First Time

It does not happen on every trip, and it may not occur for several more trips. When you are going to a church or village for the first time the excitement of that experience is only surpassed by the actual experience. Plans are made weeks in advance by the pastor and church family to welcome their guests from the United States. What they do not know the same is being done in the United States at their sister church.

Items are being carefully gathered by church members to best meet the many needs in Cuba. As the luggage is being packed prayers are said, I pray the item reaches a person in need of this small token of our love. Please, Father if there is something needed to open our heart to that need so we can fill that void in Cuba.

Luggage is full of medicines, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, soaps, crayons, color books, pencils, and endless other much-needed items. These are the treasures that will be delivered to a mountain village in Las Cuevas, Cuba. No one from their sister church has ever been here before.

Knowing the food is in short supply we have purchased a pig so the entire village can enjoy the pig roast with everyone.

We are aware we have a two-hour adventure ahead of us over mountainous roads covered with rocks the size of soccer balls. As sunrise broke our transportation for the day was sitting in front of the church waiting for its passengers or should I say (victims). Six of us piled into a 1954 Willys jeep. I was blessed to be in the front seat. The plus was it gave me more leg room, but the minus was I could see first hand the challenges in and on the mountain terrain roads immediately in front of us. I could also look up the mountain with this narrow winding path ahead of us. From the beginning, the road was straight uphill but to the credit of that old Willys never missed a beat as it conquered the rock-laden path beneath us.

The uphill portion of the trip was over and why is it so much easier going down. We could see the quaint little village nestled in the valley below. Years of anticipation were about to realize the meeting of brothers and sisters in Christ from Cuba and the United States.

Hugs of excitement followed as we were shown the house, church grounds, and the cooking pig. We walked up a slight slope to their church, it was open sided, dirt floor except for the two-tile path to the altar. They had picked hibiscus blossoms and arranged in a heart near the altar to greet their American friends. The setting was quite beautiful in its own way as the aroma of the roasting pig filled the air. We sat on the pews in the church asking questions eagerly to learn more about our Cuban brothers and sister in Las Cuevas. We were about to hear the harsh reality of living in a mountain village in Cuba.

The pastor told us of the lack of any Sunday school material to teach the children and to hold their attention; she told us they had no communication to the outside world because there was no phone service in the village; she told us about receiving contaminated drinking water through the pipes two days a week and during the dry season they had to carry water from a stream about a mile away; she told us about no eggs, no bread, no cooking oil and she held it together very well telling all these daily challenges; she told us that the children attended the local school here in the valley until they are eleven to twelve years old, but from there, they must go to a boarding school in Mayari two hour down the mountain. Once they see the outside world, they never come back to LasCuevas with that she was in tears and says, “we have no hope.” WOW.

We needed to change the atmosphere, so we went back to the house to open the luggage filled with goodies for them. The first items pulled out were children Sunday School material, color crayons, pencils, color books, which just a few minutes ago they had nothing, wow God had this under control. For the next forty-five minutes, all those carefully packed items cover a bench and then a chair, then the floor. Twenty-two plus pounds of much-needed medicines were now in the hands of the pastora in this isolated valley in the mountains of Cuba. Last but not least was a laptop computer. Individual gifts to the entire kitchen crew of necklaces, earrings, and makeup soon were in all their hands. Hugs and tears of joy were many this day as true brothers and sisters in Christ were one.

Romans 12: 5 So we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

By this time the pig was ready, and the fellowship continued over plates filled with food for all. That night even the local dogs went to sleep with their stomachs full.

Somehow the long trip back to civilization did not seem so bad as each of us relished the thoughts of what we just experienced at God’s hands.

I want to thank; Trinity United Methodist of North Port, Florida for letting me tell this story about your sister church in Las Cuevas, Cuba. God Bless all.

Dan Christopherson

Southwest District Mission Program, Inc.

941-468-7209

Where to Begin? Part1

The continued insight from Ginny Derrough after fifty-seven years of absence from her home country of Cuba.

Where to begin? The church in Cuba is central to its worshipers.  People don't just go on Sunday for one hour.  They seek each other's support throughout the week and help each other out with any need.  It's not only a place of worship but it's the place where they socialize, where they care for one another, where they do life. 

 Time is a suggested frame in Cuba.  You set a time and people will show up within an hour or so of the time announced --- maybe later. 

For church activities, they do show up on a more consistent basis. However, when you say prayer meeting is at 8pm, people will start showing up around that time up to an hour later.   

We had worship  meeting on Tuesday night.  Went from about 8ish to about 9:30ish - 10..   They love praise music and they love it LOUD.  Anyone who can get their hands on a sound system does so and they crank it up to the max.  We were asked to sit up front near the pastor and the worship team.  The LOUDEST section.  One thing for sure, you will NOT fall asleep during one of their services.  

The worship team incorporates liturgical dance as an offering to the Lord and multiple leaders come to the podium to share, pray, give thanks, preach.  . 

During the morning on Tuesday, we met with a district superintendent of one of the areas and a couple of other pastors.  They are all struggling and everyone is hoping you will help out --- either with supplies or, primarily, with monetary support. I think it is so draining to figure out who to help and with how much and for how long.  

That afternoon, we visited 3 mission house churches. 

The primary pastor we visited is dynamic.  He is so very resourceful and appears to have endless energy and not get weary at all --- at first sight.  After a few days, you do get to see that the struggles are many and they do weigh on him.  It gets discouraging.  His health is taking a hit. He has to be very careful and works hard to stay "under the radar" in order not to attract attention to himself and, potentially, get into trouble with the authorities. 

