Cuba (MNN) – In Cuba, people are coming to Christ after witnessing the faith of their neighbors and family members.
Helen Williams of World Missionary Press says that they’ve “… been providing Scripture booklets into Cuba for many years and we have distributors there that are working with local churches and separate smaller ministries and working within the parameters that are allowed there, and the Lord has really blessed.”
They recently received word from a contact who has been distributing World Missionary Press materials into Cuba. This couple visited Cuba in May to meet with church contacts there.
Williams says, “He said they ‘… had many activities, heard wonderful testimonies of God working in the hearts of the people,’ in this particular city. ‘People are being saved who are in the military and people who have been idol worshippers are taking their metal idols and throwing them in the river.’”
(Photo and header photo courtesy of World Missionary Press contact)
The idols were made of materials that weren’t able to be burned. Williams says the fact that these people got rid of their idols must have been an amazing testimony to their families and friends.
Overall, their contact was able to confirm that God is at work in Cuba, and many hearts are turning towards Him.
“People are coming to recognize Jesus Christ as the only way, through His Word and the quiet testimony of the believers there.”
When Williams says “quiet testimony” she means that Christians in Cuba rely heavily on their individual testimonies, shared by word of mouth and by the way they live their lives, to witness to others.
“I just want to encourage our listeners to know that the Word is there, it is being shared, and that even in a country where there are restrictions or concerns or whatever, the Word is working. People are coming to the Lord and making it public. And we just want to praise God for that, it was just a wonderful report from Cuba of what the Lord is doing.”
New connections are being made and World Missionary Press has begun printing for a new container shipment that’s already been approved by the government. Congregations are able to meet openly. Even so, there’s still a lot of need for prayer.
“It’s still an atmosphere that’s not necessarily open to the Word. But these believers in many of these cities are meeting together, and their lives are being changed, and that’s what’s demonstrating to others who might not have, maybe, the courage, if you will, to openly accept the Lord or receive the Lord, to see that the changed life is the testimony.”
(Photo courtesy of World Missionary Press contact)
In this way, Christians are able to share their faith with their communities and families. Meanwhile, they’re able to act as the hands and feet of Jesus, too.
Earlier this year, a plane crashed soon after taking off in Havana. The crash killed over 100 people dead and was particularly devastating for the Church.
“There were ten Nazarene pastors and their wives. They’d been at a conference in Havana, and they were all killed. That left ten churches without pastors and 17 orphans,” Williams explains.
The church that the World Missionary Press contact visited is planning on visiting these orphans and inviting them to youth camp.
Williams says, “There’s a working together of the believers there, and that’s a sign of growth in the Church.”
Ask God to bless and strengthen the Church in Cuba.