"Trust In The Lord With All Your Heart"~Part I~August 17, 2008

As Christians, most of us have read the words…"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6; and we've even memorized the passage; but have you ever applied it to your life and/or your circumstances? Team Cuba Mission 2008 did and the results were spectacular!

We had planned every detail of our trip. We had every hour of the day filled with some sort of activity. Then came the news, the religious visa to do mission work in Cuba was denied by the Cuba government. We knew God wanted this (His) mission to be carried out, so the team decided to move forward.

The week prior to our departure the travel agent called. She informed us that we would be staying the first night at Occidental Miramar (a 4 star hotel) in Havana. I was taken aback. Our plans did not include a night in Havana. I suddenly realized this could work. The airport is in Havana (6 hours from Sancti Spiritus) and it would be easier if the team spend the final night there. I asked to have the reservation changed from August 17 to the 24. The agent told me she would try to change it and would call me back. In the meantime I earnestly sought God's direction. The next day she called back. She had bad news. The reservation could not be changed! I was at peace. God had a plan and we just had to trust Him.

We had a few stumbling blocks. There are no flights from L.A. to Cuba, our options were limited. We could fly to Miami and then on to Cuba or drive to Tijuana and fly from there to Mexico City, and on to Havana. After crunching the numbers we concluded that Tijuana was the least expensive option. There was however the transportation issue. How are fifteen people with thirty something pieces of luggage going to get from Downey to Tijuana? We prayed about that too. We needed vans and drivers. We approached several people in our church family but things weren't working out. You need a US passport to re-enter. The people that had vans did not have passports and the ones that did weren't available on that day. I found out there was a bus we could take in Huntington Park that would take us to the border (not the airport). The fee was $45.00 per person, but then we had to secure transportation from the border to the airport. We would have to take taxis in Mexico…NO WAY! I called the local area churches that had vans, they couldn't help us. I then remembered our Christian directory and decided to give it a try. However, there were no listings for transportation, so I called the directory's main office. I was given the name and number of a limousine company in Buena Park called "Bella Sera". Wouldn't you know it? The owner, Francis is a Christian! And he was willing to help. Praise the Lord! The bus fare would have cost us $675.00 but Francis would charge us $580.00. We were going cheaper, direct and in style! Only God would do something like that. Our luggage was over the limit allowed and we were taking religious materials (100 Bibles 31 Jesus movies, 10,000 tracts, 12 women's bible study books, 80 children's study booklets, 100 bags with our logo and John 3:16 printed on them and Jesus loves you blankets, toys, pencils, beach balls etc.) into a communist country without a religious visa. No problem, God is in control!
Finally, the day arrived. Saturday, August 16 was a beautiful day. The team and their families met at the church. Before leaving we circled up, and covered the journey with prayer. The space inside the limo was filled to overflowing and there was still luggage to be loaded, so we tied the suitcases to the roof, and since there was no room left for me I sat upfront with the driver. It was a sight to see. After several minutes on the road the team informed the driver that the air conditioning was not working. Our driver, Ed exited the freeway and got it running again, but only for a few minutes. God was preparing us for what laid ahead. We were supposed to get Mexican insurance at the border, but it was after 6:00pm on Saturday and all the agencies had already closed. So we did the next best thing, we stopped at Carl's Junior and ate. I called Francis and explained our situation. He gave Ed the go ahead to enter Tijuana. We had the best insurance anyway. God was in control. At the border I was informed by the Mexican police that we needed an escort to the airport, so I jumped in a taxi and he lead us right in. Yikes!

We had been warned of the staggering fees Mexicana Airlines charges for excess baggage and truth be told we were a little apprehensive. Thankfully only a few of us were charged. But the trials were just beginning. All of the sudden I'm being called by a couple of the team members. Some of names on the boarding passes did not match the names on the passports. Furthermore, Betty was being told she wouldn't be allowed to travel. In the midst of this chaos some of the team began to pray as I went to speak with the ticketing agent. I explained who we were and what we were doing and asked him to help us and he did. God is in control!

Upon arriving in Mexico City we discovered that two of the visas had whiteout on them therefore rendering them invalid (our agent had made a mistake and tried to correct them). Thank God the solution was simple-have new ones issued for a fee of $30.00.

We were the last leg of our journey on to Cuba and although tired and emotionally depleted, the excitement began to rise in us as the plane began its descend. As we broke through the puffy white clouds, a magnificent island covered in emerald green vegetation appeared. The harvest was plenty and the workers were few but we were ready.

The team had decided to break into groups as to not raise suspicions. The excess baggage was one of our main concerns. There is not set price per pound, and customs has a history of overcharging. Everyone went through without a hitch except for the Boyce Sisters and me. I was charged $317.00 (because I'm a Cuban national), their way of welcoming me back, ha, ha, ha. The Boyce sisters were stopped because they were carrying walkie-talkie (a no-no with the Cuban government). Customs Officers opened the walkie-talkies recorded the serial number, warned the sisters not to use them and released them. God was watching over us because they didn't detect the second set of walkie-talkies I was carrying in my backpack. It could've been ugly. Thank you Lord!

At last we were all outside the airport and ready to go to our hotel. My cousin Raul had secured the transportation (3 vans and a taxi plus Nicole's family's car). We loaded the luggage and proceeded to the hotel. A light rain was falling and the aroma of wet earth filled our nostrils. We were drunk with excitement. The hotel nestled between palm trees, overlooking the crystal blue Caribbean Sea was breathtaking. We checked in and decided to have lunch at one of the many restaurants in this beautiful place. There were twenty-two of us and would you believe the bill was $77.00? God is in control!

After checking out our beautifully decorated blue & gold rooms and freshening up a bit we were ready to see Old Havana. The first lessons of the trip: communicate and prepare! My intention was to walk around, enjoy the views and shake off some of the stress of the trip. Unbeknownst to me, my teammates saw this as an opportunity to pass out tracts and share the gospel. We armed ourselves with material, but not with the Armor of God and was it ever apparent. Although God was glorified because several people accepted Him as their personal Savior, we encountered opposition from the enemy in the form of a demon possessed woman who cornered several of the missionaries. But God, who "never leaves us, nor forsakes us" equipped them with the tools necessary to defeat the enemy. Karen & Debbie began singing worship songs and prompted by the Holy Spirit, Margarita quietly commanded the demon to stop talking in the name of Jesus Christ and she did. Praise be to God! It was here in Old Havana where many people encountered God. Betty and Margarita led three young boys as well as two women to Christ. The rest of the team passed out tracts and shared God's love with everyone they encountered. I noticed a policeman following us, but all of the sudden he stopped and to my surprise he was began reading a tract. I didn't see him after that. Many seeds were planted on that day and we learned a valuable lesson. We ended the day with cafe con leche and sandwiches at the hotel cafeteria.