Cuba for Christ

Cuba Update - Summer 2011

2011-09-11T18:25:00.000-07:00

Greetings to all of you in the awe-inspiring name of Jesus Christ! It’s been a whirlwind of a year and we find ourselves half-way through 2011! Despite the quickening pace of time and a seemingly endless amount of things to do, God always finds a way to do amazing things. We wanted to take a few moments to provide an update regarding the work that the Lord has done in Cuba so far this year.

In late 2010 we were able to raise enough money to acquire and renovate a church for a growing congregation. The old location would seat about 30 people comfortably, but the church was growing and did not accommodate all those that wanted to attend services. Nearby was a building that was available and with your assistance and support we were able to move into the new space, renovate it to more efficiently meet the needs of the congregation, and start holding services. It now will seat close to 100 people comfortably!

In addition to physical growth, the church in Cuba has been growing spiritually under the new leadership of Bishop Barbaro Gonzalez and other newly elected Cuban national officials. The national board is dedicated to the purpose of the Lord and eager to continue their partnership with the ALJC and churches here in the States. We’ve been adding existing congregations from all over the nation of Cuba to the national organization, from the tip of Pinar del Rio to the extremes of Santiago de Cuba. At this moment we estimate that over 20 churches are gathering and working together to spread the truth throughout the nation of Cuba.

Due to visa restrictions and hindrances on both the part of the United States and Cuban governments, we are not able to reside in Cuba. This is a grave disappointment to us, but we are making the most of the circumstance by traveling to Cuba as frequently as possible via short term trips. In the meantime all contributed funds to the ALJC for The Rennard Family – Cuba are funneled directly to travel, works, and mission related needs in the nation of Cuba. If you have any questions regarding our current plans, ministry approach, or projects we are working on, please feel free to contact us via the information on this site.

We will be traveling to Cuba in the Fall of 2011 to meet with the newly added churches, host training seminars, and review ongoing projects. Please be praying for this trip!

We greatly appreciate your support and continued prayers for the nation of Cuba. The Cuban church is in a time of transition and need your assistance. If you’d like to contribute to and pray directly for a few of the projects we are working towards, please make note of the following:

1. New Church Construction / Acquirement: Carlos Lago in Casablanca - $15,000 USD
2. Repairs / Expansion of Agua Vida: Aleyda in Pinar del Rio - $4,000 USD

Though many of our projects are on the local church level, we are also committed to providing a central location to continually train and equip leadership and ministry. We have acquired the use of a large tract of land to utilize for the first ever Apostolic Institute in Cuba. However, the financial need to construct such a facility is large. Please be praying for this endeavor as it can revolutionize the church in Cuba.

Upcoming Trip to Cuba and the Dominican Republic

2010-08-02T19:49:00.000-07:00

We are thrilled with the recent progress we have seen in Cuba! We were able to take a trip in May and bout 80 were baptized and several received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. God is moving among His people in Cuba. During this trip, we met with the local pastors to talk about their vision for their churches. We also were able to take another step in the purchasing and planning of the first Apostolic Bible Institute in the nation of Cuba.

God has opened a door for us to travel to Cuba the first of September, during this time we will be finalizing the transfer of property for the Institute, meeting with local leaders to plan the launch of the first semester, and hopefully work towards the construction of the Institute as well as two other church buildings.
As we continue working towards an Apostolic Bible Institute, we feel the need to base full-time in the Caribbean. We are not permitted to live in Cuba full-time, so we'd like to base somewhere in the region that has a need for a permanent worker. During this trip in September, we will be visiting the Dominican Republic as well as Cuba. We feel as if God may be opening a door for us to base in the Dominican Republic, which would afford a much easier access to Cuba, would be able to directly assist with the work in Haiti, and we would be able to serve as representatives of the ALJC in the Dominican Republic.

We recently received a $5000 donation from a family in our local church for the building of a church facility in Cuba. This money will be used to build a nice facility for a pastor with a congregation of about 50. They currently hold services in a small living room. It is the generosity and sacrificial giving of men, women, and churches like this that make what we do possible. It also would not be possible without our faithful supporters who monthly contribute anything from $5 to $500.
We are currently in need of funds for our upcoming trip in September as well as funding for the Apostolic Bible Institute land transfer. We will need $5,000 for the travel costs, lodging, visas, and food. In addition, if you would like to contribute towards the cost of the land transfer for the Apostolic Bible Institute the total cost is $8,500. We are also attempting to build three new church buildings at a cost of only $7,000 per church!

Please prayerfully consider sending an offering to “Cuba: Rennard” through the ALJC World Mission’s department, donate securely online at www.faithapostolic.us (select Cuba in dropdown menu,) or send a check to James Rennard c/o Faith Apostolic Church 1212 E. 116th St. Carmel, IN 46032.

Apostolic Institute Land Agreement!

2010-07-28T09:30:00.001-07:00

We are so thankful for the good reports we have heard from Cuba since our last trip in May. In early September we will be purchasing the land necessary for the first Apostolic Bible Institute in the nation of Cuba. We are thrilled to see this dream come to fruition. Construction will begin as soon as permits are attained. Please pray with us that the process will go smoothly. We know that things are never certain when it comes to the Cuban government, but we also know that God has the power to intervene and make this happen as He wishes. We are making preparations for a trip in September to help and aid in furthering along this process. Our hope and prayer is that classes in the Bible Institute will begin in 2011.

Our family is prayerfully considering basing out of the Caribbean full time. On our trip to Cuba in September, we will also be visiting the Dominican Republic. Our desire is to be living in the region and the Dominican Republic will allow us to travel to Cuba more directly, work across the border in Haiti, and do all this with much less expense. We are also praying that wherever we live, God will open doors for us to help and aid the local churches. Please pray with us for God’s direction and guidance in this endeavor. We simply desire to work for His Kingdom and be used for His purpose wherever we are.

Thank you for your prayers and support - we'll have much more information to come in the next few weeks!

April 2010 - Upcoming Cuba Trip

2010-01-31T13:59:00.001-08:00

The recent earthquake and resulting devastation in the nation of Haiti has prompted us to not only attempt to provide relief to the Haitian people, it has reminded us of the similar state of the churches, homes, and amenities in the nation of Cuba. Though we are praying diligently for the nation of Cuba and its people, we cannot help but wonder what may happen if an earthquake or hurricane was to again shock the region.

It is our desire to preemptively equip the churches and people we work with and serve in Cuba with necessary items such as food, water, and shelter. In the event of a natural disaster or some sort of social disaster in Cuba, our work today can make a difference.

In April of 2010 we will be taking a large group of partners to Cuba with us, under our OFAC license, to distribute preemptive aid, to survey the needs of the local churches, and to continue our plans for the construction of a school and convention center. This trip will serve the purpose of distributing goods to the oneness organization for future use as well as providing visitors with the opportunity to see and hopefully meet the needs of the local churches.

At this time we are working with 15 Apostolic churches and they have great needs, from seats to physical buildings. If you are interested in helping us with our mission to the people of Cuba, please feel free to contact us at info @ cubaforchrist.net for more information.

We know that the Lord is doing a great work in Cuba and believe that we are able to be the church, to go and help those in need of both the Gospel and basic humanitarian items.

Please pray for those that will be traveling and for the people of Cuba. In addition, please continue to pray for the people of Haiti and specifically Pastor Wilner Louissaint, a dear friend and pastor of multiple churches in Haiti. For more information about what our local church and the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ are doing to provide relief to Haiti, please visit the ALJC Haiti Relief Fun.

Thank you for your prayers and support - we are God's people and with Him we can change the world.

James

Haiti Shaken and the World in Need

2010-01-19T10:47:00.000-08:00

In the midst of so much heartache and struggle, I am reminded of both the difficulty and the victories that humanity has faced throughout the years. At this moment we have a team of relief workers headed to the Dominican Republic to meet with a pastor and friend in Haiti. To contribute to the Haiti Relief Fund or to find out more about what we and our local church, Faith Apostolic Church, are doing to support relief in Haiti, please visit Faith Apostolic Church.

Though we are not currently in the nation of Cuba, we know that the Lord is there and there are men and women continuing the work. Though we grieve for the people of Haiti, a neighbor of Cuba, we celebrate the work that is being done to help those in need, reach the lost, and meet needs throughout the world.

Throughout this difficult time something comes to my mind - Just last week we celebrated the birth of our second child, Isabel Havana Rennard.

Though there is death and turmoil in Haiti and other countries throughout the world, babies are being born, life is being sustained, and many are hearing the Word of God. It is this hope that we have in Him, that He would give us life and give it to us more abundantly. We pray for the nation of Haiti, even though there is death and destruction, we pray that many will find peace in the Lord, strength in hope, love, and unity.

We'd love to be in Cuba right now in mission with God, but know that His timing is perfect and His will is unchanging. We thank everyone for their support during the past few months of our stay here in the States. When we are able to provide more information about our mission to Cuba we will post it here. In the meantime, pray for those that we've ministered to and equipped for ministry in Cuba. They are the laborers and they are working diligently to change the landscape of a nation.

