Dear Friends,

Things have been busy, but I especially wanted to share the story of what God has been doing in our little church of 20 members. I can only marvel at how God has put everything in place and surprised us with His grace.

In January our church had set a goal of starting outreach ministries in our neighborhood in a number of areas, including those for children. We had some uneven participation by the children, although we added on a special children’s service on Thursdays.

On the personal front, I was struggling with our time-consuming school system. The parents must make three trips a day to school (or pay someone else to do it for them) as there is no transportation and we must cross a busy highway to get there. I often asked God to help me find some benefit from this or at least change my attitude. Since we have to supervise our children during the lunch hour, my husband and I began playing UNO with our daughter and soon had up to 10 children playing at a time. I began to realize that all those trips to school had helped me get to know my neighbors better, especially the children. They, in turn, saw us as trustworthy.

In addition, we have one special church member, Catalina, who knows everyone in the neighborhood and makes it her ministry to invite and bring children. She had been away caring for her daughter who has leukemia (currently in remission, Praise the Lord) and recently returned to her own home. God put all these factors together in God’s own time.

In May we began to have a huge upswing in attendance, mostly children of unchurched families. Children approached my husband at school, introducing him to their friends and asking permission to bring them to church! Another church member spearheaded a visitation blitz to the parents, who were only too delighted to find out our plans for their children. Some had refused to let their children come to some activities because they weren’t sure who we were, but now were happy to let them attend. We did a follow-up visit for our Vacation Bible School held in July. The leaders projected a better attendance than last year and anticipated we would have an average of 50.

Imagine our surprise when 73 children showed up the first day – and it never went below that figure, going up to 114 the last day. We meet at our home, so we had to be inventive where to put all these groups…living room, front porch, on top of the cistern and in a make-shift classroom under plantain plants. God began His own outreach ministry in our neighborhood and we are grateful for the privilege to work with these kids.

One of these children is Yudy, a third-grader who comes from a difficult family background. She lives with her gruff grandmother because her mother abandoned her, remarrying far away and starting another family. Her biological father passes her on the street and doesn’t even acknowledge her. Yudy has responded to her church experience with enthusiasm. She spends afternoons at the home of Catalina and then comes early to church to help set things up. She always invites others to come. Yudy eagerly answers questions about the Bible story as she truly wants to learn. She has overcome her fears and is learning how to pray.

Yudy shocked some of the other children at VBS when she said, “I love Jesus more than my family,” but it’s her way of saying that Jesus and her Christian family are showing her a new kind of love. Please pray for this girl and the other children in our neighborhood -- and for our church as we now prepare new leaders quickly to meet this need.

Yudy and other children have been surprised by the Living Word and are being transformed by Him. Thank you for your financial and prayer support, which enables us to be part of this transformation process in Cuba. Please give generously to the World Mission Offering.

In Christ,

Sue Hegarty, with Ramon Rodriguez and Katy