Saturday, February 13, 2010 12:00 AM
A group from seven men, including three from Faith Baptist, traveled to
Cuba to work on a construction project.
By Katie Scarvey
kscarvey@salisburypost.com
Not many people have had the opportunity to visit Cuba, but seven local
men spent a week there on a mission trip organized by Faith Baptist
Church. Larry Beck, Barry McDonald, Brian Campbell, Dallas Davis, Todd
Hildebran, Jerry Lawson and Don Vick flew to Santiago, Cuba, last
October to support the efforts of a Baptist organization there.
Beck, 71, organized the trip. He's been on many missions in other
countries and was happy for the opportunity to serve in Cuba.
"I've been thinking about this for years," he says. "The Lord called me
to do it."
The North Carolina Baptist Men have had a partnership with a Cuban
organization called the Eastern Baptist Association for the past five or
six years, Beck explained.
The men were helping to build a retirement center for retired pastors
and senior adults. The home will be all-inclusive, providing lodging,
meals and medical care.
"It's going to be really nice," Beck says.
The center has been under construction for about 10 years.
The men contributed manual labor for the building project — a lot of it.
"We carried buckets of dirt, buckets of concrete, buckets of rock," Beck
said.
"That's what we did mostly, haul dirt by bucket."
Vick said it was probably the hardest work he's ever done.
At first the Cubans they worked with were aloof, Vick said, but
eventually they warmed to the Rowan County team.
McDonald agreed that for the first several days, the Cuban workers did
not interact much, segregating themselves.
On the third day, however, the workers were finishing pouring a well,
working an hour or two longer than the usual workday. When the van came
to take both the Cubans and the volunteers back for the evening, the
Rowan County men insisted that they Cubans go first, since there wasn't
enough room for everyone.
That seemed to be a turning point, McDonald said; the next day, everyone
worked side by side.
The Rowan County group also contributed money for materials, money
essential to keeping the project going. Each North Carolina Baptist
group who goes must contribute financial support for the project.
Vick's wife, Nancy, raised part of it — $900 — with a garage sale.
Simple encouragement to the Cuban Christians was a big part of the
mission, Beck said.
"Before we went to Cuba, people asked me, 'Are there Christians in Cuba?'"
And his response was — and is — a resounding yes.
"God is really alive in Cuba," he said.
There are surprisingly many Baptist churches there, Beck said.
"In this country, you might have a first and second Baptist church, but
there they have one through fifteen."
The Christians in Cuba are extremely committed, McDonald said. "When
they accept Christ, they're bold."
The Cuban government accepts Christian groups but wants "to keep them
under control," he added.
"The government doesn't bother them like they used to," Beck said. "The
freedoms are coming along."
Still, the government has to grant permission for groups to build
churches, and they can close them down whenever they want, Beck said.
The Rowan County group had a letter of invitation from the Eastern
Baptist Organization that allowed them to get a license through the U.S.
government to travel to Cuba, good for two years.
Beck believes that Cubans have more freedom now than they have in the
past. The Cuban pastor who hosted them has visited the United States,
Beck said — something that would have been unlikely 20 years ago.
"Things are letting up a little bit," he said.
"I wasn't sure about what customs would be like, but we didn't have any
hassle at all."
Beck described going to a home church. Church can meet in homes if the
groups are 20 or fewer — although this particular group was over the
limit, probably about 35, he said.
He described the home church site as largely a lean-to off the side of a
house.
A curtain shielded worshippers from the outhouse, and a shelter in the
yard was home to different Sunday school classes.
Seeing a need, the Rowan County group donated some money for a septic
tank and an inside toilet, Beck said.
Beck, Vick and McDonald were all struck by the number of young people
who attended the Sunday church service they attended, which attracted
more than 300 people.
Young people made up about a third of the group, McDonald said.
"You could tell they were there because they wanted to be there," Vick said.
Vick brought a Spanish Bible that had been given to him by Susan
Musselman, who told him to give it to someone who deserved it. Vick
wasn't sure that he would get it through customs, but he did, and he
ultimately gave it to a woman who helped lead church services. She'd
never had a Bible, he said.
The need they saw in Cuba reminded the men of what we take for granted.
Vick said that he and Brian left behind pairs of running shoes for
several men who had come to work shoeless.
Vick spoke of the "archaic nature" of the way labor is done there
because of a lack of tools.
"Viva La Revolution" billboards were reminders of Castro's continued
presence, Vick said.
Beef and seafood are available, but only to hotels or the wealthy — or
on the black market. Vick said that they ate a lot of chicken, pork,
lamb, plus plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables while they were there.
Vick experienced a different side of the Cuban economy when the work
crew ran out of cement one day and they had to drive around and locate
some on the black market.
There are two different currencies in Cuba, Beck said — one that the
ordinary Cubans use and a convertible peso that tourists and more
affluent people use.
Their showers were cold, Vick said, with the water pressure akin to
water going through a hole in a paper cup.
The men did get to do a little sightseeing while they were there,
visiting the Bacardi Mansion and San Juan Hill.
The men were struck by the poverty they saw.
"I think the country stopped in 1960," McDonald said. Like the other men
in his group, he was surprised by how many old cars remained on the road .
"They were old, but immaculate," he said. "They were very well taken
care of."Some of the team members say they'd like to return to Cuba to
continue the work, but no one has firm plans yet.
To find out more about Baptist missions. go towww.baptistsonmission.org.
Local church group travels to Cuba | Salisbury, NC - Salisbury Post (13
February 2010)
http://www.salisburypost.com/Lifestyle/021310-Cuba-mission
No comments:
Post a Comment