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| Missionary workers |
We visited Second Baptist Church in the morning to meet 17 missionary workers. Each of these workers is involved in full time outreach from the church in their community. Second Baptist was planted by First Baptist and now has eight outreach points of it's own (7 in Holguin and 1 outside the city). They now have close to 300 members and have a strong vision to fill their church.
We had the opportunity to listen to the concerns and struggles the missionaries from Second Baptist had as they ministered in their various outreach points. They were dealing with a variety of issues.
One man told me he was having to deal with the false teaching brought by Jehovah Witnesses. A lady wanted to know what to do with couples who came to Christ but were not legally married. Another worker expressed a need for Christian literature and books to help in his understanding of God's Word. A lady missionary spoke about how becoming a Christian was illegal for police and military workers. She said she was encountering people who were afraid to become believers for fear of what would happen to them. Another lady shared about having to deal with African spiritism. She told me that she was encountering individuals involved in the worship of spirits.
We interacted for about an hour and I invited each workers to give me their name and address so I could send a copy of the Spanish translations of my books as they become available. This is a step of faith for me as I will have to trust the Lord for the finances to minister to these workers in this way. I was able to pray for them before we left asking God to give them wisdom and strength as they ministered.
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| House Church |
In the afternoon we visited the regional representative for the Evangelical League of Cuba. This is an association of smaller house churches in Cuba. He told us that they have over 300 such churches in the country. As getting property for a church is very difficult, believers in this denomination modify a single room in a home for believers to meet and worship. He showed us where they met in his home and told us that one hundred believers gathered every week for worship in this room in his house. They are now preparing to start another house church.
Around 8:30 pm. my translator came to the hotel where we were staying to say good-bye. We were both thankful to the Lord for the way He drew us together over the week. We spoke with one voice and the Lord knitted our hearts together. We prayed together and said our final good-byes. I had a clear sense that I had made a new friend.