Reniel & Lizbet lead a ministry in Cuba similar to what Donna and I do in Utah. They have dozens of pastors from all over the island of Cuba who they try to minister to and bring together so they can minister to one another. As is so common with this type of ministry, Reniel shuttles visitors from many nations all over Cuba introducing them to pastors who need prayer and encouragement, but he spends so much times introducing visitors to others, he and his family are easily overlooked. Our desire is to be an encouragement to Reniel and Lizbet as they minister to Cuba.

We have been to Cuba 4 times (an plan to go back as often as God allows) and have met some amazing people. Many of those we have met with will be featured in our “Cuba” section. Renielis the local reason we have been able to meet and minister to so many pastors.

Cuba is a nation of 12 million people and in the last 10 years, over 2 million people have accepted Christ. It is unbelievable what God is doing in Cuba. And much of it is because of a course on the importance of missions called “Perspectives in World Missions.” It is an excellent course which has ignited the Church in Cuba for world missions. They are sending missionaries all over Latin America and, since “doctors”are the number 1 export from Cuba, they are able to send state educated missionaries all over the world.

Think of it!! They are able to go into places you and I will never be allowed to go with freedom.They are sending missionaries into China and North Korea! Imagine! North Korea hearing the gospel from Cuba!!

You will see several folks from Cuba we encourage you to pray for, but Reniel and Lizbet are the local reason we have been able to meet any of these other ministries.

We met Junior on our first trip to Cuba and were blessed by his story. He was trained as an engineer and was working for the government, but they did not appreciate that he was sharing his faith on the job. They told him to quit sharing or quit the job. He quit the job and we met him a ta seminary there becoming better equipped to minister in Cuba. Please pray for Junior that God will open doors for him to serve there in Western Cuba and that the Holy Spirit will give good fruit to that service. He preaches in tiny house churches and anywhere else he gets an opportunity. I am always glad to hear from Junior on WhatsApp

I have my phone set to remind me to pray for 3 people every day. One of those 3 is Magdiel in Pinar del Rio, Cuba. He pastors a church and teaches at a seminary there in Pinar and has asked for prayer to effectively and rightly train people what it means to serve the Kingdom. There area lot of conversions taking place in Cuba, but with those conversions there is also a steep learning curve on what it means to be a mature believer. In that learning curve can be a lot of difficulties and frustrations. Please pray for Magdiel as he is a part of those who are laboring to equip the next generation with what it means to be a mature and maturing servant of Christ

The ministry Jaime and Norma Lunar do is one of our favorites in Cuba. There is an area in Havana called “The Sea Wall” (in English) and on weekend nights the Sea Wall is flooded with young people who are searching for meaning. Jaime and Norma will go to the Sea Wall during the day and sell whatever “necessities” they can get their hands on to fund a ministry to have to those young people who are there all night. It is against the law to witness in Cuba, but there is no law against watching a Christian video on your computer with the screen facing those who are walking past! Jaime and Norma will take a group of people to the Sea Wall at night and do whatever they can to throw out bait, and then wait to see who bites. They have had some amazing opportunities to share the gospel and lead some to Christ.

One of the main things they have done to try and make a living is to make Chlorox. Well, Chlorox is a mixture of Chlorine gas and water. And when you are mixing Chlorine gas with water, you are going to smell the Chlorine gas. And when the Chlorine gas mixes with the moisture and mucus in your sinuses and lungs, in produces hydro-chloric acid. (Chlorine was used in gas warfare during the First World War but was abandoned quickly because it has such a strong odor, people would not inhale it as deeply as some other gases and were not killed as quickly). As a result of their trying to make money to just stay alive, Jaime has lungs which are severely compromised by the Chlorine.

Please pray for these people for strength to serve well. They have also been great friends to Reniel and Lizbet in teaching the Perspectives Mission course as well as distributing Bibles and other Christian books to pastors in remote areas of Cuba who, otherwise, have not books or Bibles. It has been a joy to be able to visit with them on our trips to Cuba, as well as to maintaina healthy conversation through WhatsApp. These are some wonderful people.

Janoi (as in “Hanoi”) and Damaris Quintana are a couple we met in Cuba, but who are there very little!! They are too busy traveling Latin America preaching and speaking at conferences to be home very much! I have great conversations with them over WhatsApp and follow their travels which, currently, have them in Columbia. They recently spoke at a missions training conference in Bogota and have been on a radio program in that area.

These are some examples of Cubans who have taken seriously the mandate to “Go into all the world.”

Nicholas & Georgina serve in an extremely difficult part of Havana. It is a small“neighborhood” with 9000 people inside a walled community with voodoo temples, Santeria,animal sacrifices (and children frequently “disappear.”) Theirs is the only Christian witness in that area and in the many years they have been there, they have had their church knocked down by the government 8 times. “AND WE HAVE BUILT IT 9 TIMES!!” These people are great.The first time we met them Nicholas said, “I am 63 years old and when I get old, I want to go to the mountains of Ecuador and take the gospel to people who have never heard it.” (Georgina was not quite as excited at the prospect). I love their enthusiasm and vitality for the gospel.

Please pray for safety for them (and all the Christians in Cuba) as well as effectiveness in the particular area in which they have been called to minister. Every time we see them he comes up and gives me a huge bear hug. These people are fervent for the Lord and a blessing to be around,no matter what language they speak!!