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Mike and Nancy Baron
Les and Elizabeth Coble
David and Lucille Cole
Todd and Connie Jones |
On Friday morning, September 21st, eight of us began a memorable mission trip to Cuba. If David and Lucille Cole can set their alarm for 3:00 am and be at the airport for a 6:05 am flight, Nancy and Mike Baron, Elizabeth and Les Coble and Connie and Todd Jones had no excuses for being late. After six months of preparing paperwork, applying for Visas and finalizing travel plans, our group from First Presbyterian was off for a week of witnessing, mentoring and encouraging fellow Presbyterians in the central part of Cuba, known as Matanzas. Thanks to David Cole and travel agent, Jim King, we had timely flights to Miami and directly onto Havana.
The three smiling faces of Reverend Dopico, church administrator Gustavo, and bus driver Yoel, greeted us at the airport where our bags were loaded onto a new Mercedes bus recently purchased by the U.S. Baptists for their congregation in Matanzas. The Presbyterian bus is broken and needs a new motor. I hope the Presbyterian churches here in the States can work together to buy a bus for the Dora E. Valentin church and its mission churches so they will have transportation for the elderly and youth who currently hitch hike to services at the church.
As soon as you walk out of the airport in Havana, you feel like someone "turned off the lights" in 1959 when Castro took over with his communist government. Pictures, paintings and murals of Castro are everywhere. Buildings, cars and amenities in Cuba have not changed since the 1950's.
Despite hardships, Pastor Joel Ortega Dopico (known as Dopico), Gustavo Rodriguez and his wife, Rosa, work long hours daily to minister to the hearts, minds and health of their congregation at the Dora E. Valentin Church of Varadero and its surrounding mission churches. The church has struggled in its 50-year history and at one time had only one member. The now-thriving congregation of over 250 people, including members of its home missions, is proof of God's promise that he will "never leave us nor forsake us."(Hebrews 13:5). Although Castro declared Cuba an atheist state in 1959, he allowed the Protestant and Catholic churches to continue their ministry. It wasn't until 1990, however, that Castro recognized religious organizations as important support for the Cuban people in time of great stress. Subsequently, in 1992, he removed the barrier on communist party membership for Christians.
Out of the 11 million people in Cuba, only 300,000 are Christians. Those who are a part of the Presbyterian church remind me of the early Christians in the New Testament who continued to love, worship and witness for the Lord despite challenging conditions. Dopico and his congregation were filled with joy to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their church, which is named for the wife of one of their former pastors. The church has had 15 pastors in 50 years, a reflection of the hardships of the presbytery in Cuba.
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Our first few days in Varadero were spent participating in music and worship services commemorating the church's 50th anniversary. Saturday morning we ventured out to the Guasimas area. There, young boys were practicing baseball and soccer in a field they share with the livestock. An older church member, also their coach, and the boys could not have been more excited to have Todd Jones step up to bat. The boys were excited to show us their baseball skills and loved having their picture made with our minister. |
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Saturday and Sunday, Todd gave two wonderful sermons on God's goals for the Church and on Mathew 11:25 where Jesus encourages the church to welcome all people, be Christian servants, and learn daily what it means to follow Jesus. As always, Todd presented his sermons with energy and enthusiasm, despite having to stop every few sentences for the interpreter to convey it in Spanish. David Cole followed Todd's warm embrace to the congregation by presenting a plaque from our church to the Dora E. Valentin church at their Sunday service. The words, "Given to the Glory of God by First Presbyterian Church, Nashville, Tennessee, USA in gratitude for our partnership in the Gospel, this 23rd day of September, 2007" are engraved on the plaque and commemorate our partnership and support for this congregation.
Thanks to David and Lucille Cole's passion and funds from First Presbyterian, the Dora E. Valentin church now has a bedroom, bathroom, office, and meeting room for Dopico along with additional guest rooms for visitors like us. Although we took our own towels and soap, we can thank David Cole for the toilet seats and drain stoppers that he carried down there. The women of the church constantly cleaned our rooms and asked what they could do for us in gratitude for our continued support of their church and its programs.
