I’m convinced that I’m convinced that God can do anything and everything, Pastor Bianco shared with us today in his church in Bauta, which was built by an UMVIM team and where the Cuba team served last year. We were expecting a service a little more subdued than our worship experience in Central Havana, so we were a little surprised when they started stacking the chairs up to make room. Well it was time to worship, and you need room in the house of God to express el poder del fe (the power of faith). Pastor Bianco’s message seemed to brilliantly sum up our time here in Cuba, how si puedes creer, if you can believe, anything is possible. Todo, todo, todo, todo, todo es possible. Anything, anything, anything, anything, anything is possible.
We have spent a lovely weekend enjoying some of the sights and sounds of Cuba. Saturday was spent enjoying the sun and the waves crashing on Baradero Beach. The intricate rock formations, cliffs and paths created along the coast were remarkable, carvings in nature so wondrous that it illustrates clearly that with his hands, anything is possible. From crabs scurrying along the formations to the sound of thunder made by the waves crashing and echoing in the caverns and the simple beauty of too many blues to count in the transparent water, his wondrous work was all around us.
Saturday evening culminated with a dinner of thanksgiving for the wonderful staff and their families at the Methodist Center who have hosted us all week, cooked our meals, done our laundry, and fellowshipped, loved and served alongside us with such amazing loving care that many of us don’t want to go home to our microwave meals, folding clothes and dry cleaning! It was a beautiful evening of fellowship, especially watching the little girls chow down on platefuls of delicacies like popcorn, ice cream, cake, cookies as well as several platefuls of dinner too. Such treats and dinners out in a restaurant are all too uncommon in Cuba.
Sunday we worshipped in Bauta, had an amazing lunch (my favorite so far) of abondigas grandes (big meatballs), and we also spent some time in the marketplace. Then we were off to see the sights of the Capitol and Revolution Square. We ended the day at the Cabaña, or fortalesza (fort) and the changing of the guards. It was a beautiful evening, the lights of downtown Havana could be seen across the water, and we all experienced one “big bang” from the cannon, which made us jump and our hearts skip a few beats.
I’m pretty sure Dan and I both had our hearts skip a few and swell with love this afternoon as well as we played with the children in the neighborhood again. We had the hula hulas out, jump roping going on, and even some baseball as well! It was fun to tell Jean Pierre that he could keep the glove and baseball he’d been playing in the street with, but the smile that spread across his face was more than priceless. He shared so much love in that one smile, and Dan said it best, “Dios to bendiga,” God Bless You.
Pastor Bianco preached on the power of faith from Mark 9:14-29 this morning after our spirited worship, dancing and prayers. This particular story of an exorcism from a young boy strongly emphasizes the power of faith and prayer. We have witnessed that with certainty in Cuba. The people we have met have a deep and growing faith, the presence of the Holy Spirit is strong and working within the people and the church in Cuba, and the prayers, oh my, the prayers.
Please continue to pray for our team and our brothers and sisters in Cuba as we wrap up our trip on Monday with our last visit to Havana Central Trinity United Methodist with Pastor Guillermo, lunch with the bishop of Cuba and preparing for our travels home on Tuesday.
If I learned nothing else on this trip, it’s the power of prayer to heal and break your hearts to intimately know God, your friends, your brothers and sisters in Christ. It is my prayer that the relationships that we have formed with one another and our Cuban amigos are only strengthened now and in the future. So that as Mike said, I will be back, but I look most forward to the day that you can visit our churches in Tampa and Atlanta and teach us how to worship, pray and strengthen our faith.
“He said to them, ‘This kind can come out only through prayer.’” Mark 9:29.
Where do I start when talking about our time here in Havana? I have been blessed in so many ways by so many people. I have so many things I want to talk about and share but yesterday, in particular, was an especially emotional day. It’s sort of funny, because I started the morning saying to one of our team members how well I had been able to keep it together and that I had expected to be more of an emotional basket case. I should have known better, not much time passed before I was beyond emotional!
I went on my first shopping trip in Cuba to look for some supplies for the children’s activities we were planning. We were looking for paint we could use for face paint and the Pastor’s wife (la Pastora) walked my mother and I around to some local stores to find some. I had heard that shopping for anything was difficult and that you often had to go to many stores before you could find what you were looking for. Indeed, we had to go to more than 7 stores to find something we could use for face paint. The stores have lots of shelves, but they are empty. As for art supplies, they may have only a couple color options and then another store may have something different, or absolutely nothing on the shelves at all in that department.
