psalm 36:5

Competition

Competition makes me uncomfortable.  I feel uncomfortable for people who lose, because I don’t want anyone to feel like a loser.  Yes, I know, this wimpy, but it’s one of my idiosyncrasies I never got around to working out during therapy.

Team competition using newspapers

I observed how they interacted with each other as they were divided into groups for competition.  Competitive?  Yes.   Did each group want to win?  Yes.  Did they let the other teams know they were in for a tough contest?  Yes.  But all this was done so lovingly, and in the midst of laughter and cheers that it was difficult to tell who was in which team.

Babel?

The current train of thought today is that spreading the good news of Jesus should be left to people who are native to the country.  They know how best to reach their compatriots.  There’s a lot of truth in this.

But I say, there is also a great blessing in the interaction of people from different countries and realizing that we are one community in God.

I was listening to several adults who came from another village to join us for an evening.  They were sharing their faith and how God works in their lives.  And for the first time I was able to experience the reality of the global community in God.

Although their “problems” were different, the way God worked in their lives was the same, their response to God in the face of difficulties was the same, their faith in God was expressed in the same way…just in a different language.

Sweetest Name I Know

One day the challenge for the competition was to sing the Camp’s Theme song in English.  Quite a challenge, because it was even difficult for me to sing it in English.

A lot was going on that afternoon and I heard some of the kids and a leader practicing a hymn.  Oscar went to see if he could help.  I went on to do other things.

That night 10 young people, directed by Oscar sang the hymn “Now I Belong to Jesus, Jesus Belongs to me” in English.  Since many of them did not know English they had phonetically written the words so they could sing it.

It was the highlight of the Camp for me.  I felt like bawling.  I was so touched by this gift, by their effort to learn this hymn, by their love and acceptance.  And by God’s love who transcends geography, ideology and language.

-Rachel

Thursday July 7, 3011: Comforts and Survival:

Since we’ve arrived in Cuba:  I’ve slept on a hard floor, shared a bathroom with 31 girls, and endured Florida humidity without an AC.   All in all, it hasn’t been that bad and I am truly enjoying my experience here.

Then it dawns on me. I don’t mind it because in 7 days, I’m leaving to for America where I will experience all the comforts that I don’t have here.

“So, could I live here … permanently?”  I ask myself. 

Suburban comforts aside, I don’t have the financial resilience to be able to make it in Cuba.  I have never wondered where my next meal is coming from or how to afford my next electric bill.  This is their struggle, of which I have no experience with, and for that reason, I admire Cubans.  I admire their endurance, patience, and strength to fight poverty and figure out how to survive.  In this way, the people here are definitely much stronger than me. 

- Paul’s perspective with Esther’s tweaks

Remedios, Cuba after it rains

Urgency

I’m still wondering, trying to figure out exactly why I’m here.  I can’t teach Bible study, I can’t give a sermon, the men won’t let me carry stuff, the cooks have all the meals covered.  Yesterday Alexis came over to talk to us, and as if he knew what I had been thinking about, he told us this:

You may not think you are doing much by being here or you aren’t sure what your purpose is here, but it means a lot.  It has greater ramifications than you’ll ever be aware of.  These kids experience so much at camp, they learn so much about God in this one week that they would otherwise never experience.

If we waited until we had better conditions with more bathrooms or less mosquitoes, this camp would never happen.  We don’t know the next time the parents will let the kids come, or the government will allow it, or we’ll have the resources to pull it off.  We have to grab the opportunity whenever it comes.

That struck me.  This sense of urgency.  Taking risks, being resourceful, doing what you have to, even if the conditions aren’t ideal.  For me, I don’t want to do something unless I know I can do it perfectly.  I need to have all the right resources and the perfect circumstances.  I’m so afraid of failure that sometimes I never manage to attempt anything to begin with.  I don’t realize that it’s not necessarily the outcome that matters; that somewhere along the way, in the attempt, God can teach and use me more than I ever imagined. 

I’m realizing all that I take for granted.  Not just a bounty of food, 24 hours a day of running water or a car that can take me wherever I want, but also opportunities that appear right in front of me - opportunities to share about God, to love and to serve.  Even if the conditions aren’t ideal, even if the end result isn’t what I imagined, God wants me to grab the opportunity, take a risk and see what amazing things He can do.

