Cheri Ochs Wheeler, from Marion Presbyterian Church, and myself just returned from a week- long visit to Cuba.  The purpose of our trip was two-fold.  We visited the Reformed Presbyterian church in Placetas to further explore the possibility of forming a mission partnership with our churches. The second part of our visit,  we attended a meeting with the El Centro Presbytery, Baltimore Presbytery and Central Florida Presbytery.   It was an annual business meeting reviewing the partnerships the two United States presbyteries have with the El Centro Presbytery.

We had the opportunity to meet many people in the church at Placetas.  We stayed in the home of a woman named Xiomara, who was an elder in the church and also served as Vice Moderator of the Presbytery.  She is 79-years-old and was a key person in keeping this church open through the difficult times of the Revolution and Special Period in Cuba.  Another older woman from the church, Tu Tu, came each morning to make breakfast for us and then served as our guide traveling to and from the church. Tu Tu also took us around the town and helped us secure some internet cards that gave us two hours of access to internet while we were in Cuba. In Placetas the only place to access the internet was the city square.

After church on Sunday we went to a restaurant for lunch with the Pastor, Marielys, and her daughter.   Following lunch, Tu Tu took us on a walk around town visiting several church members in their homes.  It was nice to meet people in their homes. Interestingly, Tu Tu spoke no English.  Many of those we visited did not speak any English either. Still, we were able to have meaningful conversations with our limited Spanish and a translation app on my phone.

During our time in Placetas we met with the Session, which consisted of four women, and the Pastor.  We discussed the programs and ministries of the church. There is something going on in the church seven days a week.

• They have feeding program and a laundry program for elderly and needy.
• They provide medication and first aid materials for the community.

We were fortunate to deliver a lot of medication and bandages due to the generosity of Grace church members.  While we were at the Placetas church we were able to witness many in the community receive some of the items that we delivered.

The church has one mission in a nearby community to get all elderly people to church.  We were supposed to visit the mission on our first day, but mechanical problems on our flight to Cuba caused us to miss one full day of our planned trip.  We were sad to miss the visit to this important ministry of the church. There are many elderly people in Cuba who have no family in the country.  Many fled at the time of the revolution and others continue to leave in order to earn money to support their families.  Many of these elderly have not been able to see their family members since they left Cuba.

We also got to share in an afternoon of singing, dancing, storytelling and games. Saturday afternoon a group of church members of all ages gathered together for fellowship and getting acquainted. We brought a bingo game with chocolates for prizes that was very popular! We worshiped together on Sunday and the pastor included Cheri and I in the service as liturgists.

We had the opportunity to share dinner at one of the Session member’s home.  We also visited a farm, where soup was made and shared with the needy and home bound in the area. We walked most places, but when the distance was too far, we traveled by horse and buggy, which were serving as taxis in the town.

While we stayed in the town of Cabaiguan, we participated in the annual business meeting of the El Centro Presbytery Partners. We stayed in dorm rooms located at the church.

During the day we had meetings discussing topics such as current conditions in Cuba, everyday life of the church, and the accomplishments and challenges in each church in the Presbytery.  The US Presbyteries also shared what was happening within their own Presbyteries.

The budget of the El Centro Presbytery was also shared, and the United States presbyteries in partnership with El Centro discussed their partnership agreements and how they would contribute in the upcoming year.

After long days of meetings, each night after dinner the group would share in social activities, playing games, and telling stories. Cheri and I learned a lot about how the Presbytery to Presbytery partnerships are working in Cuba. We also had a great opportunity to build many relationships with the Cubans and also other Presbyterians from our country.

I look forward to working toward establishing partnerships with the church in Cuba and hope that many others from our area can travel to Cuba and build relationships with the people of Central Cuba and share in their ministries.