The Pastora took me into a toy store. As we walked in off the bustling street, the first thing I noticed was that the store was void of people. We were in a toy store with no children and the prices of the toys were astronomical. The Pastora began to explain that many children do not have toys since many of them cost more than their parent’s monthly salaries. As we were on our way out a small boy came in off the street, he ran up to a small plastic airplane and pointed at it. With a big smile on his face he looked up at us and said “That’s the one I want, and I hope to have it one day.” The Pastora replied asking him “How much does your father make?” and the boy told her an amount in pesos that is the equivalent of $10 US dollars a month. I looked back at the plane and the price was marked at the equivalent of $24 US dollars. I walked out the door of the store, and I could no longer contain my emotion. I began to weep in the middle of the street. I could not help but think of how inexpensive that toy plane would be back in the US. I could not help but think of how easy it is to go run an errand to buy something simple like craft paint. I could not help but think of my home, full of things, and that I have spent my entire life wanting for nothing.
When we got back to the church it was time for lunch and I shared with a team mate what had happened at the toy store. She shared another story about a boy who was helping us paint at the church. He had fallen into some paint and when our team tried to take off his shoe to clean it he didn’t want to because he was embarrassed by the holes in his socks. This story, too, made me cry. After we finished our meal we left the dining room and went on with our work. The boys from the baseball team that were helping us were called to eat their lunch. When I walked by the dining room the boys were being given a bread roll. It was at that moment that God had completely broken my heart.
I found a quiet spot in the back pew of the sanctuary and I wept. I don’t know what it feels like to go hungry. I don’t know what it’s like to not have new clothes, or good shoes. But here I was surrounded by so many who feel these things on a daily basis.
After speaking with the pastor and his wife about what I had been experiencing that day they told me that they are used to this way of life. That they understand it is difficult for us to come and see how they live but that it’s just how it is. Yes, they do have a list of things they need, and they pray about them often, but it is their faith in God and the way of the Lord that gives them life. When they put their lives in the hands of the Lord, he always provides for them. It is so powerful to see this kind of faith in action here in Havana.
Witnessing people living in a communist government is hard. It really makes me appreciate the freedom we have in the US. Here people are not free to choose their jobs, or to travel wherever they wish to go. They cannot express their political frustrations with their neighbors. It is in the church, though, where they are free to express themselves however they feel. They can give glory to God in whatever way they want. They can sing, dance, and raise their hands, and there is no one who can tell them not to. With God, they have freedom of expression and it is within the walls of their sanctuary that they are free to let go.
Every day we are greeted by the boys of the baseball team and the other children of the church with kisses, hugs and big smiles. I am grateful that God has chosen to break my heart here. It has taught me so much about living in faith and to be grateful for the many blessings He has constantly given me throughout my life. I hope He continues to break my heart again and again so that I may grow closer to God on this spiritual journey.
Our help has multiplied several-fold! We arrived at the Trinity United Methodist Church Thursday morning and already the whole baseball team from the church was anxiously awaiting our arrival. It’s such a wonderful story to share about how God used the power of prayer to answer a very specific prayer that we were not even aware of. A member of our church and a special friend of missions was generous enough to donate some t-shirts, baseball gloves and balls to the Cuba team to bring on our trip.
When we arrived at the church earlier this week, we shared with the Pastor that we had some baseball equipment to share with them and how would he like to handle it. He introduced us to Javier, who cleans the church. Javier does not have any children of his own, but he has adopted the boys in the neighborhood and set an example for them. This is his own personal mission; he said it gets them off the streets and keeps them out of trouble. He invites them to church, teaches and coaches them, and he leads the boys’ baseball team from the church. Javier shared that they are one of the few teams who do not have uniforms, and they’ve never had any equipment of their own to practice with. Well, today we answered a prayer that we didn’t even know existed. And the boys from this team have been with us almost every day this week, working along side us, scraping paint, painting, cleaning, carrying rocks and teaching us about faith like a child.
Dan was initiated into the mission fold as he led his first devotional on his first mission team. We discussed Mark 10:14-15, “But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them. ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will never enter it.’”
We are here to build relationships with the children, be role models, set examples and simply provide a memory that will connect with them for years to come. As Rebecca shared, we help to build their relationship with the unseen, the ever present, ever faithful God. By teaching a child to paint at church, like Mike did, it will provide a memory that may provoke a feeling for that child some time from now. It will be the mystery of how God will use that experience to shape and mold him or her a later date.
