My bags and I actually returned from Cuba a month ago, but the time has somehow flown by! I was sick for two weeks with a nasty Cuban stomach bug and then Thanksgiving’s long weekend. Now it’s time to share an update of hope on both my ministry and family. I know this is long, but I recommend you read ALL the way to the end.

 

Together, my husband and I are celebrating Advent each Sunday evening. It’s a new tradition for us since last year was a bit hectic between our wedding and trips to Oregon to be with my dad during his heart surgery. This week we reflected on HOPE- on our hopes for the Christmas season and on what is so special and different about that hope that the birth of Christ signifies. Together we celebrated the coming true of so many things barely hoped for a year ago: hope of health for my dad, hopes we had for our first year of marriage, hope for my ministry in Cuba.

 

When I think about my recent trip to Cuba, what I saw time and time again was HOPE that only comes from Christ, hope in the midst of impossible obstacles. I arrived in Cuba on the tail of Hurricane Sandy. As you have likely read, Sandy wrecked havoc on Cuba and while I was there, hundreds of thousands of families were living in vulnerable conditions in Santiago and Holguin. On this trip I was with the Fraternity of Baptist Churches of Cuba (FIBAC) in Western and Central Cuba, and none of their churches or communities were affected. However, that didn’t make them any less concerned. FIBAC quickly coordinated short and long-term relief efforts in the town of Cueto where more than 5,000 family’s homes were damaged or destroyed. In the form of food, blankets, cooking supplies, and mattresses, FIBAC brought HOPE. FIBAC has now begun a second phase of relief where, in coordination with a local church, they are providing pastoral care and much needed construction materials. As you pray this week for HOPE, please keep the Fraternity and the families of Cueto in prayer. Gifts for Cuba and the Caribbean can be sent through One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS)- write: “OGHS Caribbean Hurricane" in the memo line.

 

Need a little more HOPE? There is also the Fraternity’s farming initiative that is changing lives through produce- green beans, lettuce, guavas, mangos, and more. In several communities FIBAC is helping Cubans to produce change through small, patio farming projects. Families learn to grow their own food (a tradition that has been largely lost in Cuba), and they can sell the surplus to produce vendors who sell delicious, organic fruits and veggies at accessible prices to the community. Would your church like to get involved in produce initiatives in Cuba? Send me an email.

 

Just before packing my bags I headed to Santa Clara for the inauguration of the Zulueta church. This congregation started out as a church plant years ago and is now a full-fledged church. What gave me HOPE at this celebration is that this church, while it was still a “mission plant” developed an extensive ministry for the deaf and also planted a church of its own. The inauguration was a joyful gathering where American Baptists from West Virginia, Kansas, and more than a half dozen neighboring Cuban churches celebrated together. Join a team to Cuba in 2013! Click Discovery Teams 2013 for more info.

 

And so, as I boarded the plane I carried a bag filled with HOPE of all God is doing through the Fraternity of Baptist Churches of Cuba. I also carried one more tiny, peanut-sized hope and joy with me, the HOPE of new life and a growing family that Jorge and I are excited to share with you as we await the arrival of our first child due in June of 2013.

 

We wish you a HOPE-filled Advent and Christmas season.

Kim (and Jorge)