The Cuban Call

The Cuban Call

       God is at work in Cuba, where life is difficult for everyone, including Christians, who must use their energies just to survive. Repressive centralized socialist planning, a U.S. trade embargo, and the collapse of Cuba’s Communist block trade and aid after 1989 have impoverished an already poor country. Rationing, hunger, and lack of many essentials are deeply affecting the country. It is difficult for people to have the basic necessities of life such as food, transportation, and clothing. Their restricted lifestyle is stressful beyond words, and believers need to know and utilize the provisions God has for them: the Word of God, the Holy Spirit, and prayer. They need to understand their role in witnessing as faithful stewards. The message of the Lord Jesus Christ is sounding forth in over 4,500 churches, in addition to 10,000 house groups. A high percentage of believers are young people, ready to use their lives for His service. In spite of the rapid growth, 80% of the people are in no church. The fields are white to harvest.

       The Macedonian Call. A significant turning point in the spread of the gospel is recorded in Acts 16:6-19. The paragraph heading in my study Bible is simply “The Macedonian Call.” Paul, Silas, and Timothy had set out on the second missionary journey, intending to travel to Asia. As they traveled along, they visited churches established on the first missionary journey with good results: “So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and strengthened in number daily” (Acts 16:5). Amazingly, the intended direction for Paul and his entourage was changed when the Holy Spirit forbade them to preach the Word in Asia (v 6). In a vision one night, Paul saw a man from Macedonia, Europe, standing and pleading, “Come over to Macedonia and help us” (v 9). Because Paul answered The Macedonian Call, the Gospel moved into Europe, and consequently to America. 

       The Cuban Call. My first overseas ministry came in 1960 when I traveled to Placetas, Santa Clara Province, Cuba, to preach the Gospel. I was twenty-four years old. Around seventy people were saved during an evangelistic crusade at First Baptist Church. Shortly thereafter, Cuba was closed to such endeavors. Christians underwent intense, unbelievable persecution with churches closed and pastors arrested. As the years passed, the church continued to thrive.  Once the nation was opened again, Sue and I answered The Cuban Call in 2000 (April 13-28)—forty years after my initial ministry, but this time to teach—sharing the prayer seminar. The response to the prayer seminars has been exciting beyond words as illustrated by the two testimonies shared on the back side. Many have been sharing prayer seminars with other believers. We returned for prayer seminars in 2003 (Feb 28-March 17), and 2004. (Jan 17-28) Several thousand from many evangelical groups—Baptists, Church of God, Friends (Quakers) Methodists, and Salvation Army— have participated in the prayer seminars in five provinces in eastern Cuba.

       Although there have been invitations to return to Cuba, the Holy Spirit led us to schedule 2010—the fifty-year anniversary of my first overseas ministry. Seminars are scheduled in Havana. Then we will minister in Placetas, Santa Clara province, the site of the 1960 ministry. The itinerary has been completed for the September 15—October 1 ministry. Eight seminars have been scheduled in Havana. We will spend three days in Santa Clara Province. Since wages/salaries are extremely low (a medical doctor receives $30 a month), we plan to provide a hearty meal (rice, beans, chicken and a drink) for each participant) providing funds to each church to prepare and serve the meal. We will provide a Spanish prayer seminar workbook for each person. The budget is $6,360 and includes travel (international and domestic) for interpreter Adam Nathanson (who will be coming from Caracas, Venezuela) and me, lodging/food, and workbooks. DURING THE TRIP, I WILL CELEBRATE MY 75th BIRTHDAY ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 (as I have done several times in South Africa) conducting Prayer Seminar #1,450, the Lord willing.

       Over the years, we have found that when one hundred partners join with us, we have the needed funds. Once again, we are trusting God and sharing the need, depending on the Holy Spirit to touch hearts to give. We know the need in Cuba and the readiness of believers to receive our ministry. Thank you for making the prayer seminars possible in so many nations. 

Testimonies from Cuba

“This seminar has been a blessing and it has impacted the believers greatly. During the seminar, the Body of Christ didn’t want to drink water or get up so that they wouldn’t miss one word. What they have learned will motivate them to pray and seek God in ways that they now understand perfectly. I hope you will return to Cuba many times to teach the prayer seminar.”

