CUBA PARTNERSHIP TRIP UPDATE
by Pat Zinn and Ken Lasseter, Cuba Partnership Team
Eleven members from presbytery congregations just returned from the Cuba Partnership trip to Cuba and we want to give you a brief update. It was a great trip (I don’t think we’ve ever had a bad trip!) and we have lots to tell you. Our Cuban brothers and sisters were so happy to see us, and it felt that as if we were picking up where we left off, just as if we hadn‘t had that long 3 year break from the pandemic.
The situation in Cuba is very serious and the needs are very great, but the Cuban people are as warm and welcoming as ever, and are still reaching out to their communities despite their own hardships. Other Cubans are often surprised that the IPRC churches share their medicines with people who have never come to church. What a testimony of God’s love!
We heard heartbreaking stories, yet also heard how God is working even in these dark times. We saw churches full of children who come to hear stories of God’s love. The El Centro Council told us that our support - of transportation, of lay leadership training, and the medicines we bring - are literally saving lives. We saw empty pharmacies, heard of people who can’t have surgery because the hospitals don’t have anesthesia, and shared the heartbreak of people who have seen family members move away - to Mexico, Nicaragua, the U.S., etc. They realize they may never see some of them again. The Council told us that 60% (!!) of the “jovenes” (young adults aged 19-29) who attend church have left Cuba. Imagine the drain on their communities.
Stay tuned for more news. Please keep the Cuban churches and Cuban people in your prayers - for health, for strength, for faithfulness as they continue to reach out to their communities. Consider donating to the Cuba Transportation Fund and the Cuba Lay Leadership Fund. We will keep you posted about plans for the next Partnership Trip.
Pat Zinn and Ken Lasseter
for the Cuba Partnership Team
The situation in Cuba is very serious and the needs are very great, but the Cuban people are as warm and welcoming as ever, and are still reaching out to their communities despite their own hardships. Other Cubans are often surprised that the IPRC churches share their medicines with people who have never come to church. What a testimony of God’s love!
We heard heartbreaking stories, yet also heard how God is working even in these dark times. We saw churches full of children who come to hear stories of God’s love. The El Centro Council told us that our support - of transportation, of lay leadership training, and the medicines we bring - are literally saving lives. We saw empty pharmacies, heard of people who can’t have surgery because the hospitals don’t have anesthesia, and shared the heartbreak of people who have seen family members move away - to Mexico, Nicaragua, the U.S., etc. They realize they may never see some of them again. The Council told us that 60% (!!) of the “jovenes” (young adults aged 19-29) who attend church have left Cuba. Imagine the drain on their communities.
Stay tuned for more news. Please keep the Cuban churches and Cuban people in your prayers - for health, for strength, for faithfulness as they continue to reach out to their communities. Consider donating to the Cuba Transportation Fund and the Cuba Lay Leadership Fund. We will keep you posted about plans for the next Partnership Trip.
Pat Zinn and Ken Lasseter
for the Cuba Partnership Team