Fifth Week

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them." Mathew 6:26

Wild parrots

Life continues to go on at the beach. John has been able to golf a few times. Yesterday he played for the last time here. He saw these wild parrots while golfing. 

We continue to do have different couples over for dinner. So far we have had everybody over at least once. Our purpose is to let each couple know personally that we have the condo for sale, and that we are not planning to come back until next year anyway, whether it sells or not. We have been trying to get rid of a lot of "stuff" that we have here for ministry. Everybody leaves our home with a box with something. Eduardo and Arelis came over with their son, Evans. They are the only couple who is not married. I brought a wedding dress from the US for her about two years ago, but I had kept it here because she did not want Eduardo to see it. Well, they have been together 18 years, and they are still praying about getting married. What is there to pray about? They are afraid of divorce. It does not make any sense. We give up. We have talked to them, as well as Carlos, our friend Luis from Bolivia and other people. Even under the local law, they are considered common law marriage. If they separate, the same laws apply as a married couple. Anyway, I kept the dress on a hanger and put a trash bag over, tied it at the bottom so that Eduardo would not see it, and gave it to her.

Eduardo's father passed away recently. He is sadden because his father never accepted the Lord. Arelis has been talking to Eduardo's mother and to his brother's girlfriend. She even got them to bring out and burn all the images of the virgin that they had at home. She said they brought stuff out by the armfuls. There is a strain with the rest of the family, especially his father's brother because they would not allow a novena to be prayed for the soul of the departed. It is nine evenings of rosary praying in a row. Eduardo and Arelis attend church on Sundays, but they are not baptized, nor can they take communion until they get married under the church's rules.

Irene came to see me the other morning. We talked for three hours. We used to have the couples' meetings at her house for years. She and Luis Carlos were living together and have a boy together. Luis Carlos left her three years ago. She has struggled a lot during these years. Her behavior has not been stellar, and the tongues in town are wagging. She is now living together with somebody else. They got engaged on Valentine's Day and plan to marry soon. They have to pay a lawyer for the civil ceremony, and they are planning to do that as soon as they get the money together. She plans to have a religious ceremony, probably with Pastor Alejandro much later. By the way, Luis Carlos just got married Saturday. Pastor Alejandro did the ceremony.  😃 Luis Carlos and his new wife went to his native Colombia for their honeymoon, but they took Luis Carlos' son with them! If this were a Hollywood movie, people would not believe it possible.

The Moras are doing well. They got their IDs and work permits. My neighbor next door approached me the other day asking for a phone number of a lady who used to clean her house. I gave her the phone number, but told her that if that lady could not do it, I knew of somebody else, thinking of Glennis, of course. Well, that other person already had a job, so she called back about Glennis. She started working Monday. She will work three days a week. Our neighbors are a young couple who live here permanently. He is an American, but she is a local girl. They have three-year-old twin boys. She works part-time. They also have a side business of renting baby equipment to tourists. She told us that she is overwhelmed, desperate for help so that she can spend more time with the twins. I am praying that Glennis can bring the light of Jesus to this couple. They are very nice neighbors. So, Glennis has a job, Yunior is still looking. While they were in the capital, they receive the motorcycle donation. It is from a Christian organization that does this kind of thing to help pastors and missionaries. They donated a total of four motorcycles. Carlos will bring the motorcycle next week, the day we leave.

No offers for the condo yet. We are concerned now because of the stock markets diving world wide, not just in the US. People do not buy property in times like this. We also hear that the Houston airport is very tight about the coronavirus. Please pray that we will not have delays. I am already praying for protection as we travel back. We are leaving on Thursday next week.

Prayer requests:

• Good health and protection for both of us.
• Safety for Yunior as he learns to drive the motorcycle.
• That Glennis could be a light for my neighbors.
• That Yunior finds a job soon.
• That the Holy Spirit continues to work in this town.
• Pray for the couples that the seed planted will grow.
• That the condo sells soon.

