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Broken Pieces (blog by Kim)
At the end of Acts, Paul is on his way to Rome and is in a shipwreck. He and all the passengers make is safe to shore, clinging to the broken pieces of the boat. None of them are lost. I have been struck by how familiar this survival story is for the people of Cuba, who so often have to make it to shore on the broken pieces of their surroundings. When we first arrived, I participated in a theatre workshop for young people from various churches. I was given a cross made out of clay with a beautiful design representing the workshop. One day it fell on the floor and broke. I came close to crying over it, as it represented the love, friendship and strength I had found here and it had come to mean a lot to me. It had given me a sense of belonging in a beautiful family of faith here. I thought I would have to throw it away, but Stan suggested that I ask our friend Wanda if she might could repair it. She is an artist who works with clay. She said it
would be complicated, but she is working on repairing it now. Even if she can’t restore it to its original state, I will keep whatever she is able to do with it, as a reminder that God can help us see value in broken pieces.
Stan also observed, “Remember, we are in Cuba. A lot of things break here.” It’s true. Many churches, homes, businesses, theatres, etc. suffer from years of deferred maintenance. It doesn’t inspire confidence to travel from Matanzas to Havana and see the sign before crossing over the long bridge over the Yumuri valley: Aviso: Puente en Mal Condición (Warning: Bridge in Bad Condition). Often I hear the comment, “Well, this used to work but…” or “That used to be a movie theatre but now it’s being used as a...” Many people have computers, sound systems, kitchen appliances, bicycles, tables, chairs, you name it, that are being used despite their various states of disrepair. Mother is the necessity of invention, and as Cubans generally do not have the luxury of spare parts, they have to invent the repairs or find a way to recycle what they have to invent something else to fill the need.
One of our friends has two old desktop computers hooked up together, one with a broken monitor and functioning keyboard, the other with a functioning monitor and broken keyboard. It reminded me of when Stan told me about one period in his childhood when his living room had three tvs stacked on top of each other. The bottom one didn’t work at all and served as the foundation; the middle one had the picture but no sound, and the top one had sound but no picture. It worked. The funny thing about it was that Stan’s dad was an electronics repairman.
This need to improvise and invent things just to complete the tasks of the day, the need to make-do (and find a use for broken things) has created a culture of inventiveness and creativity in Cuba that is inspiring. It also means that many Cuban people have found ways to make beautiful art out of what I often would consider useless, such as the plastic balls out of the roll-on deodorants, the labels and lids of soda cans or bottles, the plastic water bottles themselves, and plastic wrapping from anything. I have seen theatre costumes made from
burlap sacks and discarded old pots or pans. Once an eye is developed for invention, the creative spirit can be astounding.
My experience in the United States is that we simply toss what does not work in the trash and get a new and improved whatever it was. We in the U.S. are driven by convenience. Convenience is not a word I would ever use to describe Cuba. The more common word is complicated. Complications can lead to frustrations and complaints as well as downright depression. However, I have rarely experienced a more resilient culture or been around a people more able to stare down their frustrations and difficulties with a joke, a story or a saying of defiant hope. It also means that even though they may be reticent to dream out loud, as too often their dreams have not come true, they have found a source of faith and hope that is deeper than any difficulty they face, be it a broken fan in the heat of summer or a broken fan belt on the highway. As a people of faith, they are witnesses to dreams and visions that have come, are coming, or will come true. This gives them a sense of hope and trust in God, the fountain of life that will not let them down, that will not break, a source of deliverance that will get them to shore, even if it is on broken pieces. I am grateful to God for being able to travel with my sisters and brothers here on broken pieces. As we navigate the waters of uncertainty, we cling to the broken pieces, sharing laughter, prayers and songs along the way, and we know that not one of us will be lost. We will all make it safely to God’s shore.
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John Ager
non-member comment
USA and Cuba
Thanks for your thoughtful piece. Appalachia and Cuba have a lot in common. And regarding USA and Cuba, the first could easily be last, and the last first! Thinking of you all! John