REPORT BY: Olive Balmforth
(Cardiff, UK)
 
When we arrived at the airport in Havana we were warmly welcomed by the good friends we have come to know very fondly - Bishop Ricardo, his lovely wife Maritsa, and Cecilia our interpreter for the week.

Our group consisted of eight ladies from churches across the UK relating to Keri Jones - our Apostle with ministries without borders.

The purpose of our visit was to share the Kingdom of God with the ladies of Cuba at their annual conference.

We had come bearing gifts for the ladies.  We carreid 80 pairs of new shoes, donated to us by Shoe Zone Ltd, eight beautiful bridal gowns, gifts from the ladies in our churches to the young ladies of Cuba, gifts for the children and each of us had brought with us lots of vitamins and toiletries - all things we take for granted at home.

The following morning, feeling refreshed after much warm and generous hospitality and a good night’s sleep, we were ushered into a mini-bus and began the day by making a short journey to see Sophie - the lady with a big smile, a big heart and her basement-come-sewing room.
 
The room looked busy and industrious, all maintained by a little band of volunteer sewers.  We saw racks of good quality clothes, all left by earlier visitors, clothes that had already been tucked in or let out or even re-made many times.  Some of our ladies had brought cottons, silks and buttons etc to add to their very well organised haberdashery.  This is where the bridal gowns we brought would be very carefully stored and cared for - what joy they must be still bringing to those new brides would have otherwise been married wearing only their ordinary clothes and paper flowers.

From there we continued our 3 hour journey from Havana to the conference site.  As we travelled, we saw the Cuba that tourists don’t see.  We saw only poverty, dilapidated buildings and homes.  We saw such sadness in the eyes of people trying to get on with their lives.  They made no fuss or humdrum about their situation because anything that would add value or quality to their lives, any sense of purpose or independence, had already been taken from them.

We saw lots of people walking, seemingly aimlessly on the open un-made roads, some perhaps for two or three days trying to reach family or friends, resting under trees from time to time, sheltering from the heat of the sun.

We were glad to arrive at the conference.  These wonderful women of God were very pleased to see us and us them.  These ladies clearly loved God and were receptive to His Word.

Between meetings, as we mixed with the women, being friends and family together, blessing and encouraging each other, I realised that what these ladies lacked in material wealth they more than made up for in resourcefulness.  In one area of the camp, ladies formed a queue waiting to have their hair cut by ladies proven to be handy with scissors.  They were also giving each other manicures and pedicures etc.  These women of God retained some dignity.

On one particular day, a couple of the brothers had driven around the countryside collecting ladies who had otherwise been unable to come to the conference because their “shoes were so badly worn”.  We quickly learned, and were humbled at the fact, that the majority of women had borrowed clothing and shoes from their entire villages in order to look 'presentable' at the conference.  We were able to pray for the women and some wept with joy as we washed their feet and fitted them with new shoes.

These beautiful people of God, who have so little, gave us the very best of everything they had.  Their generous hospitality was second to none, and their ongoing friendship means so much to all of us as we continue to pray for them and their situation.