Until next time...from the beach...

Fourth Week

 Matthew 6:26 New International Version (NIV)

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Last Saturday we have the first meeting to formalize the new non-profit, "Asociación de Valores." "Valores" means "values." We have used the name "Valores" in the past when we had sports clinics in town, but now we have a legal non-profit entity in this country with a constitution (16 pages!) and a board of directors. We have a logo and soon we will have a website. I already purchased the domain name. We met here in our condo. The Moras cooked a nice Cuban meal for all of us, and we had the formal meeting after dinner. Carlos and Rosario came from the capital with the lawyer and two other ladies, who agreed to be on the board also. We hope that this organization will facilitate community work in town, as well as sharing the Gospel when the opportunities open. Yunior's brother, who is a pastor in Texas, plans to bring a group the first week in July to do some community work. That might be the first activity under the new association. We did not include the town's name because Carlos, the dreamer, wants to work in other communities in the area, as the Lord provides.

Patricia, the lawyer, reads the constitution

Sergio is the treasurer

Gardy is the president

John is just a board member

Carlos is secretary

Yunior is also a board member

The whole board

On Sunday we met with the couples, now at Gardy's house. Since we were celebrating Saint Valentine's Day, however late, we talked about the Song of Songs. The love between a husband and his wife is sanctified by the Lord and celebrated in the Bible. We had a good discussion about their relationships as husbands and wives.

On Monday, we took the Moras to have a real American hamburger. What they call "hamburgers" in Cuba is some kind of patty with very little meat and a lot of fillers. They loved it! Yesterday we took them to the big town, 40 minutes from here, to catch a bus for the capital. There is a bus connection between the little town and the big one, but the bus leaves at 6:00 am and the bus for the capital at 10:00 am. We thought we could save them a few hours of travel if we took them. They were going to pick up their ID's as permanent refugees which also permit them to work legally here. There is also an organization that has donated a motorcycle for the ministry here; therefore, Yunior will be able to have transportation to look for a good, permanent job and also to visit people at night. There was some kind of ceremony today in the capital about it. Carlos was taking them. It is not clear how they are getting the motorcycle here. Carlos was working on that. Yunior needs to get a learner's permit and then take the test. It will be a few weeks before he will be able to ride it.

No offers on the condo yet. 

Prayer requests:

Good health, safety and stamina for us.

Jobs for the Moras and grace in the eyes of the town.

Safety as Yunior learns to ride the motorcycle.

For the Holy Spirit to work in hearts and minds here.

Pray for safety and health for our family back home.

Until next time...from the beach...

Third Week

Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Psalms 127:1

This verse has been on my mind lately. As we look back in all the efforts put into this little dusty town, we struggle sometimes to see fruit. Surely, there is a church and a pastor nearby in another town where there was none, but our original town remains very much immune to the Gospel. We trust that the Lord will work on hard hearts because He alone can bring forth fruit.

We have spent the last week visiting a few couples and also spending time with the Moras. Sunday we tried taking them to church. Pastor Alejandro had an unpleasant experience with the Venezuelan couple; therefore, he asked me please not to bring this other couple into the church. There is a Calvary Chapel church not far from here. They have a Facebook page listing the times of their services. We also drove by one day on our way home to double check time. On Sunday, we picked up the Moras and drove to the church, arriving half an hour early. The gate was closed, so we thought we were too early. John went to the gas station and drove us around for a while, but when we returned, the gate was still locked, and there was no sign of activity. Disappointed, we took the Moras grocery shopping and drove them home. No idea of the time of the services. Of course, we listened to Pastor Ryan's message online.

The Moras were here last night again for dinner. We got into a conversation about the surge of unusual names in Cuba, such as their names: Yunior and Glennis. We started mentioning strange names until they came up with the winner: a pastor in Cuba named his daughter "Talita Cumi." Glennis said maybe they will have no trouble getting her up in the morning! It is hard for them to be away from their parents, especially for Glennis. I am not sure that they will stay here. They miss home. They can go back to Cuba without much difficulty because they did not seek asylum in the US. Stay tuned...