The children who are active in this church are already examples for us and their peers; the acolytes (as we would call them who collect the offering at each service are young girls about 12), as they return to the front of the church after the response to the word, one of the girls leads the prayer in front of the entire congregation her lips pressed to a microphone, and it’s not just a 30 second prayer either. Similarly in the prayer service on Tuesday night, Linda observed Omar, one of our little boys we have connected with all week, beating his chest, eyes closed tight in prayer, and several members actually had youth from the church praying for him or her in groups.
Carlos, one of the boys from the baseball team was helping paint, and he slipped and fell down while working; his shoes and hands were covered in paint, and Rebecca picked him up and carried him to sit down. Someone brought a wet rag, someone a glass of water, and Mike took off his shoes to wash the paint off. Carlos did not want anyone to take his shoes off; he was most embarrassed because he had holes in his socks, little did he know many of us walk around in our own holey socks.
All his friends comforted him, and we did our best to do the same. Rebecca encouraged the children to pray for him, and the kids gathered around as Carlos was lying down on a church pew and put their hands on him to pray. Carlos ended up being just fine, and from what I heard Carlos ended up with a new pair of socks too.
Friday was a carnival of stimulation! As our work was winding down at the church, we prepared for a program with the children from the church and neighborhood during the afternoon. Most of the morning was spent finishing up painting, preparing paper, pencils, vocabulary words and just playing with the kids who have been hanging around all week with us. The afternoon was filled with the sights and sounds of probably close to 130 children of virtually every age, and we had singing, dancing, a message from the bible, un poco teatro con un payaso (a little theatre with a clown), group games, musical chairs, face painting, hula hooping, jump rope, language lessons in English and Spanish and much, much more.
Bruce is a doctor from Jacksonville on our trip, and he had a stethoscope to share with the kids, and taught each child to hear his or her own heart beat with it. He said their faces and eyes lit up with wonder when they heard their own heart beat for the first time. As Belinda described child-like faith, she said, that children live from their hearts, they are full out in it, and that’s how God wants us to be, to be in love with him and in love with life.
Linda shared that she felt part of our team’s mission is to show the children what the life and body of Christ is like. Part of what we have shared with the children has been helado and dulce (ice cream and candy). It might seem simple or like something silly to share with a child, but what breaks your heart in Cuba is this is not something these children have access to, and in fact, it is something that has to be purchased on the black market. The stark contrast of access to the simplest things like toys, candy, ice cream, toiletries and more, is something that has deeply affected many of us. Childhood just doesn’t seem the same without the sweet milk from el helado running down your face and making you sticky all over on a hot afternoon.
Linda made the parallel that we share the “sweetness of this life in Christ” with the children. The windows of the church are always open in Central Havana, and everyone in the neighborhood can hear that God is good, and as Slater shared, the children can hear the joy, the laughter, and they want to be a part of that.
We encourage you to have faith like a child to enjoy the sweetness of this life in Christ with the joy and wonder of the first time you felt your heart beat with the joy of the Lord in it.
My shoulders were shaking as I prayed, tears streaming down my face, and I looked around, and several others on the team looked just like me. Last night we worshipped again with Pastor Guillermo at the Central Havana Methodist Church where we’re serving this week. This service was a little different; a community service focused primarily on prayer. We began with a few praise and worship songs, and my favorite one was back in the mix, and all of us were a little more comfortable this time in worship so we were definitely getting into it, including our dear friend Belinda, who spontaneously had busted out in song with Pastor Guillermo while passing rocks on the staircase, and then he introduced her to the whole congregation as we sang Si Senor, and as you can tell, Belinda had a lot of fun with it! If you’ll recall earlier this week, she said that Pastor Guillermo reminded her of David who was willing to dance like a fool for the Lord, no matter what anyone thought. As you can tell, what the Lord is doing here in Cuba is contagious! Yes, yes, God, yes, yes, God, Si Senor, Si Si Senor. (I am praying the video works when you click the picture!)
This is the chorus that we can’t seem to get enough of, because even today after lunch, we got a little crazy and had our own little mini-concert with Pastor Guillermo, his wife, and Orlian, on drums, playing our theme song: “Loco como yo.” “Nunca pense que Jesuscristo transformara mi corazón era algo imposible para un loco como yo.” I never thought that Jesus Christ would transform my heart, it seemed impossible for a crazy person like me!