Ezequias Turruelles

“Today, I am very happy because I’ve been able to learn things that I did not know before about the Christian life. Although I am sad that I have wasted so much time, even in what I thought was prayer, I separated myself to pray and would ask myself many times why my prayers were not answered. I have a Bible study with my neighbor at 9 a.m. and other friends. Now I understand what is required to be on praying ground and to have the Word of God become alive in me. Oh, God, how happy I am to know now what You want and require. I am a retired teacher of 39 years. I will share what I have learned with others. I know that I can talk about God’s way to everyone and all the time, now that I understand clearly. I will teach what you have taught. I give thanks to God for what I have learned to help my own spiritual life to grow. I am thankful for the workbook and will use it in my teaching. I will “war” through prayer for our church, our nation, and the world—those near and far.”

       Cuba is only about ninety miles from Key West, Florida. Although it is a rather small island in the Caribbean, its irregular coasts run 3,590 miles and there are 288 beaches, most with splendid, virgin white sands surrounded by warm waters and endless sunshine. There is generally a breeze blowing and the mean temperature is 75 degrees. The island is slightly smaller than Pennsylvania. The official language is Spanish. The literacy rate is 96%; workbooks are greatly appreciated.  The population is 11,423,952.

       One of the few remaining communist nations, the government is the employer and provides for the people through socialized medicine, food ration coupons, among other things. Most educated persons earn less than $300 U. S. equivalent per year. What is provided is not adequate to meet the needs of the people. For example, the monthly food provision is only sufficient for about three weeks. Most everything is as it was in the late 1950’s when Castro took office—even vehicles and buildings. 

       When I was in Placetas in 1960, I was impressed with the beauty of the well maintained houses—painted in beautiful pastel colors. Now walls are cracked and paint has pealed away almost universally. 

A LITTLE HISTORY

       Christopher Columbus discovered the island in 1492 and it was developed as a Spanish colony. Havana became an important port for departing ships to Spain filled with treasures from Central America. Diseases from the settlers and sailors decimated the native population. In the early 1900’s large numbers of Africa slaves were imported to work in the coffee and sugarcane fields. Spanish rule became more and more repressive and US intervention during the Spanish-American War in 1898 overthrew the Spanish. After Cuba was freed from Spanish rule, a treaty made Cuba an independent republic under U. S. protection. Cuban independence was granted in 1902. Although U. S. occupation ended that year, it had brought large American investments. A group of army soldiers overthrew the Cuban president and in 1940 Baptista began running a corrupt police state.

       Fidel Castro launched a revolution in 1956 and received as liberator. In 1959, Castro took over the government forming a communist state. Religious persecution began.The U. S. broke relations with Cuba in 1961. Castro strengthened his ties to the Soviet Union. Cuba experienced a severe economic recession in 1990 following the withdrawal of Soviet subsidies. The U. S. has had embargos against Cuba since 1961.

        Before Castro took power, 88% of the population was considered Roman Catholic. Today, the government controls many aspects of the churches, including church size and number of churches permitted. Most important of all is that today the people are open to the Gospel. Believers are eager to grow in Christ and to share Him with their countrymen.  

Nine days in Venezuela

Nine days in Venezuela

       The trip to beautiful Venezuela went well. There were no unusual “challenges” as there sometimes are. work began with an on-time arrival in Caracas. Before leaving for Camp Carabobo, 150 miles west, I preached Sunday morning at Adam’s church, Grace Community Church where three young people trusted Christ as Savior. There I greeted a few “old friends,” but mostly made “new friends,” because the work is growing with new people being added. Not only is Adam Nathanson an outstanding interpreter, he is a very effective missionary-pastor-leader.

       We arrived at Camp Carabobo in the late evening and settled in our rooms at the Baptist Intercultural Missions Training Center, a beautiful facility built by mission money from the states, on the seventy-acre plot of land (one of the most beautiful settings I have witnessed anywhere in the world). There choice young men and women are being prepared to serve either here or in other nations, as church planters. Their degree of commitment, along with their youth and vigor, was something to see and sense. I taught the prayer seminar to second year students—very well received. I was impressed with the quality of the program, excellent materials and excellent teaching.

       The “main event” that brought me was the prayer seminar/evangelism clinic—preparing workers to evangelize four western states (Portuguesa, Maridi, Lara, and Zulia) working with local churches. Hundreds are involved in this project—those going and those receiving and caring for them in their areas. The response was beautiful with God’s children receiving the Word with gladness and excitement fueled by the March seminars in twelve cities (1,600 participants, including 140 pastors, from 183 churches).  A well-written, comprehensive orientation manual had been prepared for each participant, as well. As an educator, I was impressed with the quality of the preparation.

       Over decades, the Baptist  work was led by missionaries who followed the missionary mandate given by Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20 to go into all the world preaching the Gospel, making disciples, baptizing them, and teaching them. . Several years back, the work was turned over to the people. There are few missionaries left to serve the churches in a supporting role in myriad servant ways. Three were teaching at the missions training center and are doing a great job. 

