Report on Cuba #2

Getting to know my brothers and sisters in Cuba has been one of the great blessings I have received since I began my teaching mission there in January of 2004. They are courageous saints whose faith inspires me to be more faithful.

I am on the right. Pastor Javier Diaz is with me. He is the pastor of the Reborn Methodist Church in Nueva Gerona, La Isla. He is also the District Superintendent of the Las Isla District of the Methodist Church of Cuba. In the United Methodist Church in the United States, the District Superintendents do not pastor churches while they assume the responsibilities of the superintendency. In Cuba the Superintendents pastor while they superintend.

The car behind him is his 1957 Chevy. In Cuba, private citizens are only allowed to own automobiles from 1959 or earlier. The government can be petitioned by a private citizen to own a newer car, but permission is rarely given, and when it does happen, it usually takes five years for the government to make its final decision.


Here I am with Cecelia, my interpreter. She assisted me as I preached and taught. She is the Secretary to the Administrative Assistant to the Bishop. Her English is excellent, and she has a wonderful spirit.

Cathy Rolf on the right is one of the members of our mission team. Anna is on the left. She is Pastor Javier's wife. She is also a pastor with a seminary degree, and assumes his pastoral duties when he is out of town. The congregation in Gerona loves her preaching. In the Methodist Church of Cuba there are no gender barriers in the church. It is such a joy to experience.


This is Javier and Anna's older son, Javierito (Javier, Jr.). He is holding one of the dozen or so baseballs we brought into Cuba with us. The Cubans love baseball but equipment is hard to come by. Javier spent hours playing with that ball. Even though I do not know much Spanish, I could tell that a few times his mother was warning him about not breaking a window. Some things are the same no matter where you go in the world.


This is my daughter Courtney with Javier and Anna's younger son, Alejandro. He and Courtney hit it off right away. She wanted to smuggle him back to the United States in her suitcase!

There are some other wonderful folks to mention, but I will save that for a future report.