We love you all and appreciate everything you do for this world in need.

James, Rachael, Ava and Isabel

We're Back!

2009-05-06T10:46:00.001-07:00

Thanks to everyone for your prayers on our behalf. We have made it home after another successful trip to Cuba. We have been home about 5 days now and are adjusting to life in Indiana. It has been wonderful to see our family and friends, but our hearts remain in Cuba.

We were so blessed to have such a fruitful trip. We saw God move in such powerful ways in the churches, in the Women's conferece, in meetings, in pastors' homes and in our own home. Thank the Lord for guiding us every step of the way.

In past trips, we have places a great emphasis on Apostolic doctrine and on allowing the Spirit of God to move freely in church services and in the lives of the people. We were thrilled to return to see the leadership taking initiative in teaching and training of the Apostolic doctrine. They have systemmatic teaching every Sunday to get the church refocuses on the doctrine of the apostles. We were also so encouraged to see that many of the churches are now making room for the Spirit of God to move! We were in many services where the presence of God entered in such a powerful way, and the people simply enjoyed His presence instead of moving forward with the program.

We were honored to baptize six in Jesus' name and see around 10 more receive the Holy Ghost! The first annual Women's Conference was a success. Women from all of the churches told me how they were touched and changed so profoundly during the conference. We were also able to begin planning the first ever Apostolic Bible Institute in Cuba. We are praying to be able to open it within a year. We preached at every church (with one exception), meet with every pastor, and meet with the National Board. It was a very productive trip. We are energized and anticipating great things to continue to happen in Cuba.

Our family in Cuba: Pastor Lorenzo, his wife Zulema, and Pastor Juan

We had the honor of preaching in Bauta, at a church that was Baptist. They recently re-baptized their congregation in Jesus' name and wanted Jimmie to come and preach Apostolic doctrine

Ava, enjoying a children's service in Casa Blanca

We will be updating the blog periodically with some specific needs we have and that pastors in Cuba have. We believe that with your financial help and prayer support, we can see these needs met! Thanks again for your interest in the work of God in Cuba. We welcome your questions and comments. God Bless!

Outside of our home

Ava lost her first tooth in Cuba, eating a guava!

March 2009 Photos

2009-04-13T20:18:00.000-07:00

Testimonies from the Women's Conference in Cuba

2009-04-13T20:17:00.001-07:00

It was an honor to be invited to be a part of the first Apostolic Women’s Conference in Cuba. I have seen many pictures and heard many things about Cuba from Rachael, but seeing firsthand the work of God there was life changing. God opened many doors and allowed me to walk in a spiritual realm of authority and love that I have not experienced before. The people I met lived out John 13:35. Their hospitality, love, & kindness proved them to be true disciples of Christ. God has begun a great work in the nation of Cuba, but it’s just the beginning. I am very thankful to have been a part of what He is doing there and I’m looking forward to seeing what is to come. Dios le bendiga. (God bless you.)

Sara Adcock

I was blessed to be a part of the very first women's conference in Cuba. I was touched by the worship and the speakers. I meet so many wonderful people!

This was my first trip to Cuba and it was exciting visiting the churches and seeing first hand what God is doing in the churches and in people's lives. I have a greater burden for Cuba and I know God is going to do great things! It is wonderful to see how God is blessing Jimmie and Rachael and their ministry.

I feel changed after my visit, like God is stretching me, giving me a different perspective. I am thankful for the opportunity God gave me to go on this trip.

Dios le bendiga,

Linda Burke

2009-03-15T17:01:00.000-07:00

Greetings from Cuba! We are so thrilled to have spent over two weeks here, and are excited about all that God has done already! We have visited several churches, met with several pastors, and had some important meetings where we have seen a lot of progress. We are excited to be in the planning stages to start the first and only Apostolic Bible institute in Cuba. You will hear more about that as the time approaches. We have already baptized 6 people, praise God!

Over the next couple of weeks we will be visiting more of the churches. This is a great opportunity to preach and teach the things God has laid on our hearts for Cuba. We are able to encourage the local churches and the church leaders. We are happy to have the opportunity this Saturday to meet with all of the local pastors for a time of training and teaching.

We are also thrilled to be planning the first annual women’s conference! It will take place the 27th and 28th of March. We are so happy to have two women from our home church, Sara Adcock and Linda Burke, coming to visit for the conference. They will both be speaking, visiting some of the pastors’ homes, and taking an active part in ministry during the week they are here. It will be wonderful to see some familiar faces, too!

We are adjusting to life in Cuba quite well. Ava is much happier than the last trip we made here. We are still working through some issues with transportation, but expect everything to be resolved quickly. I have included some pictures from the past couple of weeks. I hope you enjoy. I will also answer some common questions we get, for those of you who are interested to learn about life in Cuba. God bless you all. Thank you for your continued prayer and support.
Rachael Rennard

Questions:
1. What types of food do you eat in Cuba? We rely heavily on fresh produce. We eat tomatoes, onions, green peppers, red peppers, potatoes, bananas, guava, apples (when we can find them at the store), and cabbage. All of these are common for us. We also occasionally have eggplant, beets, and other common potato-like roots found in Cuba. We eat sandwiches frequently, with ham and cheese or peanut butter and jelly. Spaghetti is common, with a delicious sauce found only in Cuba. As far as meat, we usually eat either chicken on the bone, pork that we pound out so it’s not so tough, or occasionally hamburger in our spaghetti sauce. And we can’t forget the abundance of rice and beans!! For breakfast, Ava has cereal with milk (made from powdered milk). Jimmie found pancake mix and makes those from time to time. For dessert, Juan makes us flan or sweet coconut, and I was so happy to find a chocolate shop near a local market. We drink lots of water, coffee, hot tea, and occasionally a Cuban soda. While this sounds like a lot, we pretty much eat the same things over and over. When you are cooking three meals a day, almost every day, these options get tiresome.

2. What challenges do you face in Cuba? Life is so radically different here, it’s hard to narrow it down to a few challenges. For me, cleaning is a challenge. We don’t have access to a lot of the tools that make cleaning so much easier in the U.S. Our house has all tile floors, and they never seem to be clean, in spite of my efforts. We never seem to have a clean kitchen because there are almost always dirty dishes in the sink (in spite of our efforts to wash them). We also don’t have good cleaning products. Yet, if we don’t at least attempt to keep the floors and the counters clean, we have an onslaught of fire ants and/or flies.

Transportation is a challenge. Very few people have cars. We have limited access to the van that belongs to the organization, so to run errands we have to find someone willing to take us somewhere. The owner of the house where we stay only charges us for gas, usually around $5. This is what we do most of the time, but when he is not available we pay as much as $25 a day for transportation.

Finally, raising a child in Cuba is difficult. While Ava is extremely outgoing and can make friends with anyone, she sometimes feels lonely. The boy who lives next door is at school every day, so during the day it is difficult to keep her occupied. On hot days, she likes to swim in the pool, but the weather has been fairly cool lately. Most of the time she’s happy, but other times she misses her family or is bored.

3. What changes are you seeing spiritually in the churches? We are so happy that the leadership of the organization has instituted a program for every church, systematically teaching them doctrine. This has been a problem in the past. When we visit churches, we are noticing that people are more receptive to the moving of the Holy Spirit. Churches are growing, and leaders seem to be enthusiastic, with a more hopeful outlook on the future. We know that God has only begun to do His work in Cuba, and are extremely humbled to take even a small part in his plan for this nation.

March 2009 Photos

2009-03-11T07:54:00.000-07:00

One of the people baptized at Juan's church.

Another of the people baptized at Juan's church.

The third person baptized at Juan's church!

Kids from Juan´s church

Daniel from Juan´s church. I fell in love wiht him and want to adopt him. His dad left him for the US and his mom died a year ago. Please pray for him.

We spent over an hour separating beans.

Many from the El Cano church

Sunday in El Cano

The view from our roof.

The three baptized our first day here.

One baptism on our first full day in Cuba!

2009-02-25T13:36:00.001-08:00

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

2009-02-20T14:20:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-02-11T11:09:00.000-08:00

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

In Remembrance....

2008-12-20T20:05:00.000-08:00

We are so sad to report that Bro. and Sis. Roca, missionaries to Cuba, were in a serious accident today. Sadly, Sis. Roca passed away. Bro. Roca is in the hospital with injuries, but will recover.

(Sis. Dorothy Roca,far right with Pastor Juan, Matthew Ball, and Pastor Barbaro)

We have had the priveledge of knowing the Rocas and working with them for almost two years. They have helped us so much along our journey working in Cuba. Sis. Roca was an inspiration to me. She had such a sensitivity to the Spirit of God. From what I know, she was an extremely prayerful woman who was so thrilled about the revival taking place in Cuba. We know that she is in a better place now.... a place we can't even begin to imagine.

Please keep Bro. Roca in your prayers, along with their children, grandchildren, and friends and family. We can't imagine the grief they are feeling right now, but will hold them up to God in our prayers. We will not ever forget Sis. Roca's sweet and loving nature, and know she will be rewarded greatly for her life of service.

2008: Reflections

2008-12-20T13:06:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!

