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| Holguin Friends Meeting House |
Prayer partner: Becky Memmelaar
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| The first meeting with Alberto, Hector, Maria, & Tania |
Did I mention we had warm showers yesterday? Yea, not so much today! I was feeling rather spoiled, and now it's back to reality! Carlos served us a nice breakfast of eggs and pineapple and wonderful coffee. Today was the day to begin the great talks. This is what brought us to Cuba in the first place! We are in Holguin, and staying on site at the Quaker meeting house. Pastor Maria Yi, and her husband Alberto, are wonderful hosts. They, along with a man named Hector and his wife sat with me & Kary to begin making plans and complete the survey. (Hector is a great translator, and I was so thankful for him!!)
Kary did a phenomenal job of explaining the purpose of Living Waters For The World, where we came from, how we were trained, and how the process works. He discussed each step of the plan, complete with an overview of the system components & how the system works. We went through the covenant, discussed the health and hygiene class, and the time frame of the installation. Because this process is based on relationships and forming bonds across the countries and cultures, we spent much time showing pictures of families and churches, and sharing stories of adventures. What a blessed time of truly living the concept of "loving your neighbors."
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| Catholic Church in the Holguin town square |
Today we also found the value of iphones and ipads. We used the iphones for metric conversions, and for all of those who have teased me for taking so many pictures during installations, the pictures were vital today to explain the system, the tanks, the pumps, and more! Being able to see various projects instead of trying to describe through a translator was fantastic.
Four hours later, we finished our discussion. Later in the afternoon, Alberto took us on the roof to take measurements and get an idea of where the system will be located and how it should be designed. The only problem was that Hector was long gone, and I was the sole translator. Oh yes, that went well! Pastor Maria rescued us and showed us many promotional videos the church had created. They are advertising their church's mission projects on television! For a small congregation, they are out in the community constantly and serving with passion.
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| So many beautiful buildings around town. |
Tonight we watched a bit of baseball, Cuba's national pastime! Other than scoping out the hardware stores and visiting two other sites, we have completed our purpose...with a few days to spare. Tomorrow we will visit another community, and Sunday will be a day of worship near and far. One thing that struck me tonight... Though we may speak different languages, though we may live in culturally diverse worlds, we are all united by God in serving and loving our neighbors. It's an awesome realization to know we are truly the family of God, which knows no borders or limits. Good night, friends.