-Christina

Confessions of an Introvert

 I’m losing it.  It’s not so much the heat, or the humidity or the flies, mosquitoes and dirt.  There are just too many people crammed into one space.  I can’t go to the bathroom when I need to.  I can’t walk 10 feet without saying “permiso” 5 times.  I just want to be able to pee when I need to and not hold it for 12 hrs.  I want to be able to wake up, brush my teeth and wash my face without waiting in a line 9 people deep.  I want quiet.  Peace and quiet.  I have complete time-to-myself debt.  Majorly.  It’s wearing me down.  I don’t want to see or hear another person.

- Christina

Just to give you a sense of how crowded it was... this is Oscar trying to sleep in the midst of all our luggage.

Wednesday July 6, 2011Ñ Snapshots of Poverty:

On the outside, it’s not always so obvious that Cuba is a poor country.  People adorn themselves with Gucci and Chanel clothing, much like rich New Yorkers, except theirs are cheap knock-offs from China.  However, on closer glance, it’s obvious it’s clear that Cubans struggle to make ends meet. 

Today I had a conversation with Ivan, the video/tech person at the church about the cost of electricity relative to income.  Their bill last month was $30, but their income is about $20/ month.  So, the question is … how does he pay for his electricity?  And, more importantly, how does he afford to support his family on that income?

Paul’s perspective with Esther’s tweaks

Space

When Rachel mentioned that we’d be camping at the youth retreat, I thought, “Simple… I got this down.” 

So, after arriving at the “camp,” we found ourselves standing with 55 other youth kids in front of a one room church a mile from the ocean, with two showers – one of which was outside next to the chicken coup. The bathroom shower floor had a sprinkling of dead roaches and lots of mosquitoes all waiting to eat me alive.  There’s no land phone.

I had to laugh at myself.

After spraying myself with four layers of Offskintastic bug spray, I attempted to fall asleep to the giggles and squeals of high school girls all the while afraid to move for fear that I’d wake up Christina sleeping on the pad next to me.  At 6 a.m. multiple roosters crowed and I awoke with mosquito bites all over my body – one of which has become so swollen that it is almost the size of my palm (so much for 1^st world bug spray in a 3^rd world country).

I don’t know why it never occurred to me that in the Third World, people don’t go camping and rent cabins or tents.  In fact, you can’t rent cabins in a Third World country.  Very poor people live in them and they’re called shacks. 

In fact, their idea of “camping” pushes my 1^st world boundaries of comfort, cleanliness but more so of space.  I like space. I need    s    p    a   c    e.  As an introvert, I need the emotional space to process.  It also gives me silence, as I deal with culture shock.  And, this has been hard to come by at a youth camp and especially in a country where everything including space is shared.

So, my prayer for Team Cuba, at this moment is for rest.  Christina has somehow managed to crash and is currently asleep on the bunk in back of me.  But, the rest of us are struggling.  A chicken has just run over Rachel, waking her up as she tries to nap.  Seth is at the moment attempting to write a sermon in a very noisy room filled with kids playing board games.  May we find the silence and space to reflect on the past few days … during the next much needed hours.


-Esther

Married People Funnies

Oscar:  You think you could survive in Cuba?

Rachel: No.

Oscar: No, honey, you could… You would adapt.

Rachel: No Oscar, I couldn’t.  Do you know how many times I go to the grocery store in one week?  Do you know how much laundry detergent I use?

Oscar [pauses to think about it.]  Oh…you’re right.  You couldn’t.

Tuesday July 5, 2011 'Spiritual Spring

The church we are staying at for youth camp was closed for 19 years due to communism. An elderly couple tried to keep the church open. The old woman came by to water the sole plant that was left in the churchyard. The government almost threw her husband in jail for trying to open the church on Sunday. But, they prayed and prayed and prayed and hoped that one day, they would be able to worship again freely.

Lately, with the Cuban government starting to relax its control over the church, it is starting to grow again. The pastor explains that much like a spiritual spring, how there’s a consistent 20-person congregation now and they just baptized 6 members this past Sunday. Today, Seth preached to a full house of 65 people, so much that it became standing room only. One woman arrived, went home and came back with her own chair for service. Just like there is no longer a sole plant, but a garden blooming full of flowers, so also is the church in Cuba.

I can’t help but wonder if this tiny spiritual revival started because God heard the prayers of an old couple in rural Cuba and decided to answer by allowing all the kids sitting in this room to openly experience the gospel.

Oscar’s story as told by Esther