After driving an hour from Havana through Matanzas and arriving at the coastal town of Varadero on Friday, we were ready Monday morning to explore the surrounding towns and visit the small churches where our mission funds have helped provide roofs, bathrooms, Sunday school rooms, and vegetable gardens for the people. As we stood on the sidewalk, waiting for Yoel and the bus, an old army truck with a dark green tarpaulin drove up and stopped at the cinder block building across from the church. Men who looked like they were still in WW II, threw off bags of rice, beans and other staples to the rations officers who were there to handout the bi-weekly rations to citizens standing in line with their empty bags. One by one a person would step to the counter where they were given their rations as the officer checked off their name in an old ledger book. This was communist reality for those of us who had just taken a shower, eaten a good breakfast and had choices as to what outfit to wear that day.
Our visit Monday morning to the Juan G. Hall Presbyterian church continued to remind our conscience of the bleak conditions pastors endure to minister to their church members. The young minister and his wife at this church live in substandard conditions and operate with outdated resources. Their smiles and faith reflect the hope they have in the Lord. Despite leaking ceilings and unending renovations, these Christians do not complain and are so appreciative of our help.
The tiny church in Perico, which is located in one of the most poverty stricken areas of Cuba, is a shining light in a neighborhood of crumbling houses. Construction for a Sunday school room and bathrooms is underway thanks to financial assistance from our church. After touring these rural areas and having a late afternoon break, our group enjoyed dinner at the church followed by a wonderful orchestral concert in the sanctuary of the church. Five musicians traveled in the pouring rain from the city of Matanzas to give a performance in honor of the church's 50th anniversary. When we asked how much these talented musicians charged, we were told that they were happy to travel and perform in exchange for the hearty dinner served by the church.
Tuesday we were off to tour and have meetings at the Theological Seminary of Cuba which is run by the Episcopal and Presbyterian denominations. This is truly an oasis in the middle of Matanzas, where an average of 25 students from various denominations study. The number of seminary students in Cuba is quite low and church leaders work tirelessly to try to encourage capable young Christians to pursue the ministry. Dopico is a graduate of this prestigious seminary. Unfortunately, only one graduate this year has committed to the Presbytery. The seminary has a wonderful garden in order to provide fruits and vegetables for the professors and the students. A few years ago, conditions were such that the seminary could not provide three meals a day for those on campus. Following a tour, we met with leaders of the Presbytery, ate lunch in the cafeteria and enjoyed coffee with Norca and Carlos Camps, the immediate past General Secretary of the Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Cuba, which is the highest office. He is also a professor at the seminary. After an enlightening day, we headed back to Varadero.
By Wednesday, we were off to Havana where we spent most of the afternoon in a meeting with the President of the National Council of Churches. The Council of Churches in Cuba is a fraternity of churches and institutions that incorporate 23 different denominations. Its mission is creating spaces for the training, meeting, reflection and celebration of its members.
The church in Cuba is alive and active but definitely relies on support provided by churches like First Presbyterian. After six days of touring and meeting with fellow Christians in Cuba, I never heard anyone ask for more financial assistance. They are so appreciative of our generosity and ask for our prayers more than anything else. Upon leaving, I felt like we had been in another "time and place" in history. We are blessed to be Americans and that was even more obvious to me as we sat waiting for our flight back to Miami. A young boy (he could not have been more than 12 or 13) sat sobbing in the waiting area at the airport. Nancy Baron realized he needed comforting and after the two of us tried to console this young boy (who could not speak English), an older Cuban woman spoke to him and conveyed to us that his mother was sending him to the States. She wants a better life for him, and the scared young boy was going to live with a father, who he probably didn't know, in Oregon. This boy did not know when he would see his mother again. We are blessed, and as mission trips reveal, we need to continue our prayers and support for Christians struggling in circumstances less fortunate than ours here at First Presbyterian in Nashville. I thank the Lord for our experience in Cuba and hope that our church will continue its passion for this mission with financial and goodwill support in the years ahead.
Elizabeth Coble
Click here to see more pictures from the Fall 2007 Cuba Trip. |
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