Brian Harpell is pastor of First Baptist Church of Everett, WA. He has traveled to Cuba on 10 occasions in partnership with the ecumenical group Action International. While in Cuba, Brian works with pastors, many of whom are from the Eastern Cuba Baptist Convention, International Ministries’ long-time mission partner. Just days after Hurricane Sandy devastated parts of eastern Cuba, Brian had the opportunity to travel to Cuba to see for himself the severe damage, and to join pastors in their efforts to provide physical, emotional and spiritual care in the hurricane’s aftermath. Brian shared these photos and writes:

 

Dear friends and partners of ministry in Cuba,

I arrived in Cuba on October 30th, five days after Hurricane Sandy hit the island. Over the eleven days I was there, I was able to meet and talk with Joel Dupont, President of the Eastern Cuba Baptist Convention and other members of the board of directors as well as with Eliseo Navarro, President of the Christian Pentecostal Church in Cuba. These leaders made it possible for me to visit many pastors and communities in and surrounding Santiago where I was able to assess the devastation myself.

Ismael Laborde, Bishop of the Lutheran Church in Cuba wrote: “No pictures or statistics can express the magnitude of the damage. We pray that the government will be wise enough and humble enough to declare a state of emergency and ask for international aid.  This disaster is overwhelming and Cuba can perhaps only cover 50% of the losses.  Please in the name of the Lord, have mercy on us and send all the humanitarian aid possible, including finances, food and, medicine.”  Laborde estimated that 240,000 homes were partially destroyed and 60,000 completely devastated.   
 
Pictures cannot begin to capture the destruction and the mood in Cuba. We were able to take some resources into Cuba, but the needs are great and our prayers for our brothers and sisters in Cuba are essential.   
 
One of the strong impressions I come away with is that the investment in the spiritual leadership in Cuba over the last twenty years had been a wise and good investment.  As I visited community after community I saw that the key leadership in these communities were the pastors of these communities whose vision was not limited to helping their own church but the larger community.

We thank Brian for his ministry in Cuba after the Hurricane. Please continue to pray and send your gifts of support to help the rebuilding efforts in Cuba and throughout the Caribbean. Your gift to One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) will make immediate relief and long-term reconstruction possible in the Caribbean. To support the work in the Caribbean, use this OGHS code:  "Caribbean Hurricane."

Kim