When Sara Kelley visited Cuba on a missions trip, she was disheartened most by the divorce rate. “When people finally come to the church,” she says, “they just have so much baggage.” In a country where religion, though not technically outlawed, is certainly not encouraged, and in a place where the government strives daily to control the people under its rule, finding a strong moral center for one’s life and for one’s marriage is difficult.
Sara tells of meeting 18-year-old divorcées and of divorced couples living under one roof because neither can afford other housing. The children struggling through these divorces have few, if any, places to turn for support. But for many children in Cuba, there is the hope that they will indeed hear about Jesus and His love for them.
Religion, despite oppression from the government, is a part of many individuals’ lives, and Cuban churches are finding many ways to reach people in spite of obstacles. Many U.S. missions volunteers who go to Cuba to spread the gospel are focusing on helping churches reach children.
Over the past nine years, First Baptist Church, Orange Park, Fla., has been sending groups to Cuba to complete construction projects and provide other resources to McCall Baptist Church in Santo Suarez and Nazaret Baptist Church in Vibora, Havana. While in Cuba, the missions groups are based at the Western Cuba Baptist Seminary in Havana.
Virginia Hansen, a member of the First Baptist Church, West Palm Beach, Fla., observes, “We know that the future of the church lies in the hands of the children.” Hansen visited Cuba in 2006, along with her sister and brother-in-law, and their group from First Baptist, Orange Park.
Focus on children
Prayer requests and e-mails from Cuba had indicated a need for help with the churches’ children’s ministries.
During their visit, the group of eight presented “Fiesta,” a Vacation Bible School (VBS) program, to the children, ministers and workers at McCall Baptist and Nazaret Baptist. They worked with many adults from the two churches, and by the end of the week, they were teaching more than 300 children. They also brought art supplies that members had requested for the children’s ministry.
As they worked with the adults and children of Cuba, the group from Florida felt God telling them to focus on the children.
They followed up with another trip in 2007, when they presented “Game Day Central,” LifeWay’s VBS 2007 curriculum, to more than 400 children at McCall Baptist and Nazaret Baptist. They also held workshops to train children’s ministers and workers to present the VBS program.
First Baptist, Orange Park, has heard and is following God’s call. But ministering to the children of Cuba has many challenges. All groups entering Cuba are warned that people may be watching.
Obtaining a license to travel and to minister is a difficult and lengthy process that, Hansen observes, “takes time and constant prayer.” Even the mundane obstacle of weight limits on luggage brings challenges and extra expense to workers carrying VBS materials and craft supplies into Cuba.
Transportation within the country provides constant challenges as well. Hansen notes, “While it is not necessary to speak Spanish, it does help to have some knowledge of the language and of the culture.”
Most importantly, Hansen points out, “The people of Cuba are searching. They are in desperate situations many times because they lack food. The Cuban people have been living in oppression for so long.” The churches in Cuba are striving to meet the basic needs of their people along with the spiritual needs.
Filled with hope
The churches the group from First Baptist, Orange Park, work with all have pharmacies with limited resources and provide some food after each service.
When the people of Cuba come to these churches, they are filled with hope. Hansen says, “Their faces are full of joy and they are so appreciative of any gesture of kindness.”
There are many Cuban churches in need of sponsors, just as McCall Baptist and Nazaret Baptist have a partner in First Baptist, Orange Park.
The needs are great, and the children, as they enjoy the VBS programs, see the love of a God their government wishes to deny and their often desperate family lives prevent them from knowing.
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