Let me tell you more about my trip to Cuba last week. It was my eleventh trip to the island; I’ve found each successive trip to be that much more encouraging.

One major activity from last week was the National Preachers Conference. There are three major annual conferences each year in Cuba: a men’s conference, a women’s conference and a youth conference. Hundreds of Christians gather from across Cuba for fellowship and teaching. It’s an exciting time for them and for all of us that participate.

The conference this year was held in Matanzas, primarily at the Versalles congregation that I wrote about yesterday, and also at the Gumá congregation. There weren’t additional rooms for breakout classes, so that limited the number of speakers that could participate.

I was privileged to be invited to be one of the speakers. On Wednesday night, I spoke about 2 Samuel 6, the bringing of the ark. I always enjoy speaking to these groups. They really pay attention to the lessons. I’ve had people come up years later to discuss something I said.

These conferences require a large outlay of time and money. Most of the money comes from American churches, in this case, the Mayfair Church of Christ in Huntsville, Alabama. We’re continuing to evaluate whether or not the expenditure is justified, but I can definitely say that it’s been a blessing to the Cuban church.

Edit (3:15 p.m.) — Lee Milam, Worship/Family minister at the Mayfair church, posted a video of some of the singing from the event. Thought you might enjoy it:
Cuba Preachers Conference 2012: A Joyful Noise