After a couple praise songs, we settled into prayer, which began individually, each person on his or her knees if able or in the pew, and Pastor Guillermo leading the prayers; however, what was dramatically different was all the prayers were said aloud in chorus. No one’s prayers were anonymous; you could hear your neighbors prayers being lifted up. I imagined that this was very pleasing to God’s ears, because it was quite beautiful to mine. I couldn’t help but think of the scripture that says, don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything.
The service progressed as we turned to our neighbor and began praying for him or her. Rebecca was seated next to me, and I know Rebecca pretty well – she was the one who invited me to Hyde Park a couple years ago in fact, but praying aloud for her, seated next to her, was a moving experience. I settled into praise, things on her heart that I knew, prayers for the use of her very special gifts like language, apostleship and ministering with children (all things I’ve been able to observe of her on this trip) and things unsaid, and just kept lifting up all the prayer and praise I could think of. I have never quite prayed like that for anyone especially with her next to me. It was an experience I will not forget, and I am pretty sure, I am going to have to find someone to practice with when I return home!
Then, as if the intimacy of prayer with another person wasn’t enough, we progressed into small group community and prayer with a small group. Rebecca and I joined the praise and worship team up front; we wrapped arms around one another and began lifting up prayers for the group and each person within the group. My Spanglish, Rebecca’s very good Spanish, and all our brothers and sisters in Cuba’s voices in Spanish calling on el espiritu santo was truly like the music of prayer. Imagine this with a room filled with a couple hundred people and the power of prayer that could be heard from the streets in Central Havana; it was very powerful. An experience like no other I have ever had. I wrote in my journal, all of those prayers being lifted to the heavens must be like sweet, sweet music to the Lord’s ears.
The construction has continued well, and we’ve made progress with moving supplies up three flights of stairs, paint scraping, cleaning, begun painting, tearing down walls and building relationships with all our brothers and sisters in Cuba. Pastor Guillermo shared that several members of the church prayed through the night for the work that the church is doing, and I have to believe that many of the things we have observed on this trip, the blessings, the random coincidences and the tremendous successes of just the right thing getting to the right person at the right time are the direct result of prayer.
As Rebecca sat down with me this evening, we hunted down the scripture from Philippians that I referenced earlier, Philippians 4:6-8: “Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
“Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. Your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. Then there will be equality, as it is written: ‘He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little” 2 Corinthians 8:13-15.
Orlian, our translator and friend, said this evening that he is being shown how the body of Christ works by being with us. How the church in Cuba depends on us, and how we depend on them. As Mike said though, “we receive far more than we give.”
Today, we were finally able to give back a little sweat and hard work after a weekend of settling in and sightseeing and worship. Our Cuban friends were rather impressed with our gusto as we cleared a storage area on the third floor full of props from what appeared to be a Christmas pageant and moved them to the first floor storage area. All the construction supplies including wood, 2X4s, smaller pieces, and gravel for concrete and putty also had to be moved to the third floor as well. Many of us sang while we worked, “trabajando en la luz de dios,” (working in the light of God,) one of the songs we sang in worship yesterday with the children. We shared a little sweat and a lot of laughter while working today passing buckets of rocks, moving 2X4s and toting camels, mangers and trees around.
We have been so blessed to have Belinda Paisley from, Granville, Ohio, who attends church at First United Methodist in Newark serving with us on this mission as she is extremely gifted with music, voice and song. Each day we are blessed to sing for our supper (really all our meals). She has been long-time friends with Vicki Walker, and we are learning many new songs of worship in both English and Spanish by having her musical talents and leadership on our team. And while Belinda is sharing her gifts with us, she was able to connect today with Jorge, a gifted songwriter and musician here in Havana who works at the church, and he taught her a song today. As she put it, sharing the love of music with other people is such a great blessing, and this way to connect with our Cuban brothers in Christ is such a treasure. Dan also shares a love of music, and Orlian and he connected with their iPods tonight. Orlian became the official translator of a number of Spanish songs, Dan already knew the words to these Christian worship songs, but he just didn’t know what the praises meant that he was singing! The two of them connected over a shared love of music and helped one another discover new artists. These are just a small sampling of the many connections that have been made with our Cuban brothers and sisters in just a handful of days.
Our construction work is building a parsonage for the preacher and his family on the third floor of the church’s property. Currently it is simply a storage area, so the team (along with a lot of more qualified assistance from our construction crew) will be building out the third floor, adding a bathroom and building several rooms so that Pastor Guillermo and his wife and children will be able to reside at the church in Central Havana. Pastor Guillermo came by mid-afternoon and shared with us that he had been busy praying and laying hands on the sick members of his church and community during the day, and he gave us as Rebecca called it, our five-hour energy shot for the
day! His charisma and enthusiasm is definitely the light of the Holy Spirit shining and working through him.
