Ten folks with local ties were part of a mission trip to Cuba recently. From Fork Baptist Church were Pastor Jim Warren and his son, Jason.
From Pyerian Baptist Church of Floyd Dale, were Micheal, Susan and Reagan Dickens; Janet Keeton; Tim Cooper; Jacob and Philip Bryen Orr, and Pastor James Orr. The total team was seventeen people, with the others joining the team in Miami from the upstate, Georgia and Tennessee. The team shared in 164 salvations and the planting of two new churches working mainly in the Havana region.
The team also participated in leadership training classes and ten different children’s ministries. They distributed reading glasses, Bibles, and with the help of the Women’s Ministry of Brownsville Baptist Church were able to give away over two hundred dresses and shorts outfits made for children. The outfits were made from old bed linens and pillow cases. The children were very excited to receive these new clothes.
Another special feature of this trip was a visit to Matanzas in northern Cuba to visit a Cuban seminary. The team toured the grounds and prayed with the Seminary Chaplain, Señor Daniel Montoya. The seminary is currently training 600 full and part-time students. The seminary also grows much of it own food in terraced gardens in the campus.
Another unusual aspect of this trip was a visit to the United States Presence. As the US and Cuba do not formally recognize each other diplomatically there is no US Embassy in Cuba, however there is a large structure there manned by US diplomats called the “Presence.” It serves as a liaison between the US and Cuba, sort of back-door diplomacy, if you will. We were allowed to meet with our representative there and shared information about present US activities in Cuba as well as receive support of our mission there.
There is always some time spent in learning the culture and being a part of Cuban life. This trip included a visit to the national stadium in Havana to see Cuba’s favorite pastime, baseball. The Cuban Professional League is nearly on a par with the Major Leagues and each year Cuban’s make news by defecting and playing in the US. This night, however, was just plan old baseball as the home team. Industriales fell to visiting Artemisa; 4 to 2. It was the first ball game of any kind for some of the team members but the enjoyed the experience. All were glad to pack-up when the work was thru and hed safely home.
