Prayer Requests

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!

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!

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

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

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!

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

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.