We concluded the day with Bruce's devotional on Luke 15, and Bruce encouraged us to see the story instead of as the prodigal son, as the prodigal father. Prodigal means wasteful, or generous to a fault, and we are so thankful that God sheds his grace wastefully on us! Pastor Guillermo also has what I'd call some prodigal energy, he gives of his energy so generously that when he makes his way around, we all work a little bit harder and faster. Thanks be to God!
We did play Katy Perry’s, Firework, song today, in honor of the fourth of July, to celebrate our nation’s independence, but as Mike said, we look forward to a day when our Cuban brothers and sisters in Christ can travel on missions to the U.S. to share their love of Christ and teach us how to worship.
Charismatic doesn’t seem like a strong enough word to describe the worship service at the Methodist church in Central Havana where we’ll be serving all week. We arrived at 11 a.m. Sunday morning ready to praise the Lord, little did we know, we’d be swept into a river of the Holy Spirit flowing like a summer storm and dousing the people with its sweet, sweet rain.
El espirtu santo es muy fuerte en este lugar. En este lugar. Es muy fuerte. The holy spirit is very strong in this place. In this place. It’s very strong.
The Holy Spirit was with us all morning, in fact for a solid two-hour long service! Belinda described Pastor Guillermo like David dancing for the Lord, that he was a fool for the Lord in the best kind of way. One of my favorite contemporary songs we sang said God even saved a crazy person like me. Un poco loco, a little bit crazy, everyone was un poco loco en amor por Dios (a little crazy in love with the Lord). The sweat on Pastor Guillermo’s tie kept working its way to the tip as the service progressed. Imagine the sweat just steadily working its way to the end, a very visual picture of the energy that he shared with his congregation.
Slater said the exuberance he experienced from worship was beyond anything that he’d seen contained in four walls. The experience of worship with the Cuban people was an amazing first for many, and charismatic is just not a strong enough word to describe it. Charismatic. Exuberant. Exciting. Contagious. Exhilarating. Frenetic. Amazing. Over the top. En fuego. On fire. Muy fuerte. Very strong. None of these seem to quite describe what we experienced. Words really cannot describe it adequately. It’s the tremendous joy that came from within.
There were trumpets, singing, dancing, flags waving, men and children running, jumping, shouting, praying aloud, everyone praising the Lord in their loudest voices and in a community where no one was anonymous. It was a total sensory experience. The Liturgical dancers were dressed all in white. They shook their tambourines with ribbons flying, flags waving, twirling and turning. The energy was and is contagious. I found myself bouncing and cha cha-ing and allowing the sweat to pour down my back with no hesitation as we rode the wave of the Holy Spirit and it worked its way through the people. Members were slain by the Holy Spirit, prayers were announced out loud, and the gift of speaking in tongues was present in the people.
As Rebecca described, knowing the Methodist motto: open hearts, open doors and open minds, really helped her embrace this worship style. As the sunlight streamed through the open windows and the music spilled on to the streets, her mind, and many of ours, were opened to what the power of the Holy Spirit has accomplished in this place.
We joked that our hearts were spilling over with the love our Cuban brothers and sisters showed us at the end of the service. Slater even said he hadn’t gotten so many kisses at one time since his wedding night, and we teased Angelique that she was really getting around as one of the Cuban men kept coming back into the line because he didn’t kiss her the first time! Muchos besos! Many, many kisses! We were wrapped up in their love, with hugs, kisses, and messages of, “Te bendigas”(God bless you), and “Bendicciones”(blessings to you).
El espirtu santo es muy fuerte en este lugar. En este lugar. Es muy fuerte. The holy spirit is very strong in this place. In this place. It’s very strong.
Editor's note: I have a video to share, but it's too large and slow to upload :(
It was just past 5 a.m., and she was certainly one of the more colorful people we encountered in the airport yesterday morning. She was decked out in hot pink basically head to toe; her hair was the same pinkish red as the decadent cherry on the front of her shirt. Her shoes were a bit of a cross between sandals and lace up tennis shoes and went halfway up her calves, they too were pink. She certainly had a lot of flavor and color! She was also heading to Cuba on the first flight of the day out of Miami; I couldn’t help but notice that she was transporting a handicapped toilet seat so that perhaps one of her family members in Cuba would have an easier time with some rails to hold onto and a higher seat in the bathroom.
