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