Bob and Gretchen will be leading a work team on a trip to Cuba in April.  Please pray for Bob, Gretchen and the team, the church leaders in Cuba and the ministry work there.

photo: church service in Cuba

October 2009 - Leadership Training Seminar

Baseball is a way of life for boys in Cuba. Games in the streets. Rocks holding down cardboard bases. Homemade baseballs if a ball can’t be found. And house church leaders teaching the boys the game they love, while spreading God’s love in their communities.

A recent leadership trip gave us the opportunity to encourage and strengthen the house church pastors and leaders, while experiencing the life and culture of the beautiful people in Cuba...

 

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April 2009: Bob & Gretchen Visit Cuba

By Gretchen DeVoe

In March, Bob and Gretchen had the opportunity to visit Cuba to learn more about the three house churches supported by Lifeline, encourage the Christians there, and learn first-hand information on going to Cuba to plan for future visits.

The trip was something to talk about!  We (Bob and Gretchen) joined a team of 12 others led by Dr. Rob & Sandy White of South Carolina.  We flew from Miami on a private charter and the group was licensed by the U.S. to go there.

About the churches:

• One of the highlights was meeting the Cuban Christians.  Eduardo, the leader of almost 50 house churches, is a very dynamic man.  He and his family speak English and he holds degrees from a seminary in Cuba.  His family is beautiful and we enjoyed the time we shared with them.

• One of the most successful ministries of the house churches is the youth sports program.  Baseball is the primary program, but some soccer and volleyball programs have been started.  There are many youth baseball teams from communities that are near the mother church.  We took baseball equipment, volleyballs and witness soccer balls. 

Trip experiences:

• On our first full day in Cuba, we held a program for the youth.  Gretchen presented a devotion using the witness soccer ball (which is available to sponsored children).  We were amazed at the enthusiasm of the young people and the graciousness of the adults. 

• We went door to door and witnessed about Christ; many of the people came to the church services. More than 50 persons acknowledged their desire to have Jesus as their Savior.  Follow up is now taking place.

• Bob preached at one of the three house churches that are under Lifeline’s umbrella. What an experience!

• The women of the main church prepared two meals a day for us and diet we did NOT! 

• In addition to the spiritual activities, we saw a lot of the Havana area.  It is a city of contrasts…old, vintage cars from the 1950s era are restored and used for taxis or personally owned.  Old Havana is one of the most beautiful and memorable cities we’ve seen.  The most gorgeous architecture dates back to pre-1950 but then there are some newer, less ornate structures.  However public housing and many buildings are in great need of repair and painting.   Bob compared this trip to his 2005 visit and said that he saw evidence of improvements.

Future plans:

• Our hope and prayer is to return later this year for a Leadership Training Seminar with Jose Rodriguez from El Salvador.

• We also learned how we can take small groups to Cuba on a religious visa from the Cuban government and with a license granted by U.S. government.  Pray for Lifeline as we seek approval of this documentation.

The People/Culture:

• Everywhere we went we saw kids and adults playing sandlot baseball and occasionally soccer.

• The people are big fans of Ernest Hemmingway, who spent much of his time in Cuba.  Many places we visited, such as the downtown Havana area, had pictures and places that were purported to have been his favorite haunts.

• The people are patriotic and love their country, but do not talk politics.

• They have certain national heroes, such as Jose’ Marti. We were told he was an intellectual who did a lot for the Cuban people to bring literature and education to the children of the country.

• Nearly every home we visited served us coffee in demitasse/ espresso cups, which is a cultural custom, so we consumed a lot of little jolts of coffee throughout the day.  It was VERY GOOD.

• Malnutrition was not obviously seen and the children all looked very healthy.  Socialized medicine provides for physician and hospital care but medicines are not easy to obtain nor provided routinely. So we were asked to bring over the counter meds (like Tylenol and vitamins) and the people really wanted them. We encountered a number of people suffering from respiratory conditions and many of them are smokers.   No such thing as “non smoking” sections anywhere.  And cigars are everywhere.  And, no, no one offered us any!  They are probably too expensive for the average person.

