T minus 5 weeks... and Cuba

Hey family!  Aubrey and I landed safely back home in the Dominican this past Monday.  The flights were great and Aubrey was fantastic (slept both flights), Praise God!!  It is great to be back and back at work.  In fact this week has been full which is a blessing.  As of right now, we have less than 5 weeks until our first camp... yes that's right... less than 5 weeks!  Which is so exciting but also a tiny bit stressful as we and everyone in the States try to finish all the details.  So please be praying for this journey and all those involved as we want to put on the best camp possible for the kids. 

We restarted ESL on Wednesday, and it's hard to believe we only have 4 more weeks until we finish the book.  And tomorrow, Saturday, we start Paz Financiera with our AIM staff and several local pastors we work with.  (Many people have heard of Financial Peace by Dave Ramsey, this is the same thing but for Latin cultures and in Spanish.)  I must say I am really excited about offering this course for our leaders, and I pray they will be blessed by the knowledge and wisdom gained from such a course.  And special thanks to the Ablacks for helping get this set up.  The entire package including the leader pack and the additional 11 books were donated by various people in the States... so thank you for your support of these Pastors and coaches!  :)  I will keep you all updated on how this is going as it is a 6 week intensive course.

Tonight, J has a Christian Sports Association meeting which is AWESOME because the whole time will be directed towards our camps this Summer and getting many of the details lined up including numbers of kids expected, sites, sports, etc.  Praise God for this organization and the men who lead it! 

We also wanted to include a few pictures of Cuba and a short letter from J. explaining his time there.  From what I can tell, it was life changing for him but let me let him tell you...

Cuba.  A lot of emotion tied into a simple name.  Fear, mystery, anger, pain…  I admit my own level of fear beginning our trip to Cuba was considerable.  I recited scripture and remembered stories of the saints who faced the fear of the unknown.  Yet, I am grateful for this experience and the fear I felt because I was given the opportunity to see God in a new way. 

God, in His wisdom, allowed me to experience this fear knowing He would provide my comfort.  And He showed His power multiple times in our stay in Cuba.  I cannot imagine how what we saw with human eyes looked like in the heavens.  We saw God change the attitude and spirit of the woman who checked us in at the airport.  Within 15 minutes, she changed from a woman who was obstinate in her assertion that there would be no room for the equipment bags we brought to a woman who collaborated with us in making sure those bags were on the plane.  Later, as we gathered our bags in the Cuban airport, God showed us we were indeed "invisible to the enemy".  And throughout our time in the country, God showed His power and mercy over and over. 

Also, Cuba is simply a beautiful country.  The people are beautiful.  The land is beautiful.  The coaches are beautiful.  The church (body of Christ) is beautiful.  Many of these people have so little.  Little food.  Few jobs.  Little hope.  And yet people smile and greet you.  They hug each other, they laugh with each other, and they share what little they have.  The coaches are dedicated to the idea that through sport, they can reach a generation with the Gospel and discipleship which will change their communities.  And they do this with one glove to share between all the kids. 

I loved my time in Cuba and eagerly await the opportunity to return.  I encourage others to visit and be a blessing to the people God is using to change the world.

 

And some pictures of Cuba...

J and Rudy (our brother who lives in Cuba).

"Yo tengo my caballo amarrado..." (this is Fred's favorite song) :)  Just riding some horse statues in Cuba... which apparently were SUPER HOT! 

There is a prehistoric park in Cuba made up of cement statues (where the horses were from above).  Here Fred is saving J from the mammoth.

A view in Cuba.

A picture of a beach.

One of Rudy's wife's family members.  J had a "first" here as it was his first time to use an outhouse... great experience from what I understand.

About 1/3 of the cars on the road are cars that were imported from the States before the Revolution.  Therefore, the cars are "seasoned".  But awesome...reminds me of Back to the Future.  According to J, you don't throw anything away, you just fix.

This is an enormous Sago Palm.

 

Another view from Cuba.  According to J it is a very beautiful country.

 

 

Thank you for all the prayers and love!  We love you guys.

“He told them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field…’”  Luke 10:2