A Christmas Day Story
After a lot of ardous work, we finally had everything ready
to bring the spirit of Christmas to children living in small villages in North
of Central Cuba.
We had worked so hard knowing that God would bless this work
and could see ourselves riding on a comfortable bus and everything being
perfect—after all it was Christmas and we were on a mission.
We were up at 5 AM and ready for the long trip to several
villages when the transportation manager of the place were we rented the bus
called to tell us that the bus was no longer available and she’d have to hunt down some
transportation for us.
And that is just what she did. She hunted down a dilapidated bus, not comfortable at all, and
I had my doubts that it could hold together for the trip. But the young driver was jovial and
ready for the drive. With a
deafening noise from the rickety bus we left—happy that we had an answer to our
prayers.
A few kilometers down the road, we heard a rumble. Then a frightening scream from Frank, as
one of the side windows fell inside the bus. The driver, still smiling said, “Just throw it in the
back, it will be a lot cooler now.”
This trip was turning out to be a fun and dangerous adventure. We finally reached our destination—almost two hours late.
~~~~~
A crowd of eager children was waiting
for us in the middle of the road. They greeted us with smiling faces. What a joy
these children are. I told Ana, the owner of the house, that
we would have come even if we had to ride bicycles.
The team from our church brought a spiritual, enlightening,
and dynamic program.
Each presentation was full of laughter, stories , games....
...crafts and
...and gifts.
To see the smiles on the children’s faces of the children, was a lovely Christmas present for us. It was the same in all the eight villages we visited; that day we ministered to over 180 children.
On the way back the bus was as tired as we were after 12 hours of intense activity.
Not long after we started, a clanging banging noise made us stop. For a moment I thought the Cuban countryside would have to host us that night. But our driver, smiling from ear to ear came back into the bus with half of the exhaust pipe in his hand. “It’s nothing guys, let’s keep going”, he said. We looked at each other and bursted out laughing.
God works in strange ways. This dilapidated rickety bus was a productive instrument
used by God to lead us there and bring us back. The team of young people from the church--some only 14 years
old -- made me feel proud to be their pastor. Their dedication, earnestness, and spirituality with which
they worked was the best Christmas present for me and for the children we
encountered this day, who many forget but God always remembers.
~ Pastor Alexis
MORE NEWS
BUENAVISTA
Buenavista has purchased the house in Adelas to use as the
church mission. This was not an
easy task since real estate transactions are not common in Cuba and it requires
a lot of documentation and time.
They are also in the process of obtaining the building
permit for the educational wing.
They have had to contract an architect, create blue prints, obtain
approval from the Baptist Convention, present all the documentation to obtain
the building permit, which they expect to receive early in the new year.
Christmas as always is a month full of activity, In Buenavista they had a event with
festivities, programs, a typical “Nochebuena” meal for 120 people from the
area.
REMEDIOS
Remedios also hosted the Christmas program for the province. They were able to rent the theatre
(first time ever that they were allowed to do so).
The theatre was packed with 650 people from the province of Santa Clara.
Construction
After almost a month’s wait they have started working on the
building again. They’ve framed the
doors and windows. The
multipurpose room is ready for the floor and the plumbing is complete. We still need the floor tiles, paint,
railing and furniture for the kitchen classrooms, office and storage.
We are hopeful that your Christmas celebration was full of joy and that the new year will be filled with the hope of Christmas.
Rachel and Oscar
"O God, in mercy bless us; let your face beam with joy as
you look down at us. Send us around the world with the news
of your saving power and your eternal plan for all mankind." Psalm 67: 1-2 (TLB)
