Thank the Lord, we have arrived safely to Cuba without any complications. We are staying in the same house as last time, which is an enormous blessing. They added a pool, which came in handy yesterday... we baptized 3 people our first full day here in our own pool! Praise God, what a great way to start this trip! We are so excited about what God has planned for this trip. We started morning prayer at our house today. We will be inviting Bro. Juan and anyone else to join us every day around 9:30. It was so wonderful to feel the presence of God sweep through our home in such a powerful way this morning. Please pray that God continues to move in our morning prayer, and give us direction for our day.

We will keep you updated as we find out more plans for this trip. We feel so content to be where God wants us. God bless.

Mission: Havana

As most of you know, we are heading out in the morning for Cuba. While it is very difficult to say goodbye to our church, family and friends, we are excited about building the Kingdom of God!

This is a video I put together. It puts into words how we feel about Cuba. The song really spoke to me, and I hope you enjoy it.

We will be making updates to the blog periodically, so please continue to check up on us. We appreciate your prayers, and are anxious to give you great reports of all that God is doing in Cuba. Feel free to e-mail me at raquelpelota@yahoo.com during our trip, with questions or to simply update us on what's happening in your lives! That is the only e-mail we will be able to check while in Cuba. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

God Bless! We'll miss you!

Rachael, James and Ava

Getting Ready to Leave...

We are so thrilled to finally have all the papers in order. We have visas and our license to travel, thanks to all of the prayers that have been prayed regarding our situation. Our flight leaves for Miami Tuesday, the 17th, and our flight to Cuba will be sometime next week. This is all happening so quickly! We have a lot to do in the next 6 days, but we are so thrilled that God has opened this door for us again.

It is truly a blessing to serve in Cuba. I can't quite explain how it feels to be here, wanting so desperately to be there. We know all things are working out according to God's timing, and we are thankful for these last 9 months.... we have experienced a lot of trials that have brought about a lot of growth. Now it is time to get busy!! We will be teaching 3 day seminars at each church. The first two days will focus on doctrine, evangelism, and leadership. The final day will be an outreach-oriented service. We will also be working on various projects to strengthen and assist the local churches. At the end of March we will be helping organize the first Women's Conference in Cuba. We are excited to be a part of this, and are thrilled to have a group from the U.S. visiting us for the conference.

Please keep us in your prayers! We need it. Please especially remember Ava. It is always a difficult transition for her having to leave her family and friends behind. Our friend Leah Newby will be posting updates for us while we are in Cuba. We love receiving e-mail from you while we're there, letting us know what is going on in your lives. It helps us stay connected, so feel free to e-mail us at: raquelpelota@yahoo.com

Thank you for all of your prayers, encouragement and support. We are blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. God Bless!

Rachael Rennard