He has started 15 missions.  He has hand picked young couples or single capable men/women to lead each of the missions.  If it is a couple, they both must feel the call to ministry and work as a unit. This particular pastor is also very involved in the dynamics of  property acquisitions.  He studies the communities and looks for properties that are centrally located, that will be easy for people to get to and that are "sound" or as sound can be.   Most of these properties are in disrepair and need help.  Keep in mind this is a rural area. 

A "mission" is a house church. Most churches in Cuba are house churches.  Churches are not allowed to own property so, an the name of an individual is on the purchase of the property and the pastor lives in one half (or part) of the property and the rest is renovated to house the church.  When this pastor and whoever he is working with in purchasing a property, make a final decision,  the property is not titled in the name of the pastor that will be assigned there.  It will be in some other pastor's name.  He also will not talk to other people about the process or possibility  until the paperwork has been finalized. If the authorities or some other sources find out the church is trying to procure a property, they will try to road block the purchase. 

The pastors at the missions have attended a 2 year course.  They then serve the mission until the criteria is met. 

Once it's a church, the pastor then will attend a 4 year course in seminary --- 21 days twice a year for 4 years.

For a mission to become a church, it needs to meet two criteria: 

1) must have 25 or more members 

2)  must have raised enough support (whatever that means). This is very difficult.  Everyone is struggling and a church really and truly cannot come up with funds to make the necessary repairs to the buildings, pay for its upkeep and pay a pastor's salary (20 pesos / month). Somehow, a number of them do by the grace of God.  The support partly is so they can have their own space.  The missions start out in rental homes. Sometimes they have to move.  The community at large will not really take them as seriously until the mission has a permanent place where the community  knows they are committed to being there. 

This is where the marvelous work of our SW District Coordinator comes into play.  Wish we had dozens like him but there is only one.  He does such a fantastic job of pairing up churches in our district with churches in Cuba to, at least, provide the pastor's salary and, hopefully, provide additional support. They become sister churches.  Of course, individuals have also made commitments to support a pastor or a church or provide funds for a water filtration system -- many, many different ways to help out. Each of our districts in the Methodist  church in Florida has a coordinator to do this but none of them take it as seriously and passionately as our district coordinator here in SW District.  God bless him and his wife! 

Nearly all the house churches we saw had roof leaks. All of them needed repairs of one type or another.   At one, the pastor said when the hurricanes come, he (and some members of the church) gets up on the roof and removes the corrugated metal panels so they won't get blown away.  After the storm passes, they put them back up.  Of course, this means that the interior has been totally soaked and wood rot starts setting in.  Between wood rot and termites, some of the structures are just not safe.  So, in this specific location, they need to make repairs in hopes of selling that property and buying a better one that is sturdier.  The new location they have their eyes on is more centrally located, has a big yard where they could hold some services outdoors and have fellowship time, and is in much better condition.  They can purchase that other property for 20k.  They might be able to sell the one they are in for about 7 - 8k.  

The mission that captured my heart was in Tunas de Zaza.  It is far south in the Sancti Spiritus district, on the coast. Every time a hurricane threatens, the entire town is evacuated.  The pastor is a woman and she and her husband are humble, kind people.  They felt a call to go there.  When they first arrived, they could not find a rental.  An ailing woman said she would allow them to move in with her and pay rent.  They paid rent AND took care of the woman so they could start the mission.  After about 18  months, the lady passed and a few months later the son decided to sell the house.  They then found a rental --- which they are in now -- but until they have a permanent place, they will not be taken seriously by the community at large who has  a "wait and see" attitude to see how long people are going to last. 

The conditions in Tunas de Zaza are very, very poor. Water surrounds them and the land is saturated.  This particular home is built up a bit more than the others and is centrally located right off the main road.  They have public water that is piped in 12 hours a day but, they also have a well that provides them with good water when the other is not available.  They have no refrigerator and the bathroom is in dire disrepair.  As with the other missions/churches, they live in half the house and the other half is where the church meetings take place. Still, this couple has chosen to remain and love this community.   Very, very humbling.  They need to purchase the home they are in to become a viable presence.  The home costs $2600.  On top of that, they will need funds to make repairs. I was so humbled and touched by these kind servants.  You will see a picture attached --- she is very short  --- and round as she is short.  I just love her!!

These mission churches have so little and yet, when we stopped by, they were so hospitable and wanted to share what they have. One rounded up a basket of fruit for us.  At Tunas de Zaza, they made us a flan and offered juice and cafe. So very giving. 

On Thanksgiving Day, our dear pastor friend has instituted a Thanksgiving Day in all the churches he's served.  He has a meal prepared and goes all out.  He gives the history of Thanksgiving in the US in the church bulletin and encourages the people to consider all they have to be thankful for.  All of the mission churches are invited to take part. Worship (yes,  VERY loud) started around 11ish and lasted until about 2 - 2:30.  Lots of singing, dancing and myriads of people coming to the front to testify and give God glory and thanks for all He has done in their lives. This, of course, is not a holiday in Cuba so people had to request time off work or school.  Some traveled 4, 6, 10 hours.  Those who traveled the farthest came the day before. After the worship service, food was passed out and we sat on our benches and ate and visited.  

Another interesting item in worship is that they wave the Israeli flag. The Cuban church has great respect for Israel as they consider them God's chosen people.  In my opinion, I think they also identify with Israel as a people oppressed, enslaved, persecuted who put their trust for deliverance strictly in their God. 

Our friend will say over and over again, the church IS the only hope for Cuba.  It will only be free when it accepts the freedom Christ gives, not any type of governmental freedom.  True freedom will follow as governments turn their hearts to the welfare of their people instead of their own and that will only happen when Christ captures their hearts. 

 Next up --- is change coming?