"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; Have you ever applied this passage to your life and/or your circumstances? Team Cuba Mission 2008 did and the results were spectacular!
After a well rested night I woke up early and said my morning prayers. It was a wonderful time spent alone with God. Afterwards I went downstairs to meet with the team for breakfast. Everyone was in a cheerful, joyful mood. I had written Hannah a card reminding her how much God loves her and cares for the things she cares about. I inserted the cross in the card and gave it to her during breakfast. She was in shock. She thought she had lost that cross forever but God had other plans. It is so encouraging to see God at work.
We all met in my room for morning devotions. It was a special time of scripture reading and praying. These were some of my favorite times because God's presence was so evident. I felt led by the Spirit to anoint each missionary with oil and I did so, praying over them as I anointed them with oil. It was amazing!
The day before Nicole's family had asked me if we could visit Nicole's greataunt, Nero. She had been diagnosed with cancer and was at the last stages of her illness. I explained to them that our time was limited and we had to get to Sancti Spiritus, but that we would visit her on the way back. Again, we plan and God laughs.
Hurricane Fay was making herself known. The rain had begun to fall and I was becoming increasingly concerned because we still had not secured the transportation to Sancti Spiritus. My cousin and I devised a plan. He would get on the horn from his house and contact everyone he knew that could facilitate the transportation and I would get on the public phone at the hotel and call all the car rental agencies in the telephone book. As I dialed the upteenth number, the Lord made His will known. "You will not leave Havana until you visit Nero. Go to her house and pray for her." I heard Him so clearly that I couldn't ignore Him. I went to the lobby where the team patiently waited and shared with them what the Lord had said to me. We all agreed we would go to Nero's house in Cotorro (approximately 45 minutes from our hotel). We called their house to tell them we were coming. They were so excited. There were several taxis parked outside the hotel ; we filled up four cars and off to Cotorro we went. I had given my cousin Nero's telephone number and instructed him to call me if anything came up. Nicole's family was waiting for us to arrive. They had great news, my cousin had called. There was a bus waiting for us at the hotel. At the moment I didn't realize this was a test. We were elated by nonetheless focused on carrying out God's instructions. As we walked in the door we were ushered to Nero's room. There she laid, in the throes of death. Her eyes has lost their sparkle. There was no life in her. Several of us gathered around her bed and we began to pray. The Spirit filled the room and we continued praying. Several minutes later, Nero's eyes lit up. She said she wanted to get up. She was assisted and led to the livingroom. She sat in a chair, drank some juice and posed for pictures with the team. We read scripture to her, we asked her if she knew the Lord and she said yes. We again prayed with her. Her family members were in awe and many of them came to know Christ that very day. We sang worship songs and thanked God for the opportunity to minister to this family. We visited for a couple of hours and then it was time to return to the hotel. Sadly, Nero lost her battle to cancer a couple of weeks later, but we are sure she is in heaven with her maker. Later, as I reflected on the events of the day I realized that God had tested our faithfulness. Were we going to rush the visit to get back to the hotel? Or, were we going to obey God and minister to Nero and her family? It was a no brainer.
When we arrived at the hotel we were dismayed to discover that the bus had been assigned another route. We were back at square one. After much negotiation the bus driver agreed to take us to Sancti Spiritus. It was late in the day, and the storm was looming in the horizon. In Cuba it is very dangerous to travel at night; there are potholes on the road and many times there is danger of livestock on the highway. We had to trust that God would cover us with His protection. We we packed like sardines in the mini bus. It was so full that John had to lie down on the floor in the center of the bus. We left Havana with an addition to our team, Nicole's cousin Reinier, a fine young man who loves the Lord deeply and whose ultimate goal is to attend Seminary.
Half way there the driver informed us that they needed to refuel. By this time the sun had set and it was pitch black outside. The bus detoured off the highway and onto a very isolated road. Several minutes later the bus stopped in the middle of the road, the bus driver informed me that we had to dismount in order for them to refuel (company policy), so there we were in the middle of nowhere. I can honestly tell you I was not afraid. Later I found out that several of my teammates were a bit apprehensive. As we waited the team entertained themselves with a frog. Hannah even picked it up! Ugh! I took the opportunity to get to know the driver's girlfriend and found out that her grandfather was ill. I told her we would pray for him. On the road again, but not for long. Everyone was hungry so the driver made a food stop, except there was no food, just beverages. Oh well, 'tis Cuba! We were able to go to the bathroom and stretch our legs. Several of the men in our team decided to share the gospel with our driver Rogelio. We don't know if Rogelio accepted Christ, but we gave him a Bible and the seed was planted.
Betty had researched the history of the city and shared with us that Sancti Spiritus is the sister city of a Brazilian city, both are known for their practice of a pagan religion (vodoo). She suggested we pray before entering the city gate. I asked the driver to let me know ahead of time and he did. We prayed over the city, our mission and the people. We prayed for wisdom, discernment, protection, provision and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. God is in control!
We arrived at Rancho Hatuey (our hotel) a little past midnight, hungry, tired and sleepy. By now the skies had opened up and rain was falling hard. We checked in and proceeded to unload the bus, a huge task. But God again came through. There were a couple of security guards making their rounds, when they saw us unloading they immediately came over and took over. They carried our suitcases to the respective rooms and then one of them asked Nicole if we were missionaries. Nicole said yes. Yovany then began to share his testimony with us. He had been a leader in his church, but had left it and was not walking with Lord. Right then and there he recommitted his life to the Lord. Amazing day!
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