       The spiritual need here is all around with the fields white to harvest. Satan’s arsenal includes a variety of weapons including superstition, magic, witchcraft. Sadly, the largest number of people are living in the darkness of Catholicism, which leads them to think they are Christians because they know and “love” Jesus with a personal relationship with Him that begins when one trusts Jesus. Thousands upon thousands are in the latter category, as is true in other Latin nations. 

        The only solution to the problem is what the Baptist leaders and churches are discovering. Prayer is the work that must come before all other work So, first mobilize prayer warriors and then teach them to purpose and power of prayer. Teach them to pray. They have then adopted for the whole nation Psalm 126 as the rallying call to go forth with the Word of God believing that “they who sow in tears will reap in joy. He that goeth forth weeping shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing the sheaves with him. I look forward to hearing the results of the noble effort of evangelistic sowing and reaping that is scheduled for the new few days in the four western states. 

       Following the work at Camp Carabobo, Adam and I traveled to Valencia, a large city (two million), in the area. On Saturday, pastors and leaders representing seven church from the region gathered for an all-day prayer seminar. On Sunday, I preached the morning message at the First Baptist Church, Valenica.

       It was a memorable, fruitful nine days with souls save, and Christians edified and equipped to evangelize. The unction and the power of the Holy Spirit was very real. Thank you for your financial and prayer support that made this venture possible. 2010 will be remembered as the year when JGHM was able to impact hundreds of churches and hundreds of pastors in one nation over two trips. The only comparable experience was the prayer seminar in Borneo (East Malaysia) when over 500 pastors participated. Adam Nathanson and I have agreed to return in April 2011 to duplicate the work in the eastern section of Venezuela.

“GREATER WORKS” EXPECTED IN VENEZUELA

“GREATER WORKS” EXPECTED IN VENEZUELA

      How does a national convention of Baptists celebrate its sixtieth anniversary? What better way than to develop a strategy of evangelism for four mountain states? In a few days, I will be traveling to Venezuela for a prayer seminar and evangelism clinic with pastors from the Venezuela Baptist Convention, pastors who believe that the best way to say “thank you” to God for making it possible for them to have the freedom to preach the Gospel. Many of these pastors and their people remember when evangelicals did not have this freedom and were severely persecuted by the Roman Catholic Church. 

      Now, after six decades, the Baptists want to see a great harvest of souls brought to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. They want to claim the “greater works” promise made by the Lord Jesus Christ in the Upper Room just hours before He went to the Cross (John 14:12-14). Jesus looked to the future and predicted that His followers would do “greater works” than He had done. Anyone knowing His works and words would ponder, “Incredible! How can this be?”  Jesus was quite plain. He told them that when He returned to the Father that they could do something that they had never done before—come to the Father in His name asking Him to work. Prayer is the work that must come before all other work. The leaders of the Venezuela Baptist Convention have a vision of reaching many for salvation and they understand that they must do the prayer work. God is able! God is willing! God is waiting!

      This is Phase Two of three phases to celebrate the sixtieth year of the convention. Phase One was completed in March and involved a team traveling to major cities in Western Venezuela along a thousand mile arc westward beginning and ending in Caracas teaching believers the power and purpose of prayer since prayer is the work that must come before all other work. In addition to Caracas, the cities chosen were Valencia, Barquisimeto, Acarigua, Guanare, Barinas, Merida, Santa Barbara, Valera, Maracaibo, and San Cristobal.  Pastors, leaders and believers from each area were invited to a seminar usually hosted by First Baptist churches. There were twelve seminars with 1,600 in attendance. The number included 140 pastors. Those attending came from 183 churches. The aim was to whet the spiritual appetites for Phase Two —a week of concentrated training for 500 pastors in prayer and evangelism at Camp Carabobo (130 miles from Caracas). This phase is scheduled July 31—August 9.

       The pastors then will travel to four states in the Andes Mountains (Portuguesa, Maridi, Lara, and Zulia) and evangelize for two weeks. This will be Phase Three. The goal is to win many Venezueleans to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

       Financial and prayer support. In order to provide the prayer seminars, we need financial and prayer support for each venture. Usually, I write to our partners and friends laying out a budget that covers travel, food, lodging, and prayer seminar workbooks. The approach that I follow is simple: trust God and tell the people. This letter, however, is different; I am asking for prayer support. The amazing thing is that we exceeded the March budget by $2,341, enough to cover the expenses for the August work.  Pray for traveling grace for Adam Nathanson, my interpreter, and me. Pray that the Holy Spirit will bless every word spoken so that those attending will understand the purpose and power of prayer.

