Teaching in Matanzas

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Teaching in Matanzas (blog post by Kim)



My teaching at the Evangelical Seminary of Matanzas has been a divine blessing. I have taught Conversational English, Integrating Theatre into the Church and I am currently teaching dulcimer lessons. I look forward to hearing some salsa rhythms being hammered away on the dulcimer! I am also continuing to teach classes in Theological English. These classes assist students in being able to use academic resources that are in English, such as Bible commentaries, theology and church history books and articles, etc. It has been my privilege to work with these students, to learn from them and to listen to their testimonies. One of my favorite parts of my teaching has been to integrate Biblical passages, such as the parables of Jesus, into the class. It has been especially gratifying to use my mentor Glen Stassen’s book, Just Peacemaking; we have studied his application of the Sermon on the Mount to pave the way for a life of transforming initiatives of faith.

The students at the seminary are different ages, come from different parts of Cuba, serve churches in different denominations, and they all share a calling to serve God, not just in the future, but now, today. All the students have a pastoral placement where they serve a church on the weekends. They preach, teach, work with liturgy and music. They all have moving testimonies of how they deal with many challenges, from their basic transportation needs to go to their churches (which can mean waiting for more than an hour for an uncomfortable bus or converted cattle truck) to how to deepen the involvement of young people in the church. A common thread is that they all have to make do with severely limited resources. Yet, through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, each one of them is a co-creator with God of a beautiful witness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in their communities.

I was deeply moved in a seminary chapel service by one student’s prayer request. He asked for prayers for unity in his community where he served a church on the weekends. When he arrived in that community, he found that the pastors there did not even speak to each other, let alone collaborate in community projects of faith. As he shared his request, I felt his burden to create relationships of friendship and fellowship so that the churches could work together for the good of the larger community of faith. His bringing his personal burdens to the seminary chapel service is not unique, as all the students are free to share prayer concerns, the large majority of which are for other people or situations that need God’s healing touch. Prayer is a vibrant practice for students and teachers alike, and sharing our concerns with each other brings strength to us all. I am inspired by the authenticity and compassion of the prayers of the community, and how the people are faithful to give God thanks and praise for every gift of grace that God bestows freely. This attitude of dependence on and thanksgiving to God is as natural as breathing among the churches here, and I have begun to feel my own heart become more aware of God’s presence in my daily walk of faith and to look with eagerness for how God will guide my steps and bring me joy and peace each day.



My spiritual life has also been transformed by the beauty of the seminary. The campus is full of flowers and trees that are tended lovingly and faithfully by the seminary staff. It also sits above the Bay of Matanzas, which is breathtaking, especially when the birds soar over the water. Each day when the beauty takes my breath away, I am invited to breathe in the breath of God and to look for God’s beauty in each moment, in each person, in each difficulty, in each miracle and to say, “Thanks, praise and glory to God.”

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Comments

[Christie Branch]

Kim
You are so amazing. Sometimes I forget just what a marvel you are and how blessed I am to know you. Then I am reminded... and it turns out that you are even greater than I already knew :) Miss you, take care, see you soon!