Our July 17th -
31st trip to Cuba was a trip of many firsts. This was the first time
that we: 1) Had two separate teams that came and went in back to back weeks 2)
Traveled by mules into the mountains to visit churches that are only reachable
by either foot or horse/mule back 3) Did a week-long VBS where all ages were
taught and ministered to each night 4) Traveled from the extreme western tip of
the island to the most extreme eastern tip of the island visiting 16
towns/cities as we went.
In week one we flew into
Havana on Saturday night arriving at 11:00pm and got in the bed at around
1:00am. We lead worship in Raymundo's church in Havana on Sunday morning where
Scott Gurosky preached and we saw 12 people come to faith in Christ. That
afternoon we traveled 3-4 hours east to a town called Placetas. We had a
service that night that Hunter Bragg preached and we saw 14 people receive the
Lord.
On Monday our group divided
into two teams. Scott Gurosky and his two boys, Davis and Drew, Lev Bragg and
his son Hunter, and Doug Suggs, Manny Fernandez, and Felix Diaz travel into the
mountains. The terrain was very tough but the ministry and the scenery was
amazing. Over a four-day period 30 people accepted Jesus and 31 were baptized.
Team two, Kelly Gurosky,
Vicki and Jennifer Bragg, Randy Overstreet, Kevin Kynerd, and David Johnson,
ministered each day and night in Placetas. During the morning we painted at the church, prepared for
the upcoming VBS events that night, prayer walked and invited people to come to
our event as we went street by street, visited some families who had family
members in the home who were close to death and ministered encouragement to
them and lifted them up in prayer. Randy Overstreet, the Pastor at Double Oak
Community Church went out to mission points each night and preached with his
interpreter while the rest of us taught at the VBS.
During the first week the
two teams working together saw 151 people come to faith in Christ and a total
of 31 people baptized. We ministered in Havana, Placetas, Manicaragua, Jiquima,
Zulueta, and the mountains.
On Saturday morning July the
24th the first group went home and the second group came into the
country with all of us getting to bed at about 1:00am. The second group consisted of Ken,
Dana, Bryan, Deven, and Nathan Whitton, Melissa Bennett, Kristin Donnelley and David
Johnson.
