Missions
Cuba, as many know, is filled with well maintained, old model cars from the 1950's and earlier because newer cars are not available to the people. For that reason many intersections in major cities at the rush hours are filled with hitchhikers making their way to and from work. You might see about 150 of them at a time! It is not unusual to see fearless women hitchhiking by themselves alone in more rural areas where truckers often stop for them. Many others ride bicycles to and from work or the marketplace. The people seem to find ways of helping each other in their common need. Though an average worker's wage has hovered near twenty dollars a month for the last decade or more, the cost of living has quadrupled in the past 20 years. One image that will remain with me is that of a couple we saw in the morning rush hour in one of the cities, maybe Santiago. They were side by side on their bicycles in front of us at an intersection waiting for the traffic to begin moving again. As traffic edged forward they kissed each other before veering off in different directions. This was probably a daily routine of theirs that we were privileged to witness. A horse and carriage there are often laughingly referred to as "quatro pistones" (four pistons). In Havana the tourists hire them for 50 dollars per ride, but in the other towns one can ride for 25 cents!
As we traveled the length of the country in and among 15 different churches over an eight day period we found the worship of God's people there to be so fervent and their sense of community to be unusually strong. The pastors and superintendents and their wives who hosted us and traveled with us, and served as guides would break out in spontaneous song from time to time, hardly aware of how they inspired us, and before long we believers from the States were doing the same, like the citizens of Singapore who bring their caged birds to the parks at specified times to "learn each other's songs."
The people in the churches in the various cities and towns were so grateful for our presence and for our having come from such a distance that they had been gathering food for weeks in anticipation, food that was not easy to obtain. It is enough of a challenge for them to feed themselves, not to mention visiting delegations of ministers like ourselves. Lindy Bravo danced so beautifully in the services as I accompanied her on flute that I could here people gasping in response. They were overcome with awe to hear how brother Joe had been praying for them for years and to hear Charles assure them repeatedly of the greatness of God's love for them. I too was overcome to make so many new friends and prayer partners, feeling like a high priest adding a whole new row of precious stones to his breastplate to carry on his heart for the rest of his ever loving life!
One pastor was also the personal physician of each in his entire congregation. He appeared to be in tears as he expressed his gratitude and blessed us in a circle of prayer the morning of our departure. Another pastor and his wife in a different town (perhaps Las Tunas) who had been professional singers and musicians, serenaded our farewell powerfully during breakfast in the fellowship hall where we had spent the night on cots. It was a blessing also to be able to distribute sixty copies of a teaching and preaching resource there and among the various leaders.
Danny Bravo, himself Cuban American, did a wonderful job as interpreter introducing us graciously throughout the trip and serving as "leadoff hitter" in the services that concluded in Havana, where some 3 million of the approximate 14 million Cuban residents reside. Many of the people we saw outside Havana had never been out of their immediate areas where they were born. Danny attended the same Catholic school as a boy that Fidel Castro attended a couple of decades before him. That Fidel had a Catholic upbringing is not a popular topic of conversation. Perhaps that upbringing had something to do with the fact that a statue of Christ remained standing in Havana throughout the revolution, and still stands there giving benediction today.
My life was changed in Cuba because it has been enriched by having been there. I felt like I imagine the high priest in the Old Testament would have felt to have a whole new row of brilliant precious stones added to his breastplate, as he bore the tribes of Israel on his heart. (Exodus 28) The breathtaking Guantanamo area is one that comes to mind.It is all a beautiful country though, populated with beautiful and colorful people that I will never forget. It was a rugged trip but one that was well worth all the challenges involved, including praying for our van to start in the "middle of nowhere" and praying for grace and strength for ourselves too as we prayed for the ones we came to visit. There was no shortage of miracles either, from the healing of glaucoma to the restoration of on of our own team members crumpled up with a lower back injury from a serious, sudden jolt on a cratered road, and then amazingly dancing about in a church drama performed that same evening. To God be the glory! To God be the glory indeed for every bit of His glory left along our trail.
Last but not least, Bob Chevalier, my chauffeur to and from the airport, is to be commended also as a faithful brother and Cuba team member who delivered me right on time to the plane and later home to my eagerly awaiting wife Leslyn. It brought to mind how King David insisted that his comrades who stayed behind as guards received the same reward. (! Samuel 30, v.24)
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