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at one time the pastor there told us, he said,
we had come to the conclusion that we were the only Christians in the world and i said
how did you come to that? He said,
it was either that we were the only Christians in the world, or that there were other Christians
outside of our country
who really didn't care about the fact that we're here
When we shared that
with the folks here at Northland
It bothered them as much as it did me
so they began to brainstorm, to dream
to ask questions of the church in Cuba, how can we make that change?
and again the answer that came back
time, after time, after time was
just keep coming back
for Northerners who tithe, who pray, who are involved
at whatever level they are capable
it's impossible to see the breadth
of how that's reaching people, but in Cuba, what's happening is
all those resources and all that effort is being multiplied in things like
worship charts, worship music, children's curriculum, bible study resources
tons of things that we are sharing and utilizing and passing on to them
that they can use right in their situations
two or three years ago I sat in the small living room
of that house right there
it's an amazing thing to me to
now see what is multiple buildings
and multiple levels
and stories
It's gone from just being a house
(worship music)
we just witnessed an incredible service
right back here under this little canopy
we're talking about a garage size space
about a hundred people
packed in here
you know they have a church service
in basically a garage, it's not actually a garage it's a car port
they squeeze in and looking through the fence
but they're really excited about being there
the opportunity to build something for them
to be able to expand what they can do
in that little community is exciting
six months ago none of this was here except the house. Northland is largely responsible for this being here.
every one of those instruments
that were played on that stage tonight
those are all instruments
that came from central florida
carried down here one at a time and these young people have learned to play them
not only that, all the gear, the equipment here
the projector, the mixing board
everything that was used
came from Northland
and I'm so thankful to be part of a church
that sees it's resources
being used so freely here in Havana
the community is ready for a church, they want Jesus, they want the gospel
As soon as it got planted, it just exploded, and now the leaders here
their vision has grown even more
they want to reach out to other communities and build churches there
in order to do that they have to train people, and you need a place to teach them
so we're building places to teach them and it's just going to grow
They have a
piece of land they are going to build some classrooms on
some housing for traveling pastors
I was walking the new property, I was the surveyor with my feet
I would walk off paces
and call them out to Ray Scott who was with us
It's like having a baby and seeing the growth, you're proud of it, you're happy, you're excited
all those emotions come out and what's even better
it's happening in a country where that's not supposed to happen
you go there with the intent
that i'm going to be doing something for someone else
and everytime i've done that
i've been changed and given more than I've ever given back
ninety percent of what we're going to do is relational
in fact they tell us that. If you never come back and work anymore
if you never come back and help us financially, just keep coming back
and it's just amazing to see
how the church is one church
we are all one body and
whether we're playing in Spanish or we're playing in English
It's all the same body
if you feel at all a challenge to go
I encourage you to go
i think it'll be one of the most exciting most dynamic
most life changing experiences of life
In the United States it's easy to be a Christian
we have everything, we have all the technology
we have everything that we could possibly have
here in Cuba they have nothing
and their hope in Jesus Christ is what they have
It was 52 years ago that so many people believed
that the revolution came to this country
and many here in Cuba and outside of Cuba
still believe that revolution goes on
but I think what we've learned
is that the real revolution is happening right here
and you're a part of that