There were two rounds of spontaneous clapping when we landed on Cuban soil; the first in anticipation before the wheels even touched the ground, and the second, after the flight attendant welcomed us to Cuba. Because this is simply what happens when you land in Cuba! We were the only Americans on our flight; the rest appeared to be Cuban Americans visiting their families and bringing many of the necessities and little luxuries that the Cuban people do not have access to. We successfully made it through the three security checkpoints with only minimal scrutiny and all our 22 suitcases!
Our short trip in Havana from the airport to the Methodist Center was filled with tons of sights and sounds. I expected to see the old American cars on the roads in Cuba, but it was like a blast from the past to see the blues, the greens, and the reds of the 50s and 60s Chevrolets puttering down the roads, windows rolled down, thick plumes of black smoke coming from their exhaust pipes and mingled with a few foreign cars and the tiny canary yellow electric taxi. The older buildings and ornate, intricate architecure were beautiful, with the art deco colors of turquoise, pinks and blues. In stark contrast, every few miles along the roads were bold, billboard messages of propaganda interspersed with colorful laundry hanging from balconies, and people walking along the streets holding hands.
Our extended family at the Methodist Center: Josmanny, Elias, Orlian, our translator, and grande y poco Alinna and Magdalena welcomed us with hugs, kisses, and a very lavish luncheon of baked chicken, rice and beans, platanos and fresh vegetables. We even had a special dessert treat of guava puree with cheese and Cuban coffee. As Pat, who has been on the trip previously, said, we are all part of one big family in Christ and the welcome we experienced from our brothers and sisters in Cuba was one of the many blessings of the day.
Even though we had been traveling since 5 a.m., not one minute was wasted on our first day in Cuba, after our welcome luncheon and getting settled into our rooms, we departed for a sightseeing tour of Ernest Hemingway’s home. It began with one of the many, spontaneous connections that we made during the day. As Bruce described it, we need to be attuned to these spontaneous moments of ministry with the Cuban people. Rebecca, who speaks fluent Spanish, connected with a gaggle of children and practiced her Spanish and the children coversed with her in English and shared the love of God in relationship with one another as we soaked in the beautiful, lush green surroundings of Hemingway’s home. We could see Havana and the Methodist Center from the highest point where Hemingway sat writing with a breeze flowing through the windows and the smell of books and plumerias wafted all around us.
Once we returned to the Methodist Center, Belinda set up camp out front and began strumming her guitar, Jeanne was singing along, and Dan and I decided to try out the hula hulas (hula hoops). Two little girls approached and watched, but it wasn’t until we grabbed all the hulas and walked out in front to the street that a dozen or so children joined us in hooping, jumping rope and just having fun. An older man sat down with Linda and sang along with her to various hymns and songs in Spanish.
As Drema shared the devotion on our first evening, we read from Matthew and Mark, the Great Commission. “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations,” and we learned a song that we’ll be sharing with the Cuban people during worship tomorrow, Ënviado Soy de Dios, Sent Out in Jesus’ Name.
“Sent out in Jesus’name, our hands are ready now to make the earth the place in which the kingdom comes. The angels cannot change a world of hurt and pain into a world of love, of justice and of peace. The task is ours to do, to set it really free.”And we were challenged to that task, to let love be our guilding light every day and every moment, as our holy mission in Cuba is to make disciples of all nations.
We ended the evening with a walk to and along the Mallecon, the Bayshore Boulevard of Cuba, where thousands of people young and old gather to people watch, sing, dance and just hang out on Saturday night. As we returned to the Methodist Center, the jovenes were worshipping next door to an upbeat contemporary, rocking sound, and were jumping (mosh pit style), kicking and swaying to, “No puedo parrar,” I can’t stop. I can’t stop praising the name of Jesus.
The flurries of excitement are really building as the departure for our team to Havana, Cuba, is nearing! Tonight we weighed our many bags and packed it all up for the drive to Miami tomorrow.
I had the pleasure this spring at Hyde Park to hear both Pastor Diaz and Bishop Pareira from Cuba speak and preach about how the Lord is working in Cuba. I left with a hungry heart ready to serve on the Cuba mission team. Something Pastor Diaz shared really stuck with me. He quoted from Ezekial 47, and said there's a river of living water within each of us but that even with the dynamite of the Holy Spirit, sometimes we just stand there in the water, and the Lord has to come along with His thorns and poke us (he likened it to birds getting too comfortable in their nests). That sometimes we're too comfortable, so He comes and shakes it up. He described the Christian movement in Cuba, its youth and vibrancy thriving in small groups and how the Holy Spirit is moving. How when the government felt that they had too many, they would continue to persevere, move it out of the church, and into houses and the spread of the Word continued to multiply. He described the Holy Spirit grabbing hold and taking action! Take my house, take my job, take my husband, take my business, take my children, take my family. He said the church is supplying the true needs of the people, the living water, through Jesus Christ.
