Cuba para Cristo - Cuba for Christ
Ali's Story
I ♥ Cuba! Its an amazing country with so much to give thanks to God for and I am so blessed that I was able to return there this summer and rekindle relationships made last year as well as starting new ones.
Most people when thinking of Cuba would think beaches, cigars and sunshine, but these things are not what makes the impact. The hospitality and love of the Cuban people spoke so loud to me of Gods love - nothing was too much trouble.
The country is so materially poor, it's a real eye opener for what I take for granted on a daily basis; running water, electricity, enough food, a car, money in my purse etc. The Christians over there are such an amazing example of "material things are not of value if they have Jesus Christ as saviour" and they preach this word to their neighbours, friends and anyone who will listen!
The Church is growing and a lot of meetings are done in peoples homes and we were privileged to go and encourage these groups and visit Church members. We went to one house where the man had such an amazing testimony to God's grace; he became a Christian at 80 years old after being so ill they thought he may die. His wife and the Church had prayed for him for about 30 years, that he would become a Christian. This near death experience saw him turning to Christ and his wife and him now run a house Church for older people in their area. About 30 people come and it is growing - Praise God!
We spent a lot of time working with young people in holiday clubs and Sunday schools, we did three holiday clubs in different areas and we looked after about 120 children throughout the three weeks; this work was my personal favourite! God really did handpick the team as we had so many different gifts that we were able to pull together and use for the different aspects of the holiday club. We did drama, a short Bible talk, games, a memory verse, singing and craft. The children were a privilege to teach, they would soak up everything you said and be eager to learn more about Jesus and the Bible.
Craft was particularly popular and a big novelty as they normally don't have the money for the resources we took, and as we were driving away we saw lots of the children playing with their paper angels in the street, happy and content. We gave the children in one Church the chance to ask Jesus to be their saviour; we don't know how many prayed that prayer but God does and we are praying that they may grow into men and women of God, as this will be the next generation of Christians God uses in Cuba.
I am so weak and feeble but God really used me over these three weeks and the stories of his goodness are endless! This experience is life-changing and I am reminded how blessed I am and how much I should give thanks to God. Also to use the Cuban example of praying in everything and relying on God for everything I need.
We went out to give and encourage and I honestly feel we came back more encouraged then we could have ever encouraged them. God is amazing and this is all to his glory.
Ali