We hope that you are all enjoying this wonderful Holiday season and take time to remember what it is we are celebrating. As usual, thank you for your consistent prayers and support. We truly could not do what we do without people like you behind us all the way.

2008 has been a year of growth for us personally and progress in Cuba. We spent January-April in Cuba, teaching seminars, meeting with pastors and church leaders, preaching at many churches and planning a Conference for March. We saw much progress in the Kingdom of God. We are thankful for Cuban men and women who give so much of themselves to see the church advance, and we are thankful for what God is doing in our own lives.

We had somewhat of a difficult summer for various reasons, but God is truly faithful. We know that all things work together for good to those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose. We were supposed to spend three more months this fall in Cuba, but faced problems with our visas. Thankfully, we were able to take a short trip in November. We spent a lot of time in meetings with Cuban leaders and are thankful that God dealt with each and every one of our concerns during this very productive trip.

(All of our group except Matthew Ball on our November 2008 trip: Pastor Juan,Chelsea Ball, myself, Pastor Danis, Bro. Josh Wilson, and Bro. James Rennard)

We just received great news!! The Cuban leadership has applied for 60 day visas for our family starting the first of February, and they expect to have them any day. We are praying that we will be able to extend those visas an extra 30 days for a total of 90 days (please pray with us!) We are thrilled about an exciting program during this time. We will be visiting each church for extensive, 3-day training. We will be doing leadership training, doctrine training and evangelism training. It will be a very busy schedule, but we are so happy to have the opportunity to reach so many. We will also be helping the Cuban church in Cuba to organize their first National Women's Conference in March. Please pray about this conference. I am thrilled that a group of ladies from our church will be attending the Conference. What a blessing!!

We do have some special needs. If you would pray about these with us, we would be so grateful. First of all, please pray that our visas come through and that we will get the extension we need for the full 90 days. We are also currently re-applying for our license to travel to Cuba. We cannot travel without this license, so pray that this is approved. Our transportation issue in Cuba has not been resolved, so please help us pray that God will provide the funds for a vehicle for us to use on a day to day basis. We also need prayer for protection, a smooth transition for Ava, and a unified working relationship with the Cuban leadership.

Again, I pray that God bless you richly this Christmas season and in the year to come. Whether you have given financially, have spoken an encouraging word, or have said a prayer for us, please know that you will be rewarded by God for doing your part in God's work in Cuba. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

All our love and gratitude,

James, Rachael and Ava Rennard

Leaving Tomorrow!!

2008-11-08T18:56:00.000-08:00

We are so happy to be leaving for Cuba tomorrow! Although we were not able to stay for an extended period this fall (due to visa issues), we are thrilled to be able to visit again.

While in Cuba, we will try to make the arrangements for another extended stay at the first of 2009. Please pray that God opens the door for this to happen.

We will be visiting several churches, meeting with local leaders and aiding financially in several pressing projects. Please pray for protection and guidance. There is currently a category 4 hurricane over eastern Cuba. Please pray for the safety of Cubans, and for our safety as we travel to Cuba on Monday.

Our group consists of myself, James, Matthew Ball, Chelsea Ball and Josh Wilson. We will return Saturday, November 15th. We appreciate your prayers and will update you with details of our trip as soon as we return. God Bless!! -Rachael

August Update

2008-08-18T08:23:00.002-07:00

I hope you are all enjoying this beautiful summer. As many of you know, I (Rachael) have been very sick for much of the summer, in and out of the hospital. I am much better now. Thank you for your prayers and support during such a difficult time. We are trying to take advantage of the rest of the summer before we head back to Cuba! We hope you enjoy some of our family pictures that capture our time here.

Ava and Audrey at our weekend Church Retreat
Myself, Sara and Tasha
Me & Jimmie
Ava and her cousin Leah at her Nina and Papa's house

Jimmie hiking in southern Indiana
A wonderful visit with Grandpa and Grandma Ball
Me & Chelsea at ALJC Youth Camp
Ava enjoying VBS Sunday

We are thankful for these great memories and have truly enjoyed our time here with family and friends.

We want to give a special thank you to Pastor W.E. Hutchins and Church of Champions as well as Pastor Mark Koogler and Yellow Springs Apostolic Church for their generous support. We would also like to give a special thank you to Pastor Carroll and the entire Southeastern district of the ALJC for raising funding for upcoming projects.

Our meeting with the Carrolls at General Conference

We have an urgent prayer request. As of today, we do not have visas. Normally we would have heard by now, as they applied for them over a month ago. Our plan was to leave September 1st, but we cannot purchase flights until our visas have been approved. Please join with us in prayer! We believe that with all of your prayers, we can hear THIS WEEK that our visas are ready! We are very ready to return and get back into the work of God in Cuba. There is much to do.

As usual, right before our departure is the time we need to raise the largest amount of money. We are thankful for those of you who are consistently supporting the work in Cuba. We have many travel expenses and project expenses coming up soon. If you would like to contribute, please send a check to the Cuba for Christ address listed on our blog or contribute online at our secure online contribution through Faith Apostolic Church (link also listed on this blog). As usual, thank you for your consistent support, whether it be through friendship, financial support, or prayers. We couldn't do what we do without partners like you! God Bless and get out there and enjoy the rest of the summer!

New Cuba for Christ Video!

2008-07-02T15:01:00.000-07:00

We have recently completed our second video - this one has some commentary and footage from our latest trip. Please take a look! We are excited about what God has done over the past year and are expecting great things in the year to come!

Summer Events and News

2008-06-20T14:27:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone! I hope that you are all having a great summer! It has been good being back in the United States, spending time with friends and family! However, we are looking forward to our return to Cuba. Just a few weeks before that happens!

We just wanted to take a minute and let everyone know what we'll be up to this summer while we await our return trip. Most of our time is spent helping with our local church in Carmel, Indiana, Faith Apostolic Church. We have visited a few places, have gone to a couple conferences, and have a few more exciting things planned for the Summer.

Next week we will be in Louisville for the ALJC General Conference which will be a great opportunity to meet many of you that subscribe to our blog and support us regularly. Please feel free to visit us at our booth and say hello!

In late July I (James) will be helping Josh Wilson, our ALJC Apostolic Youth Corp coordinator, in Jamaica for the AYC 2008 trip. We will be down in Jamaica for a little over a week working with some churches there and introducing youth to missions work. It is going to be hot, but should prove rewarding for the young people and for all of us helping out! It is great to see so many of the younger generation stepping up into foreign and local ministry!

If you have any questions regarding our stay here in the States or would like us to visit, please feel free to contact us. We are grateful for all of your prayers and support and are excited about what is to come in the nation of Cuba!

God bless!

Life in the United States

2008-05-01T08:01:00.000-07:00

We hope this update finds you all doing well and busy with the work of God. As most of you know, we have been home for three weeks now. It has been quite an adjustment. For some reason, it is a more difficult adjustment coming to the U.S. from Cuba than going to Cuba from the U.S. I believe that once you find the exact place God wants you to be, that place becomes like home.

Of course, it has been a joy to see our family, friends, and be part of Faith Apostolic Church again. We are making plans to begin deputation to raise funds for future trips. We are currently planning to return to Cuba in August, unless God opens a door for us to return sooner. We will stay for another three months, return to the U.S. for National Youth Convention and Christmas, then return in January for three more months.

We feel that our trip was an overwhelming success. We were able to visit every pastor and talk about their vision and their needs for their church. Jimmie preached several times a week, did leadership training, and evangelism training. We saw a visible difference in people's faith. Where once people were very timid about seeking after God, by the time we left people were crying out to God in expectation.

Jimmie preached at a Trinitarian church about the Oneness of God and Jesus' name baptism. We are thrilled to announce that a week after we left, the Cuban leadership baptized 20 people from this congregation in Jesus' name! We are believing that a pattern is being established... that entire churches will be converted to the truth of the Oneness of God.

We want to thank the people who have given so generously to God's work in Cuba. We take very seriously that you have entrusted us with your money. We are happy to report that God blessed our finances in a supernatural way. We budgeted our money very carefully, and were still shocked at how little money we required to live. The remainder of the money was used to fund the Conference in March and help with various projects. Over half of the money we took with us was used to fund various projects associated with our mission. Praise God! Please pray that God will continue to bless our finances in the future.

The Conference held in March will be considered a pivotal moment in the history of the Apostolic Church in Cuba. Over 100 more people received the Holy Ghost. It was amazing, and we are humbled to have taken part in it. Beyond people receiving the Holy Ghost, there was an equipping and empowering to do the work of God that took place. The Cuban church is ready to get the word out, spread the gospel, and get busy with the work of God. We have faith that we will return to a church that is growing and thriving even more than when we left. Thanks so much to Pastor Logue, Baruch, Nathaniel, Bro. Tisdale, Bro. Nathan Kern, and Bro. Ball for coming and ministering so effectively at the Conference.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us at any time. We welcome your comments as well. If you are interested in our family visiting your church to share our burden for Cuba, please contact us soon. We thank you all again for your prayers and support. God Bless You!

Back in the States!

