CAIBARIEN - A GROWING COASTAL TOWN

Caibarien is near the tourist area of the keys of North central Cuba. To fill the staffing demand of tourism in the keys, the government is building apartment complexes in Caibarien for people who work in the keys.  Because of this, a lot of people are moving to Caibarien.  This presents a challenge and an opportunity to the church in Caibarien.

One challenge for the church is how to best utilize their resources to reach the expanding population. Even a large town like Caibarien is not exempt from transportation problems and as the city grows the problem becomes more acute.  This makes it difficult for the elderly and children to be able to come to church, especially because as the town grows the distances people must travel to church increase.  Finding inexpensive ways to bringing them to church on Sundays and other activities requires creativity.

 The population growth also creates an opportunity for the church to shine its light in the community. It gives people in the church who are believers the opportunity to reach out to the new neighbors, to welcome them to their new community, to discover their needs and be of service to them. 

GOD LIKES TO HAVE FUN TOO

I believe that God always has a special pre-determined place for all the unrequested donations we receive. They provide the unexpected opportunity to bring a smile to someone’s face or fill a need no one knew about. 

This particular donation was not planned nor requested; but someone donated it and it went into our luggage. A glance at the photo below will explain why this particular donation made it all the way to Yaguajay. 

Yes, God likes sports and specially children playing soccer.  What a great God we have!

Note:  The new ball needs to be inflated J

Club de Cazadores

Consolación is our last stop in this ministry trip and once more we head out to meet people in the rural areas around there. Club de Cazadores (Hunter’s Club) is about 8 kilometers from Consolacion. Farmers in that area grow rice, corn, green beans, and black and red beans.

We visit with the family and the extended family who live where the mission meets. They grow corn, green beans, red and black beans in land handed down from their great grandparents. They rotate the crops and are eager to show us the red beans growing in the field.

Liban is the young seminary student who leads the mission. Liban’s face lights up when he talks about the people at the Club de Cazadores and it is clear he cares about the people there. He shares in their achievements and their struggles as if they were his own. And he wants them to bring to them the joy and peace only God can give.

Not everyone who comes to this mission is able to join us on this Monday morning because they are working.

There are 3 other villages where the church in Consolacion has missions and 4 small churches in the area that do not have a pastor and Rolando, the pastor in Consolacion, supports. The needs of this community are not unlike what we have witness throughout Cuba. Spiritual darkness experienced through Santeria and Voodoo are strong. Shortages of food, medicine, gasoline and transportation make daily life difficult. But through it all we see the positive spirit of the people in Cuba who face their struggles with courage, humor and hope.

CONSOLACION

I haven't spent much time in Consolacion del Sur in the last decades. Consolacion del Sur is a town in the Western province of Cuba. I remember going through the town twice in past trips and stopping to see two houses. This is something odd because Consolacion is a big part of my childhood. My family on my mother’s side is from Consolacion. My great-grandparents lived there, my grandfather and his wife became the first in their families to join the Baptist church there, and they raised their children in a christian home. Consolacion was where my parents met, married and had their first four children. They moved to Havana a year before I was born but my birth certificate was registered as born in Consolacion del Sur. So I can say that Consolacion is my town.

My mother with her grandfather, father and her first born on the patio of her grandfather’s house in Consolacion circa 1940

My memories of Consolacion largely come from the many stories I heard throughout my life about family life in Consolacion. But I also remember spending weeks when I was a child in Consolation at my great-grandparents' house and in the house that my parents kept there. I remember walking through the countryside, visiting the rice fields my father managed and the new bicycles that he bought for my brother Milton and me one summer when we were visiting.

On this ministry trip the team visited there for three days and I spent that time getting reacquainted with  Consolación.  

The building  of the church in Consolacion is a commemorative memorial of what God has done for me. It is like the memorial stone that Jacob erected in the desert as a marker of God’s presence when he dreamed of the ladder going to heaven (Gen 28:22) or the memorial monument on the Jordan River when the Israelites entered the promised land. In a similar way the church building in Consolation is a commemorative monument of God's goodness to my family and me. And I am grateful that the church building still stands, but I am even more grateful that God has preserved His church in Consolacion as a testament of his love.

Rachel