A group from our church will be travelling once again to Cuba the end of next month. Our license from our government will expire soon after, so we elected to make a second trip not quite two years after the last one. I'm to be the translator on this trip, and I have more than a little anxiety about this as my spoken Spanish is still limited. However, my middle son has been practicing with me and has encouraged me greatly. And I am good at not giving myself enough credit for what I do know, an unfortunate legacy from a mother who wanted to be sure I did not think too highly of myself (it does say that in the Bible). She succeeded in her goal.
In any case, we are returning to visit our Presbyterian sisters and brothers in Cuba, and we will have an opportunity to spend more time in conversation this time as we will not be travelling to the center of the island on this trip. Last night I read (in Spanish)an article about church partnerships by the pastor of the church where we will be staying in La Habana, and as a result I'm most anxious to meet her and talk with her. She is obviously a woman of immense faith and deep wisdom. One comment in particular struck me, and I plan on using it to explain why we are making this trip (especially to our family):
"I believe that what is most valuable in our relations is that, in great measure, we have managed to overcome the barriers that our governments have erected between our two nations. We must keep on walking if we truly wish to make a prophetic witness in our faithfulness to the Gospel we proclaim."
To be a Christian means to reach out in love across the barriers the world constantly tries to erect between us--because we follow the one who constantly reached out across such barriers, and who also reached out to us.
Grace and Peace,
Donna Sue
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