2008-04-15T16:20:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

First, thank you to everyone for your prayers and support while we were in Cuba the past three months! We had an extremely productive trip - God did many wonderful things! We are looking forward to publishing more information and news about what happened in Cuba the first quarter of the year!

We are currently working on getting acclimated to the change in landscape, living, and life in general. Three months in a totally different nation really does make a change in your outlook and the things you are used to! It was a blessing for us to serve the Lord in Cuba and are excited about what the future holds.

Though we are going to provide a more detailed report soon, I wanted to give you a glimpse of what happened the past few weeks we were in Cuba as well as our upcoming plans!

Most of you know, but we held a conference for all of the churches towards the end of March. During this conference over 100 people received the baptism of the Holy Ghost and many received miraculous healings! God has continued what he started last August! In addition to the two conferences and those that have received the baptism in their local churches during our visits, we are estimating that over 250 have received the baptism of the Holy Ghost since October 2007! That is just six months!

Cuban pastors are reporting great revivals in their churches, miracles, and so much more. We are truly a blessed people to see revival like this and are humbled by the experience.

If you would like to play a part in this Cuban Pentecost, please contact us at info@cubaforchrist.net. We are partnering with Apostolics worldwide in efforts to see endtime revival throughout the world!

More information will becoming soon - in addition to video and photos!

In servitude,

James Rennard

Random Photos

2008-03-20T18:20:00.001-07:00

Revival in Cuba

2008-03-20T18:16:00.001-07:00

Pictures of Our House

2008-03-20T18:09:00.001-07:00

March update

2008-03-20T17:51:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord! We apologize to you all for not hearing from us for awhile. We have been extremely busy with the work of God. Things are going very well. We're learning Spanish, feeling very at home in Cuba, and seeing God work in wonderful ways. We've visited almost all of the churches and met with many, many pastors. Last weekend we were at a baptism service where we baptized 4 people from one church! What a blessing. God is moving in a powerful way at every church we visit. We're thrilled to announce that two previously Baptist churches are preparing to re-baptize their congregations in Jesus' name and join the organization! What a blessing.

Our time here is winding down. Please pray that God continues to protect and keep us in his will. Next week we will be having a Conference with a group of ministers from home. We are believing for a mighty outpouring of God's Spirit. Please pray for this conference - the 27th-30th. Our return date is April 15th. We are very anxious to see our families, friends, and our church again soon. It will also be very sad leaving Cuba. Thanks to all of you who continually uplift us in your prayers. We can feel the prayers of everyone back home. I'm including new pictures. I hope you enjoy them! God Bless!

March pictures

2008-03-09T20:59:00.001-07:00

Questions and Answers

2008-02-23T15:23:00.000-08:00

Here are some common questions and their respective answers. Enjoy!

1. Describe a typical day in your lives.

Our typical day varies greatly, so I'll just explain our day yesterday. We woke up around 8. I straightened up the house, swept and did the dishes while Jimmie studied. Around 9, our friend Danis came over for our Spanish class. His brother came, too, to cook lunch for us. We had Spanish class until about 11:30. Juan came over during the class and watched a DVD on our computer that teaches him English. After class, I helped Danis’ brother cook lunch. We ate around 12:30 or so. After lunch, Juan did the dishes (praise God!) and I dried them. I swept the floor again and mopped. After Danis and his brother left, Ava took a nap, Jimmie studied, and I practiced a song for church last night. At about 3:30, we all got dressed for church.

Bro. Barizonte picked us up around 4 to go to one of the local churches. We got there a little before 5. Service was awesome! I sang in Spanish for the first time. Jimmie preached about expectancy. We had an awesome altar service. The power of God moved greatly and Juan told us several people received the Holy Ghost! After church (around 7) they had cake for us and we visited with the church members. We got home arond 8. I made some dinner and we all ate together. After dinner, Juan taught Jimmie a song on guitar while I cleaned up. We watched some video from FAC for awhile. Juan left about 10:30 and we went to bed (exhausted) around 11:30.

2. Have you had any issues with the government on your present stay?

We can't really discuss this, but we can say we were thrilled that the government approved our visas for the entire 3 month stay. A miracle!

3. Is Ava picking up Spanish pretty well?

Ava is picking up and using phrases here and there. She understands quite a bit. It's really funny because she answers "si" to any question anyone asks her in Spanish.

4. Have more people received the baptism of the Holy Ghost and/or been
baptized in Jesus Name?

Yes! Last night several received the Holy Ghost and we are having a baptism service in a church in the area the 15th of March!

5. What is the most exciting thing that has happened on during your
present stay?

Service last night was a highlight. The church we visited last night is pretty far, so they never get visitors. They were so happy we were there and so receptive to the moving of God's Spirit. It was great to see God pour His Spirit out in such a powerful way.

6. What do you miss most about being in the United States?

I miss my family and being able to sit down and talk with my friends. I also miss the music at FAC a lot.

7. What has been the most difficult adjustment?

The hardest part is only having Jimmie to talk to (in English). I miss having normal conversations. It has also been difficult at times when Ava has difficulty adjusting and misses everyone from home.

8. Have you made any Cuban dishes of your own yet?

Yes! When the only food available is "Cuban”, learning how to cook Cuban-style is vital for survival. Juan helps us greatly with this. I'm now pretty good with black beans (not canned), fried plantains, and Cuban-style ham. I've also learned how to make coconut and papaya desserts (with queso... delicious!). Jimmie makes great arroz con pollo.

9. In USD, how much does a gallon of gasoline cost?

Gas prices are about $2.60 per gallon. Many people here us diesel, which is much cheaper.

10.How much do they charge you to go online?

About $7 per hour.

11. If you were to call the United States, how much would they charge
you?

Outrageous! It's about $2.50 per minute, but it's free to receive calls from the US.

12. Has anything frightening happened to any of you during your present
stay?

We were nervous when our visas hadn't been approved 2 days before our old ones expired. Nothing else scary... we feel safe and secure here.

13. Do you have any funny stories you would like to share?

Funny stories.... let's see... one day it was pouring down rain. I was crossing a very busy street. Juan yelled, "Run!!" and before I realized it, my shoe had come off in the middle of the street. I kept running…barefoot and he ran back for it... somehow, without getting killed. Everyone was laughing at me, including myself.

One day I thought I saw a roach in the house. I started spraying it with insecticide and yelled for Jimmie... who ran to me, only to tell me I had just sprayed a cricket to death! One night about 3 in the morning we heard our indoor wind chimes. All the windows were closed, so we were very concerned. A frog was jumping from one wall to the other…back and forth. It must have liked the sound it made. Our first night here it rained…hard...and the windshield wipers in Bro. Barizonte's car weren't working. Juan had his head stuck out the window telling him where to go... it was dark and a couple times we ended up in the grass. It took us close to 2 hours to get home.

Our first public transportation story is hilarious... imagine us crammed onto a bus with HUNDREDS of people. We were literally hanging out the door. If only we had a camera. I won't even go into the funny stories about words we've misused or misunderstood in Spanish. These kinds of stories keep us laughing.

2008-02-02T19:31:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Praise the Lord! I hope this report finds you all doing well and busy with the work of God. We can feel your prayers, and are so grateful for your support.

Our visas were approved for the entire three month stay! Praise God! This is a miracle and we know it is a direct answer to prayers. We have been visiting various churches, preaching and teaching. Next week we will start specific training seminars for leaders and church workers at all the various churches. We will focus on one church each week. We are anxious to get started, and believe God will do great things.

We have also started extensive Spanish training. Bro. Danis Raul is teaching us Spanish. Of course, just living in Cuba is the best Spanish course we can have!

We are staying in a house on the outskirts of Havana. It is beautiful... out in the middle of nowhere, but very peaceful. It is plenty big for the three of us. It's very close to our friend Bro. Juan, and he has been a tremendous support, help, and encouragement to us. He stops by every day to see how we are doing, often bringing food. He is extremely gifted musically and is teaching me lots of his songs in Spanish. This is great practice for me, and I will start singing them soon at the various churches.

It is amazing how we adapt as humans. We wake up to roosters almost every morning. We have lizards running freely in our house. We rarely use the air conditioner... the weather is so beautiful. We're eating foods that are very new to us.... and the same foods over and over. Everything is different, yet I find myself very content. It goes to show that when you're in the will of God, he takes care of you. I'm thankful that He is our very present help in every situation.

We will be returning sometime mid-April. Please continue to pray for us, but don't worry about us. We are happy to be right where God wants us, and know that He is taking care of our every need. This is a special time in the History of the Kingdom of God, and none of us want to miss the chance to be part of something so special. We love you all and ask that you keep Cuba in your prayers.

Lots of love,

Rachael, Jimmie, and Ava

We're here!

2008-01-24T07:37:00.000-08:00

We're here! The weather is beautiful. We're trying to get adjusted to our new life here. So far, so good. Our house is not ready yet, so we are renting a very nice house with Bro. Roca. It is lovely... although I would say it's in the middle of the jungle. (Maybe an exaggeration... maybe not). My only adjustment are the lizards and frogs in the house... and all the mosquito bites!