Monday was the first day of the new school year. It runs from the second week in February to the second week in December. There is always a flurry of activity in the stores the week before as parents buy uniforms and school supplies. Everybody wears uniform in this country. Even office workers wear polo shirts with the company logo. Below a couple of pictures of our little friends in their brand new school uniforms.

We still have received no offers on our condo. It is always difficult to keep everything spotless in case somebody should call. 

Saturday Carlos and Rosario are coming with the lawyer, Patricia, and two other ladies. We will have a meeting here to form a nonprofit organization for the town of Pinilla. Carlos has had this idea for a long time, but the Venezuelans did not want to cooperate. Any way, the idea is to have a place similar to The Anchor where the youth in town can go play games, sports, use computers, learn English, and here the Gospel if they are open. I will talk about it next time.

Prayer Requests:

• Good health, safety and stamina for us.
• Jobs for the Moras and grace in the eyes of the town.
• For the Holy Spirit to work in hearts and minds here.
• Pray for safety and health for our family back home.
• That the lessons that our grandchildren learned in camp will produce fruit.

Until next time...from the beach...

Second Week

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Phil. 4:6

I am still stuck in this verse in Philippians. We have been here just two weeks, but we have been so busy that it feels like a month. The A/C and the internet are working, but now the washing machine is down. Last weekend I had two couples staying with us, and I have a lot of sheets and towels to do, along with our own laundry, which is also piling up. It broke down on Sunday, when I was trying to get at least a load in. Our friends that fix appliances came and said it was a circuit board, but they wanted a second opinion. Another man came and agreed with their assessment, but the part has to be ordered from the capital. The whole process takes at least three days. We are waiting for a phone call tonight, Hopefully, the part will arrive tonight, and tomorrow, Friday, the man will come to fix it. We have decided to sell the condominium; therefore, we are having people come to see the place. That involves hiding the dirty laundry and cleaning up more than usual. So far we haven't had any offers.

The Quinceañera went well. It was all very well organized. Luz Elena looked radiant in her dress. We brought her here after she had her hair and make-up done to take pictures. She dressed here, so Rosario, another friend who was staying here and I helped her with the huge gown. The hair and make up took longer than expected and I was running out of natural light. I don't have any equipment, just my camera. Then I had to get dressed for the party myself. I did it in about 5 minutes, but we still were one hour late for the party. The community hall does not have good lighting, either. It wasn't the best conditions for photography.

Any way, Pastor Alejandro had a very nice and short (😊) on Ecclesiastes 12:1. He really is a very good preacher. John had to do the toast (iced tea in fancy glasses). He did a great job talking about taking her to get ice cream after church on Sundays since she was four years old. He also told the boys that in order to take Luz Elena out, they had to talk with her brother, her father, and with him, but that he was an expert marksman with an M-17 and a 45 pistol. After the ceremonies, the choreographed waltzes began. Beginning with her father, then each boy took a turn, handing her a rose.  In a later part of the evening, she took the roses and honored different older ladies in town. It was very nice. At the beginning of the evening, her parents changed her shoes to high heel pumps, signifying the end of childhood. Everything was done in a "fitting and orderly way." (1 Cor. 14:40) 

Luz Elena and her parents

We continue visiting friends in town and spending a lot of time with the Cuban couple. They are still looking for full time employment, but keeping busy with odd jobs. They are very nice people who hope to live and work here while being a good testimony for the Lord.

Prayer requests:

• Good health, safety and stamina for us.
• Jobs for the Moras and grace in the eyes of the town.
• For the Holy Spirit to work in hearts and minds here.
• Pray for safety and health for our family here. Our grandson is leaving on Friday for camp.

Until next time...from the beach...