Alive and well in Cuba

Alive and well in Cuba
December 13, 2006
By Diane Haag
dhaag@gannett.com

Contrary to popular belief, recent missionaries report the Christian
church in Cuba is growing.

A group of Louisiana Methodists, including several from northwest
Louisiana, made a rare, legal mission trip to the Communist island for
10 days in November to help rebuild a church, both literally and
figuratively.

"The church is alive and well in Cuba," said the Rev. Mark Martin,
associate pastor at Broadmoor United Methodist, who led the trip.

Cuba only allows 12 Methodist teams from the United States to visit each
year, and Louisiana was able to get one of the slots. With approval from
the U.S. Department of Treasury, a group of 12 people from seven
different churches traveled through Mexico to Cuba on Nov. 9.

"We go and they tell us how they want things built," Martin said. "To
me, it's the Christian life lived out in the best sense."

The team arrived in Havana and instantly felt like they had traveled
back in time. Since 1961, the country has not been able to import
anything from the United States, so cars from the 1940s and '50s are common.

"It was a pretty town in the '50s," said Larry Hiller, a member at
Broadmoor.

Most of the group's work took place in a Methodist church in Boca de
Camarioca, a small fishing village near the tourist enclave of Varadero.
Across the street from the church was the clear, crystal blue ocean.

A 2003 hurricane had taken the roof off of the church. Members continued
to meet there for a while, but the dangerous conditions caused the
congregation to dwindle so much that it now meets in the pastor's home.

Three years later, they received a building permit, and the Louisiana
group went to help pour the foundation and prepare the site for
contractors to finish construction. Martin said no church can get a
permit for a new building, but they can renovate existing structures.

Flexibility and patience are often the most important tools, the group
agreed. They used old copper cable to tie rebar, and women spent time
straightening used nails. Those were lessons learned from the Cubans,
who have become masters at improvising.

Laughter was a common reaction throughout the week for construction
mishaps or language barriers.

"The biggest problem was getting materials," said Bill O'Kelley, a
member of First Methodist in Arcadia. "We would go to the stores and
there wouldn't be anything there."

As the work started many local men -- even some not affiliated with the
church -- stopped to help, partly because construction of any kind is
rare on the island.

"It brought out how important the church is there and how much they love
each other," said Tillie O'Kelley, of Arcadia.

While people didn't have much materially, the missionaries were
constantly impressed with their generosity and hospitality. Meals
included stuffed fish, caught from the nearby ocean that day.

"I had never seen gourmet meals on a makeshift grill," Tillie O'Kelley said.

In some ways, Bill O'Kelley said, they seem to have kept some of the
community spirit that Americans had in the 1950s.

They didn't talk politics with the church members.

"They don't know who's going to hear what," Martin said.

Missionaries said the Cubans seem to have accepted the way things are,
and very few know any different.

The Methodist church in the country has trained numerous missionaries,
many of whom host house churches. As those grow, they split off into new
congregations, since new churches can't be built.

Worship was spirited with lots of singing and usually lasted a couple of
hours. They've infused much of the music with traditional Cuban sounds
and percussion.

"It was not boring or stuffy," said Meghan Hochstetler of Broadmoor.

American ideas of the country seem odd to the travelers now. Before
going, some were asked if they were going to be safe or if they were afraid.

"Why in the world would I be afraid?" Bill O'Kelley said now. "They're
our next-door neighbors."

Martin hopes they can establish a more formal sister church relationship
with the congregation in Boca de Camarioca so they can return and
support the ministry there.

"The idea is to serve Christ by serving the church there."

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