Tonight we are going to El Cano for church. We're very happy about this. Our good friend Juan is a short walk away from our house, so it's been wonderful to see him a lot. Tonight we will also receive the schedule for the next 3 months. We will let you know more about that as we learn it ourselves.

Please pray that we get into our house very soon. We did not budget for rent for three months, and we need to move in as soon as possible. We know God can work a miracle in this situation.

We miss you and love you very much. Thank you for your continued prayers and support.

God Bless

We're Off!

2008-01-20T16:02:00.000-08:00

Everything has finally come together! We're headed to Cuba tomorrow morning. We've had a busy couple of months. We truly enjoyed having Pastors Barizonte and Barbaro with us for three weeks in December. We celebrated Christmas and New Year's with them. It wasn't too hard saying goodbye, knowing we'd be seeing them in a few weeks. They were a truly a blessing to our church. The first night they spoke at our church, my Grandpa Ball was there, along with my Aunt Charlotte. It was really a blessing to have people who were involved with God's work in Cuba in the past, the present, and the future.

We can't leave without thanking some very important people. We couldn't do it without you: Pastor Ball, for your unending support, encouragement, and fund-raising abilities. Faith Apostolic Church, for being the best church family we could ask for. Our wonderful families, who make it difficult to say goodbye (Rennards, Rawlings, Balls, Newburns, Turners, etc). The Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ Foreign Mission's Department, for putting your confidence in us. Jodie, for taking care of our finances while we're gone. Leah, for taking care of our blog updates while we're gone. The Cuba Prayer Team, for holding us up in your prayers. Mom & David, for the great vacation and for buying so many things we need. Our friends, you know who you are and we love you. The families who have given sacrificially to help us realize this dream. Pastor Shurte and Pastor Logue, for offering a helping hand every step of the way. All the churches and pastors who have allowed us to share our vision and aided us financially. Everyone else who has offered friendship, prayers, support and encouragement. We truly wouldn't be on this path without you. Our prayer is that God bless you greatly for your sacrifice.

Many of you have asked what we will be doing while in Cuba. We will be doing doctrinal/leadership training 2-3 days a week, and preaching and teaching at weeknight and weekend services. Our plan is to visit all 15 or so churches while we are there. As you can imagine, this will be a very demanding schedule. We will also have intensive language trainging twice a week. Finally, we will be organizing a Training Conference and Crusade for the end of March. Please pray that God will equip us and be with us in every endeavor.

Our access to Internet in Cuba will be somewhat limited. We will try to send updates twice a month through Leah Newby. If you ever want to get in touch with us, contact Leah at Faith Apostolic Church (http://www.faithapostolic.us/) for our contact information.

I can't pass the opportunity to congratulate my brother Michael and his wife Marty on their beautiful new baby girl. We're very disappointed that we won't be able to see her until April, but are saving up lots of attention and affection to give her then. This is little Sophia Jane. Could she be any more gorgeous?

God Bless!

-Rachael, James and Ava Rennard

January Trip... Coming Up!

2007-12-12T10:41:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays! I hope you are all enjoying this Christmas season. As the year comes to a close, our extended trip is coming up! We will be leaving for Cuba on January 20th and will be staying for approximately three months. We are ready to go, but are extremely busy with preparations! We are thrilled to announce that the ALJC is helping us raise funds for our own house in Cuba, and for the use of our own van! Praise God! If you are interested in contributing to this cause, please let us know right away.

Bro. Barizonte and Bro. Barbaro are currently traveling with Bro. Roca to various churches, spreading the word about Revival in Cuba! They will be here with us next Tuesday, and will be speaking at Faith Apostolic Church next Wednesday night, December 19th. We are excited about their visit with us.

We are so thankful to the churches who have recently had us come and share our vision and burden for Cuba:

1. South Gibson Apostolic Chapel - Pastor J.D. Mullins
2. Medora Pentecostal Church - Pastor Tim Gill
3. Victory Life Center - Pastor Randy Adams

We enjoyed being with you in your service and are grateful for your kindness and hospitality.

Many of you have asked that we relay our upcoming expenses. We are working with the ALJC Foreign Mission's department to raise part of this money, but WE NEED YOUR HELP! We have to raise a lot of money in a short time, but we know that God will provide! We are especially seeking monthly sponsorship. If you would like to partner with us on a monthly basis, please contact us to let us know, with an amount in mind. This will help us know how far we have to go in reaching our monthly budget. Even the smallest monthly support makes a big difference. Our prayer is that God bless our partners greatly for their support and sacrificial giving.

Upcoming trip costs:

1. House - $15,000

2. Car - 5,000

3. Flights - 1,650

4. Food - 1,350

5.House needs-2,000

6. Insurance - 1,500

7. Projects - 1,500

8. Water - 150

9. Exit tax - 75

10. Visas - 270

11. Gas - 600

12. Internet - 150

13. Phone cards- 75

Total: $29,320

While this figure is overwhelming, keep in mind that our costs will be fairly low once the house and van have been purchased, and the house is furnished. Thank you to those of you who have already pledged generous amounts toward the purchase of the house. God bless you abundantly!

I don't like for these blogs to be about money, but hopefully this will give you an idea the kinds of funds necessary for us to accomplish this work. Can we put a price on what God has already done in Cuba? I don't believe we can, and I'm believing what has happened is only the beginning. If you would like to know more about donating to Cuba for Christ, please contact us at info@cubaforchrist.net or use the link to your right to donate online. God Bless!

Cuba for Christ - October 2007 National Conference...

2007-12-04T16:19:00.001-08:00

Click to Play

This is a short video depicting the events that happened during a trip to Cuba in October 2007. During this trip we held a Nation Conference for 'La Iglesia Apostolica de Jesucristo'. Our connection with this local organization has been amazing and we are glad and humbled to be a part of this revival!

Over 100 people received the baptism of the Holy Ghost during the conference and subsequent days of ministry!

As many of you now know, we are in fund raising mode! We have a visit to Cuba coming up in early January 2008 for three months! During this time we'll be holding training seminars and pastoral training as well as preparing for another crusade. If you would like to help by contributing monthly to the ALJC Foreign Missions budget, please do so by sending in your pledge forms using Cuba - Rennard as the ministry! You can also contribute online at Faith Apostolic Church's Website! God bless!

It's Official!

2007-11-27T08:39:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays!

Our family, church family,and Cuban family at Thanksgiving

I hope you are all having a great start to your holiday season. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and we are so thankful for a network of caring, supportive people backing us in our endeavor. Thank you to all of the new people who have signed up to receive our e-newsletter. I hope you find it informative and inspiring. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or comments.

Bro. & Sis. Roca, Bro. Barbaro, Bro. Barizonte, Bro. Josh, Sis. Shelly, Myself and Jimmie at Thanksgiving Dinner

Last week we attended National Youth Convention in Nashville, Tennessee. We are so happy to report that we were appointed as official missionaries with the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ! I was moved to tears knowing that we had the support of a room full of godly men on the Foreign Mission's Board. I was especially moved during one of the services looking out at thousands of people who I knew would be supporting us and praying for us. When God calls you for a purpose, you act. Obedience is necessary whether you have the support of others or not, but what a tremendous blessing when your calling is backed up by thousands. We hope and pray that we will always be a good representation first and foremost of God, but also of Faith Apostolic Church, our families and friends, and of the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ. We will do our best!

Mindy, Jodie, Sis. Ball, myself, and Shelly Wednesday night at NYC

It looks like God has opened a door in regard to our living arrangements! I can't go into detail right now, but please help us pray that it works out according to God's plan. If this door opens, it will truly be a miracle and another confirmation that we are right where God wants us.

Bro. Barizonte and Bro. Barbaro made it here safely and were able to attend NYC. They met many pastors, talked with so many people, and even made a presentation to the Foreign Mission's board about God's work in Cuba. They are truly a blessing to be around, and bring so much joy to our lives. They are with the Rocas right now, but will be in Indiana with us sometime next week.

James, Bro. Roca, Bro. Barizonte, and Bro. Barbaro Thanksgiving Day

Baruch, Bro. Barbaro, and Nathaniel - it was a happy reunion!
We are truly looking forward to the next few months, spending time with these Cuban leaders, traveling, preparing for our trip, and spending time with family and friends. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. God Bless!

National Youth Convention and Cuban Pastors' Visit

2007-11-13T07:34:00.001-08:00

What an exciting time to be doing the work of God! We've been home for a few weeks now and are so thrilled to share with you all the great things God is doing. We have had unprecedented revival at home here in Carmel, with over 60 people receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit since Father's Day! It is always a little sad leaving Cuba, but it makes it so much easier to come home to an awesome church that is hungry for more of God. Thanks to Bro. Robert Tisdale who has been our guest evangelist for months now. You have made such an impact on our ministries and have had a huge part in building our faith.

We want to publicly acknowledge our pastor and brother, Matthew Ball. We would not be where we are today without a pastor who is constantly pushing us to grow in God, while still supporting us and correcting us when we need it. You are the best pastor/brother combo we could ask for.

