I got home late on Monday night after a very busy but incredibly fruitful week in Cuba, with my colleague and friend Trevor Lloyd. The purpose of this visit was to visit some of the churches in the eastern part of the island, to teach and preach, and to prepare the way for two teams from the UK that will go to that region of Cuba in April. We were accompanied by Ricardo Pereira, the bishop of the Methodist Church of Cuba. He is an amazing man.
Trevor and I got into action early on Monday morning, after arriving in Havana late on the Sunday night. On this first day we visited Matanzas city, about 80k from Havana, to meet with the Principal of the Methodist seminary, which trains the leaders of the churches (there are currently 266 Methodist churches in Cuba and they're growing at a fast pace). Then we returned to Havana to see their new seminary, which actually is the original one the Cuban government confiscated in 1959 and has just returned. That in itself is a miracle. Hopefully it will be ready by September, when it will welcome 70 new students.
On Tuesday we travelled east to Camaguey, one of the major cities in the eastern part of Cuba. It's about six hours drive from Havana. My dear friend Miguel is the pastor of the church there and we had a fantastic evening with the church, preaching on the anointing power of the Holy Spirit and then seeing that power manifested among the people. As with every other meeting during the week, the place was packed to the doors. The Holy Spirit was so powerfully on these people that during the ministry they were lying sprawled all over the place!
On Wednesday we travelled way out in the country to a place called Mir. This is quite a poor area (in Cuba that's saying something). Yet the people were filled wit the joy of the Lord. In the afternoon we had a baptism in the open air - about thirty people. I got Trevor to join in; he didn't need much persuasion! That evening again the people responded en masse to the word and we eventually had to drag ourselves away late into the night.
The next day we moved on to Guantanamo city, where the American base is situated (actually it's quite a distance from the actual city). As we travelled each day we would stop at towns and villages on the way, visiting pastors and leaders, praying with them and encouraging them. We were also very blessed and encouraged by them too. Their passion, zeal and sense of urgency in spreading the Gospel of Jesus is something to behold. Whenever these men and women get together they talk about Jesus, the miracles and wonders they see, and the size of the harvest. They are not caught up with stupid and selfish church politics.
I will never forget the meeting that night in G'mo. Over 1500 were packed into a building that held no more than 500. People were literally hanging from the balcony, or perched wherever they could get a spot. It was incredible. When it came time to ask the Holy Spirit to move, I asked those dangling in the air to hold on tight so they wouldn't fall when the Holy Spirit came upon them.
On Friday we moved on the Manzanillo. For me, this was the meeting where the presence of the Holy Spirit was the most intense. Trevor was due to speak, but didn't get on for ages. The praise and worship was so exuberant and intense it was like electricity. The people just would not stop praising God. Even after the meeting broke up - about 11pm, many people stayed in the building, calling on God and praising him. The pastor took a call from another pastor at the other end of Cuba. This other pastor got so excited about what was happening that they put him on speakerphone and got him to preach to the people!
Early Saturday we headed off to the coast, to Playa Santa Lucia, to be involved in a mass baptism of 150 new believers. I preached on the beach and then the people lined up to be baptised by teams of us. As we baptised them the Holy Spirit filled them; some of them had to be carried out of the water. One lady who came to my team fell under the power of the Spirit as she approached us. She went under the water and we had to drag her up and then baptise her! Then it was back to Havana: another eight hour drive. We reached the city about 1.30 in the morning.
Our final day began at 8.30 with the first meeting at the Bishop's church. To be more accurate, Trevor's day began at 8.30! By now I was a bit tired so he made me stay in bed (what a friend). I came to preach at the second meeting. There were over 1200 people in the two meetings. This church had a real appetite for the word of God and their worship was heavenly. The sound of the people singing in the Spirit and singing and dancing before the Lord was just wonderful.
Then it was back home. A flight through the night; little sleep and then the final leg home. Tired but happy.
Thanks for all your prayers; keep praying for the church in Cuba. They are wonderful brothers and sisters who love their nation and long to see it won for Christ. Right now there are about 800,000 believers out of a population of 11 million. Pray for Bishop Ricardo Periera; he is a key man for the nation.
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