       At least one more trip to Venezuela. Already, the leaders have asked that we replicate the March program in Western Venezuela in Eastern Venezuela.  Adam Nathanson and I have agreed to do this and we plan to settle on the dates during this trip. 

Lighthouses of Prayer

  Lighthouses of Prayer

      In preparation for the 2004 ministry in Pakistan, I asked the Lord to impress upon my heart what He wanted to accomplish through the prayer seminars. Basically, He wanted the prayer seminars to motivate those attending to penetrate the spiritual darkness in Pakistan through prayer. The one verse of Scripture to which I was drawn was Isaiah 49:6c: “I will make you a light to the nations.” I have learned, over the years, to be attentive to validation of His directives. One goal that kept coming to mind was to encourage Pakistanis to pray for Pakistan in the light of 2 Chronicles 7:14.
      In conversation with key Christian leaders, there was abundant evidence that the Holy Spirit is working to put into place a prayer covering for Pakistan, centering on the concept of light. A vision has emerged of having Lighthouses of Prayer throughout the nation. Small groups have been formed in Karachi praying for Pakistan.

The background
      George McBane, a third generation missionary, had a vision of terrorist attacks against Christians. He did not know where and when. The attacks came, but of the 100 Christians, only two died. Then he had a second vision of angels protecting the Christian Murry School. The angels were of different colors. One was red light coming from deep within the angel. When he asked the meaning of the color, “My blood” was the answer. The Christian school would be protected by the blood of Christ. The blue angel represented “confusion.” The angel showed where other angels were station when one-hundred people attacked the school, but could not get inside. When the attackers attempted to open the door of the church, they could not do so. They tried to open the door inward, but it could only be opened outward. The missionary asked God, “Why must Christians die?” The answer was that God was providing one more chance for the Pakistani people. This was a trumpet call to Christians to wake up and begin to pray for the nation in the light of 2 Chronicles 7:14. He removed His hand of protection to get their attention. Later, a vision came of lights all over Pakistan. The lights were explained as Lighthouses of Prayer with Pakistanis praying for Pakistan.
      One pastor in a prayer seminar said he asked the missionary show they should pray? He said that he did not know. The pastor was convinced that God sent the prayer seminars to provide the “how” that is needed for the prayer ministry to cover Pakistan. Let’s join our brothers and sisters in Pakistan praying for the Lighthouses of Prayer to become fully operative.

Lighthouses of Prayer needed in every nation
      Since 2004, it has been my intention to encourage the establishment of Lighthouses of Prayer in each nation in which we have ministered and in each city or town. The list is long and covers many parts of the world. Having twenty-seven days in South America in March provided many opportunities to encourage believers to become prayer warriors and establish Lighthouses of Prayer. In three nations—Venezuela (12), Paraguay (4), and Uruguay (2)—there were eighteen prayer seminars with around 2,000 in attendance. Each participant was given a Spanish prayer seminar workbook provided by our Doorkeepers and other friends in the United States. If you tracked us westward across Venezuela beginning in Caracas, you would need to mark Valencia, Barquisimeto, Acarigua, Guanare, Barinas, Merida, Santa Barbara, Valera, Maracaibo, and San Cristobal along an arc of over one thousand miles. It was only through the grace of God that Isaiah Rajas (a leader in the Venezuela Baptist Convention), Adam Nathanson (my interpreter), and I were able to carry out the most rigorous schedule I have ever attempted. 

     In Paraguay, there were seminars in Capiata, Carapegua and Itaiuli in a fifty mile arch outside Asuncion, the capital city. The seminars in Uruguay were in Montevideo, the nation’s capital.
    There were 155 pastors in the seminars. Many stated plainly that they were going back to their churches and teach their people what they had learned. In Venezuela, particularly, these pastors were seeking renewal and revival among their churches.  206 churches were registered. There were 185 first-time professions of faith and 440 reaffirmed their faith. Miles traveled totaled 13,300.

Prayer and financial support
      Since the international phase of our prayer seminars began in 1985, we have trusted God and told the people of the need. In every incidence (now fifty-five nations), the support has been forthcoming. The budget for this venture of faith to three nations was $8,640 (including international and domestic travel (for a team of three), prayer seminar workbooks, lodging, food). 120 contributes gave $10,981 which provides enough funds to return to Venezuela July 30-August 8, when I will conduct a prayer seminar/evangelism clinic for 500 pastors. These pastors will spread out across four states in the Andes Mountains for evangelistic services the next two weeks.