Next week we are heading to National Youth Convention in Nashville. As many of you know, we have a meeting with the ALJC Foreign Mission's Board. Please pray that God's will is done concerning this matter. We would love to be appointed and represent the ALJC in Cuba, but we are trusting that God will lead us where we need to go.

We are also excited to announce that Bro. Barizonte, the president of the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ in Cuba and Bro. Barbaro, the secretary of the organization, are coming to visit next week! They will arrive in time for NYC and will stay until mid-January. They will spend the first part of their visit in Georgia with the Rocas, and will head to Indiana in early December. I will update our blog letting you know when they will be speaking in Carmel in case any of you would like to come and hear/meet them.

Bro. Barbaro(left) and Bro. Barizonte at a baptism service in February.

I want to end this blog with a personal testimony. Two days before we left Cuba, we were driving around the city with our translator, Danis, looking for apartments to rent. We decided to stop at a small food-court near a nearby hotel for lunch. We sat and talked for a long time, and as we were leaving we discovered our camera bag had been stolen. Two brand new cameras were in our bag, a HDD camcorder and our digital camera, a combined value of nearly $1000. All of the video footage of "Cuban Pentecost" was on the camera in the bag. Several minutes later, much to my dismay, Jimmie told me he had put our passports in the bag that morning. I began to panic and pray at the same time. We talked to employees, security guards, hotel employees... everyone we could think of. At one point, Ava and I were in the van alone. I explained to her what had happened and told her we needed to pray. With tears streaming down my face, I prayed a very specific prayer. I prayed that whoever took our camera would watch the video footage and feel conviction for taking the camera. I prayed that they would return it to the nearby hotel reception desk.

The next few hours are a blur. We finally ended up at the U.S. Interest Section (really like our embassy in Cuba), where we found out that they could replace our passports at a cost of $300, but we would have to wait until the next Monday. It was a very intimidating situation. They told us to file a police report with the Cuban police. Ava was exhausted by this point, so Jimmie and Danis dropped us off at the house and headed to the police station. They filed a police report and headed to the scene of the crime in a Cuban police car. When they walked into the restaurant, there was a couple there talking to a store employee. They claimed to have "accidentally taken our camera bag." It had been 4-5 hours since it was stolen. They had taken the bag to the reception desk at the nearby hotel. Pastor Danis called me with the news. For me, it was one of those amazing moments that I realized God knew exactly where I was.... and He was watching out for me. I knew the couple had stolen the camera bag. I knew God answered my prayer in the exact way I prayed for it to be answered. I knew at that moment that our lives were in His hands, and it brought tremendous comfort.

Thanks to all of you who are giving us your prayers and support. We love you and pray that God will bless you for your sacrifice. Please click on the link below to see a photo album of our October trip. God Bless!

http://picasaweb.google.com/Cuba4Christ/OctoberCubaTrip

Cuban Pentecost

2007-10-29T10:09:00.000-07:00

Thank you for all of your prayers while we were gone. We have arrived home safely and with awesome reports of what God is doing in Cuba.

The initial purpose of our trip was to attend the Cuban National Convention. About 500 people packed in to a very hot facility for six services over the course of two days. God truly did a tremendous work. The Cuban leadership has been praying for years for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Many pastors, national leaders, and church members had not been filled with the Holy Ghost. In this convention, they are estimating 100 people received the Holy Spirit. They said this is an unprecedented occurance in Apostolic history in Cuba. Praise God!

In one particular service, my husband preached a simple message about faith. He asked for anyone who needed a miracle from God to come forward. To our surprise, hundreds came forward. There was no way to get to all of them to pray with them. Bro. Troy Shurte had the idea to do a prayer line. All the Cuban pastors, along with our group from the U.S. lined up and for about 2 hours, we prayed for people as they came through the line. I've never witnessed anything like it. I would estimate that at least half of those 100 who received the Holy Ghost received it in the prayer line or outside the door of the church where they were directed after prayer.

During all of this, a large group of Nazarenes were having service nearby. They heard the commotion and came to see what was happening. Many of them went through the prayer line. Some received the Holy Ghost and some have now started attending Apostolic churches. In Cuba, the pastors and leadership are referring to this Convention as the beginning of Cuban Pentecost. Praise God for honoring their prayers and pouring His Spirit out. On the Day of Pentecost, Peter proclaims the words of the prophet Joel:

"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh." (Acts 2:17)

After the Convention, we saw a similar outpouring at every church we visited. In one church alone, about 15 people were baptized! One particular Methodist church recently re-baptized their entire congregation in the Name of Jesus! We saw God do awesome things at a service there! God is doing a great work, and we are so thankful to be a part of it.

If you live around Indianapolis, and would like more details about our trip, please visit our church this Wednesday night. We will be giving a presentation with detailed information, photos, and video footage of our trip. We would love to see you there. The church is located at 1212 E. 116th Street in Carmel. Jimmie will be updating our blog with more detailed information about our trip. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us at anytime. Thank you to those of you who are investing in us with your prayers and/or with your finances. Take a moment to rejoice in your part in Cuban revival. Cuba for Christ!!!

Leaving Tomorrow!

2007-10-08T11:46:00.000-07:00

I hope this post finds you all well and busy with the work of God. I apologize for not having a new post for a couple of weeks. Everything seems like a blur. We've been so busy traveling, having revival, and getting ready for this trip. Things probably aren't going to slow down anytime soon!

First, I want to say thank you to Faith Apostolic Church. Our family is so blessed to be part of such a loving, giving and supportive church family. Thank you for all of your prayers and financial support. Many of you know how long we've wanted to be involved with mission's work. Believe it or not, it is very hard to say goodbye, even for three weeks, to such an incredible church. We will miss you all. We wouldn't be where we are today without your love, support and guidance. I want to thank God for this incredible revival! Over 30 people have received the Holy Spirit since June - it's been amazing week after week. We're anxious to hear all that happens when we get back. While we're saying our "thank yous," we can't fail to thank our families. You mean so much to us and have had a huge part in making us who we are today. We love you very much.

Last night at church, a young girl came up to me with a home-made card and an envelope. This girl raises pigs for 4H, and when the money came in for her pig, she told her parents that she didn't want any of the money for herself - she wanted to donate it all to Cuba missions. I was so moved by her sacrificial giving. It is people like Annaka who are believing in God's revival in Cuba who are making this all possible for us. Thank you to all of you - you know who you are.

A big thank you to The Early Childhood Center, too! Last week was my last week working at the daycare. They showered me with beautiful cards, hugs, lunch and well wishes. It was such a blessing. They are a wonderful group of women (and John!), and I will truly miss them. Check out the adorable sign they made for me!

We were able to visit Grandma and Grandpa Ball last Friday. They told us stories about their time as missionaries in Cuba. It was such a blessing to hear accounts of the work they started, knowing that we are going to have a part in the future of that same work. What a blessing to have grandparents who were obedient to God's direction and call for their lives.

We are leaving tomorrow for three weeks! We're so grateful to Bro. Troy Shurte for giving us the opportunity to present our mission at his church in Orlando Wednesday night! We'll be visiting with our friend Pat for a couple of days, too. On Thursday we drive to Miami, and our flight leaves Friday morning for Havana. Please pray for our group. We are having a Caribbean Conference and we're expecting many to receive the Holy Spirit. As always, we need prayer for protection and for direction. We're trying to come up with our budget, which means we need to find a place to live, means of transportation, and totals for other miscellaneous costs for our extended stay next year. Your prayers in this matter are invaluable. Finally, please pray that God will continue to open doors for us in Cuba and that we will continue to make divine spiritual connections.

If you have any questions or comment, please feel free to contact us via e-mail or by phone. After this Friday, we won't be able to answer e-mail or return phone calls, but we're looking forward to giving an awesome report of all God does on this trip. God Bless You!

Rachael Rennard

Recent News, Travels, and Updates!

2007-09-18T12:57:00.000-07:00

Greetings!

First, thank you all for your prayers and support! We've truly been blessed and though we do not have everything, God is providing day by day!

We have some great news! Our friend and partner, Armando Roca just returned a few weeks ago from a trip to Cuba! During this trip they held a youth camp and 10 people were filled with the Holy Ghost! Revival is happening in Cuba! It is amazing!

We are thankful for Rev. Roca and believe in him and are glad to be a partner with him in the revival in Cuba!

We've recently been traveling on weekends to churches that have heard about Cuba and have asked us to visit. We'd like to thank all of the pastors and churches that have had us come and share our burden for the nation of Cuba. We are very grateful for your prayers and support!

Rev. Joe David Wampler - Monticello, IN
Rev. Todd Woods - LaPorte, IN
Rev. Mason - Central City, KY
Rev. Clement - Henderson, KY
Rev. Frederick - Madisonville, KY
Rev. Davis - Evansville, IN

Thank you again, we pray that God will bless you and all of your efforts!

Keep on praying for us, our October trip is coming up quickly and we are still in need of some key items for documenting and preparing for greater revival in Cuba! If you have questions about our ministry or would like to partner with us, please feel free to e-mail us at info@cubaforchrist.net!

God bless!

