“For there is a time
and a way for everything, although man's trouble lies heavy on him.” Ecclesiastes 8:6-7
The Ripe Fruit: El Mamey
Mamey is a tropical fruit in Cuba and the name of a town 5
miles from Buenavista. We drove by it three years ago when Pastor Omar was
showing us areas near Buenavista where they wanted to start missions.
All these years they visited the villages (population less
than 200) in the area. And all
these years no one seemed interested in opening their homes for Bible
study. Until this past July when out
of the blue Pastor Omar received a call from a woman who lives in El Mamey and
was interested in learning more about God.
A few days later this woman brought 12 people from El Mamey
to Buenavista for the August Vacation Bible School. And they continue to come to Buenavista for the Sunday
worship gathering.
Today they have around 10 children and several adults coming
to the weekly meetings that Pastor Omar and his wife Zenia hold in El Mamey.
There they teach children about God and help them learn English in preparation
for Middle School.
Some of the children live 2 to 3 miles away. Last week a boy was riding on a horse
to class. Half way to Mamey, the horse knocked him off and ran away. Imagine his distress: hurt by the fall
and seeing the horse run off. But
he got up, dusted himself and knowing the horse was headed home, walked the
rest of the way to Mamey and then back home.
Meals Project in Remedios
In September the church in Remedios started the Meals
Project. The goal is to help elderly and disabled individuals who were home-bound
have a daily nourishing meal. The church had wanted to do this for several
years but lacked the resource.
Again, like El Mamey, in God’s timing the resources came together to
start the project.
The criteria for receiving the meals is that (1) the person
does not have family to help them; (2) their only income is a $200 pesos
monthly pension of which they spend 25% in medicines. (3) they are either elderly or disabled having no other
means to support themselves; (4) they are homebound. This program provides them
one meal a day Monday through Friday.
The meal is cooked at the church and delivered to their
homes. What a great way to share with the community! Twelve people is a good start, but
there are many others who are also in need.
The cost of the project is $25 (dollars) per person per
month. They also need to purchase
stainless steel food carriers and kitchen tools.
Oscar and Rachel
Oscar and Rachel