I said count me in. This mission appealed to me on so many levels that I felt with a certainty that I was called to go. In this period of anticipation and finally preparations for the journey, I have really leaned on the following scripture, which I love from the Message translation, “Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He's the one who will keep you on track” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
I’ve had several people ask me this week if I’m scared to go to Cuba particularly because of the history of political tension with the U.S. and the nature of its communist government, and I have responded with a very clear no. These things do not concern me, that’s not why I’m going. I find comfort and am not afraid because I know that the Lord goes with me, and He will not forsake me (Deuteronomy 31:6). Cuba is only about 220 miles from Miami, yet they are miles apart indeed.
Angeligue Muller (her mom, Drema, is leading our team) and I’ve been reading a dissident blogger, Yoani Sanchez’s book, Havana Real, and her postings from Cuba with her perspective on daily life in Havana. I have been taken aback by how when you’re only supplied rations, you long and covet food, even dream about it. I’ve never been truly hungry before, but in Cuba, only if you’re under 7 or over 70, are you provided a daily ration of milk. I offered up my thanks this week as I enjoyed my milk with my cereal, a simple staple, that is not widely available under their system.
Similarly Sanchez describes how when you’re in a hospital, you bring everything, including cleaning supplies, a pillow, bed sheets, a fan, and more importantly, sutures, gauze, cotton and even syringes. “I have obtained some needles appropriate for the IV, because the one in her arm is very thick and causes pain. I also bought some gauze and cotton on the black market. The most difficult – which cost me days and an incredible series of swaps – is suture thread for the surgery they will do tomorrow. I also brought a box of disposable syringes since she yells to high heaven when the nurse approaches her with a glass one.” Walking around our award-winning hospital at Tampa General this week, I gave thanks for the medical advances, supplies and world-class healthcare that we have available in abundance. These are the things that break your heart for the Cuban people.
The freedom, the living water that Pastor Diaz and Bishop Pareira described when they visited here to share the work of the Methodist Church in Cuba, is the true freedom that comes from God. And our purpose is simple to make God’s love real and be in relationship with the Cuban people. "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear " (I John 4:18).
Our team will be residing and serving at the Evangelical Methodist Seminary, located in the historic section of downtown Havana. I found it on a map, and was super excited to pinpoint the location! Our primary project will be construction within the seminary on the third floor, which will be outfitted to house visiting professors who will be teaching at the seminary and eventually may house retired pastors. We will also be in ministry making God's love real with the people and children of Cuba. Thanks to generous donations from various individuals and organizations, we will be taking face painting supplies, hula hoops, baseball gloves, balls, clothing and more to share God's love with the children of Havana and medicines and personal hygiene products for the adults.
Please lift up our team in your prayers as we travel to Miami on Friday and depart for Cuba early Saturday morning. Team Leader: Drema Muller; Team members: Jack & Linda Brown, Mandy Cloninger, Jeanne Compitello, Mike Burgamy, Pat Hannon, Dan Hegeman, Bruce McIntosh, Rebecca McLarty, Angelique Muller, Belinda Paisley, Slater Taylor.
Adios y vaya con Dios mis amigos! We go with God, because wherever God is, there is love, and where we share love, we share God.
On July 1st, our team will set out on a great adventure bound for Cuba. This will be a deeply rooted journey for me, as I have spent my whole life hearing stories of the lives that my grandparents once had in Cuba, before the Revolution. Growing up we always sent our hand-me-downs and photos to our relatives who live there. I still sift through the hundreds of photos at my Abuela's house that have captured the beautiful and glamorous life my family had while they were there.
My Abuela Isabel Muller, age 20 at the President's wife's ball
This is one of my favorites!
My Abuelo's Wedding
My Abuela and Abuelo Isabel and Elio
On their Honeymoon
Isabel at 18 when she was at the teacher’s academy
That's my dad in the front, shooting his gun at the camera.
I will be meeting lots of family for the first time and I know it will be very emotional for me.