James, Rachael, and Ava

Upcoming Trip Costs

2007-09-04T11:49:00.000-07:00

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all of your support. It has been wonderful to have an outpouring of support from people who we care about so much.

I just received great news! The two Cuban pastors, Bro. Barizonte and Bro. Barbaro, are approved to visit the US in November! Praise the Lord! Thank you to all of you who have been praying for God to open this door. It is not an simple undertaking to try to gain permission for Cubans to travel to the US, and I know God had a hand in it happening.

Many of you have asked about specific financial needs we have right now. I want everyone to know exactly what we are raising money for, and where all of the money is going. So, here are some specific financial needs:

October Trip:
1. Flights $2100
2. Lodging $500
3. Food $600
4. Transportation $300
5. Misc. $400

This is a total of $3900! (a little overwhelming!)

Other people have asked about any items that we may need. We have quite a few expenses coming up associated with a large display we need to have and misc. travel necessities. These include:

1. 2 large, heavy duty suitcases for Jimmie and Ava (both need wheels)
2. Display board $350
3. HDD camcorder (30 GB hard drive or greater)
4. LCD screen for display $300
5. Printing costs for display $250
6. Misc. printing costs $400
7. Around $100 for calling cards
8. Giftcards for travel items

As you can see, the need is great, but we're trusting in God. We know He is sending us and that He will provide. Please help us pray that these needs will be met. If any of you are interested in contributing to Cuba missions through Faith Apostolic Church, you can donate online at http://www.faithapostolic.us/ (make sure you select "Cuba-Rennard family) or you can send checks to Faith Apostolic Church (Cuba-Rennard in memo) at PO Box 235, Carmel IN 46082.

As always, if you have any questions, comments or concerns, please feel free to contact us at any time! We welcome your feedback!

God Bless.

Prayer Requests

2007-08-28T10:59:00.000-07:00

I hope this blog finds you all well and busy with the work of God. I think God is preparing us for the weather in Cuba with an extra hot summer! I keep track of the weather in Indiana and in Cuba, and many days in the past few weeks it has been hotter here! Right now we are tied - 88 degrees in Indianapolis and Havana.

I'm happy to report that Bro. Armando Roca made it back from his 3 week trip to Cuba safe and sound. He has great reports of exciting things God is doing in his church in Havana. I will have further reports of his trip as I learn more details.

I am thankful for your prayers, interest and support in all that our family is doing. It's such a blessing to be surrounded by people who are sharing this burden with us and uplifting us every day. We are anxiously anticipating our trip in October. It looks like we will be leaving around October 3rd and returning around October 22nd. We are excited to see what awesome things God will do at the Caribbean Conference. Please be in prayer for the safety of our group, and please pray that God will pour out His Spirit at this Conference.

For those of you who praying for our family and helping us pray for revival in Cuba, we have some specific needs. If you would like a card with these prayer requests for your Bible, please contact me and I will mail you a copy.

1.Outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Cuba - many are being baptized, but few are receiving the Holy Spirit.
2. Unity in vision and doctrine among Cuban pastors - we are praying that God will give all the pastors a vision of great revival in Cuba and that they will be unified in preaching Apostolic doctrine
3. Financial provision for Cuban pastors - if they are blessed financially, they will be free to focus all their efforts on growing their churches.
4. Open door for Cuban pastors to travel to the U.S. We are working on the arrangements for two pastors to visit for two months at the end of the year. It is a very difficult process, so please pray that everything goes smoothly.
5. US embargo to be lifted. Right now the US has an embargo against Cuba. It is very difficult to travel freely to the country, and it is very difficult to offer assistance to our Cuban brothers and sisters. We believe God can move in our government and cause them to lift the embargo.
6. Financial support for the Rennards. We are trusting in God to provide the finances necessary for our upcoming trips and living expenses.
7. God's will with the ALJC foreign mission's department. We have a meeting with the foreign mission's board at NYC. We would love to be official ALJC missionaries, and are praying that God will direct our steps in this process.
8. Protection and smooth transition for Ava. This is a huge change in her young life. We need God to help.
9. Protection and health for Rennards. We all need to stay healthy, as we will not have health benefits in Cuba. We need God's hand of safety on our lives.
10. Living arrangements for Rennards. We are going to try to work out all the details of our living arrangements in October. We need God's direction.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to e-mail me at: raquelpelota@yahoo.com

God Bless.

Rachael Rennard

Cuba Apostolic Conference and Training Center!

2007-08-13T09:26:00.000-07:00

Hello again! I just posted, but forgot to mention an important aspect of what God is doing in Cuba! I believe we have mentioned this before, but I wanted to provide a little more information so you can pray and seek God for what He is doing in Cuba!

The Cuban church has an awesome vision for Cuba. They feel that with the help of God they can plant 100 new churches every year! Local Cuban churches are normally held in neighborhoods since travel is difficult. So, they plan on having multiple churches in every neighborhood, serving 20-40 people in each church! It is an amazing plan!

For this to happen though, they are in need of training facilities and a central headquarters. Whenever the leadership wants to hold a conference or have all of the Cuban pastors come for training they have to find various places for them to stay and often have to rent facilities, which is a high cost.

During our last two trips we made plans to help them build a conference/training center at a central location. This center will be three stories tall and will have enough space to house many ministers' families, training rooms, a sanctuary, and all the amenities needed for long-term training seminars. This facility would be an amazing blessing for them as well as for us! We would be able to stay there and hold trainings as needed!

The cost of this building is staggering for Cubans, but overall costs are approximately $80,000.

They have already had the design and blueprints drafted by an architect and are currently working on obtaining the appropriate licensing and permits to begin construction. This would be a tremendous blessing, so please agree with us and pray that God will provide the funding and that the process for building will be quick and unhindered!

We'll post more about this as we get updates and news!

James

Upcoming Trip - Preparations and Updates!

2007-08-13T08:54:00.000-07:00

Greetings! This is James posting today!

We've had a few weeks of breaks from news and updates for you, but are pleased to provide some new information about what God is doing in Cuba and the status of our ventures there!

As many of you know, we will be taking our whole family, Ava included, to Cuba in October for an extended stay. This will be Ava's first time for a lot of things, first time on an airplane, first time on foreign soil, first time in a non-English speaking area. So, please be praying for her and that she adapts and has a great experience!

In October our friends in Cuba will be hosting a Caribbean conference! The conference will be attended by many Apostolic ministers throughout the Caribbean and will be a great time of fellowship and communion with fellow laborers in Christ. We are anticipating a great move of the spirit of God and expect many to receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost!

Because of our connection with the Cuban Apostolic church, our brother and pastor, Matthew Ball will be one of the premier ministers at the conference. Along with Pastor Ball, many others from the States will be attending the conference, including our niece Chelsea and the Foreign Missions Director of the ALJC, Rev. M.L. Walls.

This is an exciting time for the Cuban church as well as for us. We'll be staying for around a month and the group from the US will be coming for about a week for the conference.

During our stay we will be making preparations for our three month stay in January as well as teaching about the receiving of the Holy Ghost and just encouraging the pastors and ministers in Cuba. We've already made some great friends, so we are looking forward to returning and spending time with them as well.

We know that God is in control of all situations and that He wants to do a great work in Cuba, please pray for all the Cuban pastors and ministers and the leadership as well as for the many other people throughout the nation. God has a lot planned for Cuba, we are glad to be servants and are glad to be a part of what God is doing.

Though we know He is in charge, we also know that we have to do our part in preparing ourselves for His purpose. For this reason, we've started visiting churches to raise awareness of what God is doing in Cuba as well as to raise funds for our trips and expenses in doing God's work.

We were greatly blessed by Apostolic Tabernacle in South Bend, IN earlier this month. They truly have a heart for missions and their outpouring of prayers and financial support was an amazing answer to prayer. So, we'd like to thank them for all that they are doing in supporting God's work locally and abroad.

If you would like to help out in any way, whether it be through prayer support or financial support, please contact us and let us know. Just so you are aware, all financial support will be channeled through Faith Apostolic Church, our local church. We want to make sure that all financial support is accounted for and appropriately distributed and will make financial accountability a top priority.

We want to make options for donating to God's purpose in Cuba simple. You can safely and securely contribute online at http://www.faithapostolicofcarmel.org/ by clicking on the Donate banner at the bottom of the page. This will allow one-time contributions or weekly, monthly, or quarterly recurring contributions from your checking account or debit/credit card. Just be sure to select Cuba - Rennard Family from the donation list when you make your contribution.

If you would prefer to mail a check or contribution, please mail it to...

PO Box 235
Carmel, IN 46082

and make the check payable to Faith Apostolic Church - Cuba Missions.

More than anything though, we need and appreciate your prayers and encouragement.

In the coming months we'll have a website setup where you can sign-up to be a Partner in Missions and gain access to further information about Cuba and what God is doing!

This is an exciting time, thank you for being a part of Cuba and a part of our lives!