Faith & Religion:

• There are many people who practice multiple religions including Catholicism and Santeria, which has some of its roots in African tribal religion.  The Cuban people there now were not the indigenous/Indian people of the country but came from Europe and Africa.  But for the most part people are not religious.

• Churches can be found but there are no new church buildings being constructed.  The structures there now are old and represent a myriad of faith backgrounds such as Greek Orthodox. The exception is that in October 2008 the first Russian church opened and Raul Castro was present for the official opening ceremony.

• The existing structures are beautiful and ornate but new churches are not permitted, although house churches are allowed in small groups of approximately 25 or less people. 

• The people we visited and witnessed to in their homes were extremely gracious and hospitable.  There are a dozen or more stories we have in our hearts and minds of the people there and how God is working in them. Those Cuban people filled with the Holy Spirit are easy to detect. 

The Country:

• What was amazing was the noticeable absence of military and police presence.  Because of the nature of the government you might expect to see a strong presence.  But instead, the keeping of the law is, for the most part, behind the scenes, but definitely there is a controlling force. There were police checks along the way but the most activity we saw was police in Havana keeping the beggars and vagrants away from the tourists.

• Another thing we learned was that if you are from the U.S. and come as a group, you have to travel via Havana Tours, if you don’t have a religious visa.  There are tour buses everywhere but the Havana Tours buses are for U.S. travelers only, and you must register any group of 6 or more through them.  The same thing applies to hotels.  So you would stick out as being from the U.S. wherever you go!

• It was also confirmed that Fidel Castro has not been seen in public by the people there for several years and they are not certain where he is at any given time. Raul Castro is the man in charge.

• There is also a stark absence of commercialism since there is not really any private industry but everything is government owned and those with jobs are paid/employed by the government.  No billboards for car dealerships, etc.  The only 3 billboards we saw were political in nature. 

• There seems to be little or no violence.

• Although the people live in government subsidized/provided housing that is substandard, the people really make do with what they have.

• The economy is basically centrally planned, and state controlled.  The average monthly income is $18 to $30.00 U.S. equivalent and the government provides food rations on a limited basis. Even in the government housing they have to pay a stipend rent and utility bill.  Most of the government housing is in large tenement style buildings which are in disarray.

For obvious reasons we don’t want to get too in depth about the government and we purposely avoided conversations of a political nature. Our purpose in being there was to be as Ambassadors of Christ, but also to encourage the Christians, learn more about the house churches that we support, and to learn first-hand information on going to Cuba to plan for future visits in our continuing ministry. 

A special thanks to Westerville Christian Church for their financial support of the house churches in Cuba.

Our Lord truly blessed us throughout the trip and we have made some amazing new friendships.  We got a bit of a new taste of how the Apostle Paul must have felt and what he may have experienced as he went to other nations and cultures, diverse from his own, yet all needing the same Lord and God. 

Again, we thank you.

Bob and Gretchen have the opportunity to visit Cuba.  Pray for their trip and watch for updates after they return.

December 2008

• Lifeline continues to support 3 house churches in Cuba.

• Their outreach through house meetings and special sports programs, such as baseball and soccer, are bearing much fruit.

Prayers

• Pray for the DeVoes to receive their authorizations to visit there next spring.

• Pray that doors will open for more evangelism

We have had 64 people baptized this year. There will be more baptisms in October and November this year. We are visiting with some of the places where the ministry is expanded too. So, we are putting our hands on it and have seen how the Lord is at work.

Thanks a lot for your prayers and support.

Yours in Christ,

Eduardo.

May 2008

• Continually pray for souls to be saved; they are doing a great work there. Eduardo has much responsibility.
• Pray that doors will open up for us to visit there even yet this year.
• Changes seem to be occurring in Cuba that look favorable but we have yet to see the fruit of those changes at the government level.
• Pray for funds and materials to continue their baseball and soccer outreach ministries among the youth in the communities of the house churches/cell groups.