Category Archives: Cuba

Pardon the interruption…

1 Reply

We’ll get back to our discussion of church websites, but I thought I’d tell you about our trip to Cuba. For the first time, my wife Carolina got to go with me to Cuba. They invited her to speak at the Annual Women’s Conference in Havana, Cuba, and also to present at a Ladies’ Day in Matanzas, Cuba. I was thrilled, for the work in Cuba is one of the most exciting works I’ve ever seen. The University Church of Christ in Abilene agreed to fund our trip, which was something else I was happy about. I really hope that UCC will find ways to get involved in the great things going on in Cuba.

We traveled to Miami on Thursday, November 10, spending the night in the airport hotel there. That works well when taking a charter flight to Cuba for the check-in for those flights is about 100 feet from the hotel entrance. On Friday, we flew from Miami to Havana. When I’ve done this trip in the past, the plane was a small American Eagle plane. This time it was a 737, which suggests to me that the number of people traveling to Cuba is increasing.

The Ladies’ Day went well. They go all out, offering cooking tips, beauty advice, singing lessons, and the like. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and Carolina did great.

I spoke at the church on Sunday, with about 350 in attendance. There were 3 baptisms, which isn’t surprising for a work that averages 150-200 baptisms per year. (This congregation also works with over 20 smaller churches in the surrounding province)

On Monday we traveled to Havana. The women’s conference started on Tuesday. Carolina taught 3 classes on Wednesday and gave a keynote on Thursday. Everyone fell in love with her and she with them.

We returned home on Friday, tired but happy after a great trip.

I took some photos on my iPhone using an app called DerManDar. This app creates panoramic photos which can be rather interesting. I’ll include one of those photos here (use the controls at the bottom of the photo to manipulate it). You can see more on my page at DerManDar.com.

Manuel Manrique

1 Reply

I just want to share one more story from my last Herald of Truth trip to Cuba. I know I’m running the risk of being like your friend who wants to show you 557 pictures from his last vacation. But I wanted to talk about making a visit to the home of Manuel Manrique.

Everyone calls him Manrique. Manrique was a preacher before the revolution and stayed faithful, even during the hard times. He used to ride a bicycle with an antenna on the back and a sign on the front that said, “Only Jesus Saves.” They would stop him, rough him up and rip the sign off his bike. He’d go home, put a new sign on and head out again. He was responsible for planting numerous congregations back in the day.

When I first met Manrique, he just seemed to be a quaint old gentlemen with failing eyesight who was at every church meeting. He would talk out during sermons, finishing verses that were being quoted or even making the preacher’s point for him. Over time, I came to know his story and came to have a great love and respect for the man.

Manrique wasn’t at the events this time. When I asked, they told me that his health is bad and his wife’s health is worse, so he was at home. He was sorely missed.

Tony Fernández took me to visit Manrique one afternoon, and what a visit it was. He told stories, sang hymns and reveled in the joy of the Lord.

But my favorite moments were when Tony described the evangelistic work going on, particularly the revival of a dormant work in the town of Cárdenas. Manrique sat on the edge of his seat, pumping his fist and cheering aloud, looking for all the world like a rabid sports fan listening to a game. But his sport is Christianity, and I’m not sure there’s a bigger fan. Tears came to my eyes as I watched him.

There are some pictures and other stories about Manrique in several articles on the Christian Chronicle web site:
After 35 years, and one hurricane, lectureship reaches Cuba
Seeing the light in Cuba
Classic cars, Communism and Churches of Christ

Video production in Cuba

Leave a reply

As I mentioned, one of the purposes of my trip to Cuba was for Tim Frakes to train our Herald of Truth team in Cuba in the production of professional videos. For now, there are limited distribution options, but there is the real possibility that that will change in the future. While they were focused on the possibility of producing television, Tim encouraged them to recognize as well the opportunities that the Internet will provide.

The church in Matanzas has been blessed with gifted media workers, from professional cameramen to well-known television personalities. The week there was highly productive, with the team confidently producing several video testimonies that will soon be posted on the web, both on YouTube and on our evangelistic site www.nuestraesperanza.com.

The world of media is changing with new technologies making it easier to produce quality products on a low budget. May God use these changes for his glory in Cuba.

XI National Preachers Conference in Cuba

Leave a reply

My trip to Cuba had two main purposes, besides the ongoing need to visit our Herald of Truth field office there. Training Cuban Christians in the production of professional videos was one of the purposes; for that purpose, Tim Frakes traveled with me and worked all week with a team of Christians. The other purpose of the trip was the national preachers conference that took place in two places simultaneously: Matanzas and Santiago.

I was the keynote speaker for the western conference, in Matanzas. Including the opening worship on Sunday night, I was scheduled to speak eight times, though I ended up combining two of the talks into one. The theme of the conference was “The Fruit of the Spirit.” We started on Sunday and finished Wednesday at noon. The scheduled was packed, with one speaker after another. I’m not sure that many Christians here would sit and listen to that many talks in a row, but these men did a great job of paying attention. It’s always fun to speak to a group that’s hungry to learn.

This was the first time that the conference had been split between two locations. Not all of the Cubans were happy about the change, especially because this is the only time in the year that they all get to see one another. However, the different format allowed for the participation of almost twice as many preachers, up to 450 from 250 the year before. Personally, I’d like to see a rotating format, with a centralized conference one year and a split conference the other. But I’m just a flunky in this one, so I’ve got no say.

The Cubans have had three major conferences each year: the mens conference, a womens conference and a youth conference. At present, the youth conference is having a hard time due to the lack of outside funding. If you know of a congregation that would be interested in being a part of the work in Cuba, this would be a great opportunity.

Opening roads in Cuba

2 Replies

Back from my trip to Cuba last week, I want to share some more of what I experienced there. I’ve written in the past about the evangelistic efforts going on in the province of Matanzas, but I’m still overwhelmed every time I see the work in person. The Versalles congregation in Matanzas decided to reach out to communities around the city, something that the church had done before the Revolution.

They chose a road that led from Matanzas to the province of Havana (which now has been split in two and renamed, though I don’t remember the names). They prayed for those towns, asked members to give them names of people they knew in those towns, contacted respondents to Herald of Truth’s radio programs and set out to start churches. When someone was converted, they were told that the church would meet at their house the following Sunday. Those people would always invite family, friends and neighbors, and a new congregation was born.

After a time, congregations had begun in every town on the road they had chosen, so they picked another highway. When all the towns had churches meeting in them, a third highway was chosen. The church is now working on a fourth highway in their province.

The last few years, the Versalles congregation and the churches planted from it have averaged 280 baptisms per year. The retention rate is high. The number of Christians meeting in the province has basically tripled since 2006.

While describing their outreach methods to a visitor from Alabama, Tony Fernández made a statement that brought tears to my eyes:

When we are out and we come to a town that doesn’t have a congregation, we always stop and have a prayer for that town. Above all, we pray asking forgiveness for not having reached them yet.

Wow! I wish I felt the same passion, the same urgency. Maybe some of theirs will rub off on me.