James

President Osvaldo Barizonte

2007-07-18T07:56:00.000-07:00

Bro. Barizonte with his wife, Melba

Bro. Barizonte is the President of the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ in Cuba. He was recently elected, and has already made great strides in their organization. No ministers had been licensed in ten years in their organization. When we visited in February, around 15 ministers were licensed! This gives them the freedom to preach and teach legally in Cuba.

Bro. Barizonte is extremely organized in the carrying out of the vision for his organization. He has a set number of church plants they would like to accomplish in a year. He oversees a monthly meeting with all 18 pastors in Havana. He is involved with leadership training and carrying out new ideas in church structure.

Rachael, Jimmie, Bro. Barizonte, Melba, Estrella, and Bro. Barbaro under a tree by the beach

Bro. Matthew Ball and Bro. Barizonte

Rachael with the Barizontes. They treat us like family.

Bro. Barizonte and Bro. Barbaro inside the Office they are building. This will facilitate communication with the Apostolic Church in the US. They hope to have a phone line and e-mail access on site.

I belive God has ordained Bro. Barizonte as the leader of their organization "for such a time as this." He is passionate about spreading the gospel to the island of Cuba. He is a committed and selfless leader. Please pray that he will have wisdom and direction from God in all the decisions he makes. Also pray that God will work out the details for him to visit the ALJC National Youth Convention. I am thankful to be connected with the great leader of their great organizaion. May God Bless all their efforts.

July Update

2007-07-11T10:24:00.000-07:00

I hope that everyone reading this has had a blessed week! I'm so thankful for your generosity in prayers, encouragement, and support for God's Church in Cuba. It means so much to us to have so many great people backing everything we do.

We have a lot of exciting news! Jimmie quit his job this week. We are going to spend the next 3-4 months preparing spiritually for our role in Cuba (praying, studying, etc.) With that said, we still have to pay our bills, so please pray that God sends web design and graphic design work Jimmie's way! Last week we met with Bro. M.L. Walls to discuss the possibility of becoming officially appointed missionaries to Cuba with the Assemblies of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am thankful that he is interested and excited about what God is doing in Cuba! We will be officially applying and having our interview at National Youth Convention this year, so please keep us in your prayers, that God's will will be done in this situation.

The Cuban pastors were not able to attend General Conference due to complications with passports and visas. We hope and believe that instead they will be coming for National Youth Convention in November. Please be praying that God opens this door for them to travel to the U.S. A group from our church, along with the Rocas and a group from Bro. Logue's church will be visiting Cuba in October for a Caribbean Conference. Brandon Mocas, Jimmie, Ava and I will be staying for an extended trip (3-4 weeks.) I believe that God is going to pour His Spirit out on many people during this time. Please pray with us that we will see many come to know and serve God.

I will be posting more blogs soon introducing you to more of the Cuban pastors and church officials. If you would like the name of one of these pastors to include in your daily prayer time, please e-mail me to let me know. I have 18 names of pastors and churches who could use your prayers.

God Bless.

Rachael

26 Baptisms!

2007-06-20T08:05:00.000-07:00

In my 26 years of life, I've never witnessed 26 baptisms. I've seem multiple baptisms here at Faith Apostolic Church. I've heard of hundreds being baptized at crusades. When we arrived in Cuba in May, they told us they had over 20 baptisms planned for a special baptism service that Sunday. The weekend before they had baptized 22, and the weekend after we left, they already had 17 wanting to be baptized. It was such an honor to be part of this special baptism service. I don't want to be redundant, but I'm going to include a picture of each person who was baptized, as each person represents another soul who is dedicating their life to God. We have pictures of 24 out of 26. Please pray for these people, that God will fill them with His Spirit. For those of you who are supporting the Cuban church, rejoice that this is what your money is going toward!

This was Pastor Capote's grandson!

This man had been an alcoholic before he became a Christian!

This is Bro. Barbaro's wife's father!

This was Pastor Capote's daughter!

This is National Secretary Barbaro's neice!

Meet Pastor Lorenzo and Zulema

2007-06-13T07:44:00.001-07:00

On our first visit to Cuba, we had the priveledge of visiting the church of Pastor Lorenzo and his wife Zulema. In this picture they are standing in their church which is located on their property. The church consisted of four wooden posts, a tin roof, and makeshift benches. Our spirits connected with theirs immediately. Their hunger and desire for God was evident without even speaking to them.

Zulema noticed Lorenzo as a teenager in their Baptist church. God let her know that Lorenzo was for her. They married when Zulema was only 16 and Lorenzo was 21. Now Zulema is 29, Lorenzo is 34 and they have four kids! They thank God that a minister from Jamaica ministered to them and presented the truth of the oneness of God and baptism in Jesus' name. They joined up with the Apostolic church in Cuba and are pastoring a church on the outskirts of Havana.

They own a decent amount of land in the Cuban country. They raise pigs and various other produce. Their living conditions are meager, but they place no value on material posessions. Their priority is on serving God with all their hearts. They trust that God will provide all their needs.

I stay in touch with Zulema on a weekly basis through e-mail. I am thankful to have such a special connection from God with such a special family. Part of the money we raise for the pastors goes to this wonderful family. Our last day in Cuba in May was spent with this precious family. I felt more at home at their house, sitting under the trees in fellowship than I felt anywhere in Cuba. They are truly special people.

Sitting in their church, right next to their house.

Jimmie helping Lorenzo with his computer - he can't escape IT life.

Zulema sings as part of a worship team in Cuba. They write all their own music and even have a CD! She also plays keyboard.

Their daughter, Sarai. She's three. We took a little Dora doll of Ava's for her. She was thrilled and carried it around all day. They don't really have toys to play with.

Zulema made us a delicious lunch. I'm sure it was a sacrifice for them to feed us so much food, but they did it gladly. It was a special meal.

Pastor Lorenzo

Saying our goodbyes. It was hard, but we know we will see them again soon. We also know that God has united us in His Spirit, and nothing can break that bond.

May Cuba Trip

2007-06-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

As I returned from my first trip to Cuba in February, my head was swimming. I had so many questions, yet somehow I knew God was about to orchestrate something miraculous with our lives in his Kingdom. I knew I wanted to go back. Soon. I knew my ministry would be connected to God’s church in Cuba in a powerful way… but what about my family? My church? Our security? I had so many questions.
I prayed, asking God to give Jimmie the same burden for Cuba that He had given to me. I knew that my connection with the church in Cuba was dependent on my husband feeling the same way I did. I talked with him, told him about the people, the churches, the powerful things I witnessed, and the calling that I felt. My calling became our calling. He embraced the burden for the Cuban church and the Cuban people without hesitation.
We knew we had to make some changes. If we were going to visit Cuba frequently and for extended periods of time, we couldn’t make a massive house payment. We couldn’t have to worry about credit card bills or car payments. We had to simplify our lives. We were happy to do so, finally having some direction for our future. What came next was an astonishing opening of door after door. We found renters for our house, found a reasonable house to rent, Jimmie found a better paying job, and we began making preparations for our next trip to Cuba.

I was hopeful but unsure about Jimmie’s reaction to Cuba. Just as I had felt three months prior, he loved it. He embraced the Cuban church, and the Cuban church embraced him. We were able to visit with numerous Cuban pastors. We traveled to several different churches in the Havana area. We were able to attend a pastoral meeting where they distributed funds for pastors that we brought with us. We were able to visit with old friends and make new friends. Perhaps most importantly, we were able to have conversations that opened our eyes to our place in Cuban Revival.
In our first trip in February, we became aware that many of the people in the churches and even some of the Cuban pastors were not Spirit-filled. Thankfully, many pastors were filled with the Spirit in February. On our recent trip, in one day they baptized 26 people, yet none of them received the Holy Spirit. After much discussion, it became evident that people are not seeking for the Holy Spirit and leaders are not encouraging Spirit-led ministry enough. We believe that God wants to pour out His Spirit in a powerful way on the Cuban people and on the nation of Cuba in general. We now realize that part of our responsibility will be teaching about the Holy Spirit, praying for people to receive the Holy Spirit, and encouraging authoritative, Spirit-led ministry.

One day during our trip, as I was resting in our room, I felt compelled to pray and intercede for revival in Cuba. I prayed for awhile and an overwhelming sense of sadness came over me. I knew the end of our trip was near, and I didn’t want to leave. I finally felt like I was where God wanted me, and I wanted to stay. The still, small voice of God spoke to my heart and told me that He had bound us together with the Cuban church with cords that can’t be broken. He showed me that because it was He who had done the work, man could not separate us from our destiny. We left sad, but encouraged.

Now we are making preparations for a three week trip to Cuba with Ava in October, and a three month stay starting in January. Until then, we will be doing some fundraising for various causes. These include our travel expenses, support for Cuban pastors, and building and remodeling projects in the near future. We will be joyfully welcoming President Osvaldo Barizonte and Secretary Barbaro from Havana for the ALJC General Conference in June. They will be staying for two months, traveling and telling of the great things God is doing in Cuba. We will also be welcoming minister of worship, Juan Duany Stiven, in July for a three month stay. We are so excited to see God putting all the pieces in place for an unprecedented revival in Cuba. Our hope is that many will join us in this cause and many will desire to be a part of God’s work.