Last month, I got to make a special trip to Cuba. It was my 33rd time there, but the first time that I got to visit churches in many of the central and eastern provinces. Working with our Herald of Truth representative in Cuba, Tony Fernández, I was able to print and distribute 2000 copies of the Lea La Biblia (Read The Bible) book I published last year. It was an exciting trip for me, one that Tony and I have dreamed of for years.

I told you last time of our visits to the provinces of Ciego de Ávila, Camagüey, and Las Tunas. From Las Tunas, we traveled to Holguín. Several congregations had gathered in the home of Alexander, one of the preachers. I had flown into the airport in Holguín several years ago, but had never visited the city nor the churches that meet there.

From there we continued on to the province of Granma. That had special significance for me. After 13 years, I’ve finally visited all of the provinces of Cuba. I dearly love the people of that island and have been blessed by so many of them.

We went to Bayamo, the capital city of the province. The church of Christ there is very small, so the preacher asked a local Pentecostal church to loan them their building. That church also invited its members to come to the event, and other churches of Christ from the province traveled in for the event, so we had a combined crowd of about 300. They had people in the balcony and standing on the sidewalk outside.

We had some singing before I spoke; let’s just say it was livelier than what you’d experience at most churches of Christ! The teaching time went very well, and everyone seemed to appreciate receiving the books.

The next morning we traveled to the small town of Jiguaní. This church at one time received support from the United States, but has been on its own for a while. They would love to have visits again, whether or not people can bring funds. It’s a small church in a rural area, faithfully serving God.

There was a large group of kids, so Tony took them aside for a class so that the adults could study.

There were several baptisms afterwards. It was the first time I’d seen a constructed vertical baptistery. I’ve seen people use barrels, but this one was made from cement.

It was a really encouraging morning.

I’ve got two more stops to tell you about, but I’ll leave off here for now. Thanks for reading!

SPECIAL REQUEST: I’m not in the habit of asking for money on this blog, but I’m going to break that policy. We’d like to print and distribute more books in Cuba. The churches were very encouraged by what we did, and other congregations are clamoring for us to visit them and hold similar events. If you could give to Herald of Truth and mark your gift “Cuba Literature Distribution,” it would mean a lot to me and the Christians in Cuba. Thanks!