Aside from my family there, I hope to experience a profound spiritual connection, working with the Methodist church, to help restore a part of the Seminary in Havana and experience how God is moving through the people there. Most of all, I am really excited that I will be sharing this entire experience with my mother, Drema, who is leading the trip. She is an amazing person and I am so proud of her.
As I begin packing for our trip, I am reminded of a book I read in High School entitled The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien. It is a story about soldiers at war and the book uses the things they have to carry as a metaphor for many things they go through in battle and in their pasts. It is quite an interesting suitcase that I will carry. I cannot help but think about these items and they what they represent. What do they signify and who will they affect? I think back on the stories of those who had to leave Cuba and how little they were able to carry.
Here it is. This enormous and ominous bag of things. Necessary and unnecessary.
Maybe a third of this bag contains my personal items. The rest are items to bring to family members and to share with the people at the church. In this bag I have packed: towels, sheets, work clothes, sneakers, antibiotics, toys for children, candy, boxes of macaroni and cheese, lots of soap, baseball stuff, a huge first aid kit, paint rollers, paint brushes, hangers, sandpaper, tooth brushes, a blood pressure monitor, books and since there is more space I am sure we will be cramming in much more.
Sounds totally random right? Well it is, in fact, totally random. My items I planned quite carefully to make sure I bring only what I need and that it is lightest weight stuff possible. The medicine, first aid and blood pressure monitor have specific people in mind and purposes. But everything else is kind of the story here.
Macaroni and cheese? Well the people are starving in Cuba and when you hear their stories, a majority revolve around food. The macaroni and cheese is high in calories and fat and for them it is an extra special treat. Quality soap is hard to come by so we bring lots of it. And I am sure you can image toys and books are sparse. They have so little of so many things... THINGS THAT I TAKE FOR GRANTED EVERY SINGLE DAY... That anything that we have that we can take that is durable and in good shape is like giving a new and treasured gift for the recipient in Cuba.
I am getting to the point where I think about this experience and what it’s going to be like and I become extremely emotional. It's hard for me to contain my excitement, fear, sadness, and overall emotion for what it will be like to see the country I have heard stories of my whole life. This seemingly mythical island that has rooted itself so deeply in my family. My arrival will be a symbolic homecoming for my family and to meet all those who I know only through pictures will be a very precious moment.
Exactly one week from today, we will have arrived in Cuba and walking through customs with the things we will be carrying and embarking on this great adventure.
Last night's devotion by Bruce Johnson was very touching. We had an unexpected visit from Jorge, the photographer/ videographer friend from Guanabacco church -- where we worked last week.
He made a 16 minute video of our work, our thoughts and our worship experience with the church. He has such a gift and uses this ministry to touch many lives -- including ours. Bruce mentioned Jorge in his devotion so it was an extra blessing that Jorge could attend our devotion last night. We laughed and cried as we watched his special gift to us. I could not express words which would show our gratitude. As I said this to him, he said not to worry because he can see it on our faces. We have made a new friend in Cuba and I suspect it will not be the last time many of us see him. I would also not be suprised to one day see him in Tampa.
Today we traveled 30 minutes outside of Havana to Bauta to a small church which a previous UMVIM team had built. We are always received with open hearts, open minds and open arms. The service lasted almost 2 hours. There was lots of singing and 2 liturgical dances. As I sat there trying to understand the sermon through our translator, I could feel the sweat dripping down my back. As uncomfortable as I was, I reminded myself that this is how our brothers and sisters in Cuba worship most Sundays. They sit in their non-air-conditioned churches, many with dirt floors, some with fans, and dance and worship in a fashion that generates even more heat.
Their faith is strong and their passion for praising God so electrifying that everyone, even the Americans, start dancing -- yes, the entire team.
We have cried, laughed, worked hard, sweated and made new friends. But most importantly, we have all breathed deep and let the Holy Spirit work through us. Everyone has a story to tell. I hope they tell it often and I hope you encourage them to tell their story. It is in telling the story that we once again see how the Holy Spirit is at work and in the hurriedness of our lives, many of us need to stop, breath deep and remind ourselves that the Holy Spirit is always with us. We just have to slow down and let Him in.
It is now time to pack. This is always bittersweet. I will miss my friends, new and old. I will miss the slow pace (Cuba time as we affectionately call it) and I will miss how life here allows me to see God at work more easily. But I take this all back to my fast pace life and know that I can draw on this experience. My life has changed dramatically since my first trip here more than 3 years ago and it continues to improve as this experience draws me closer to God and reminds me what is truly important in this life.
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