Blogs from Matanzas, Oeste, Cuba, Central America Caribbean

FIRST CLASS OF CUBAN PRISON CHAPLAINS GRADUATE On Thursday, 16 June 2011, a total of 87 pastors and lay leaders made up the first graduating class of prison chaplains in Cuba. Co-sponsored by the Ecumenical Council of Churches in Cuba and the Ecumenical Seminary in Matanzas, the graduation took place at the Quaker Center in Gibara, on Cuba’s northeast coast. Most of these graduates, from 26 different denominational backgrounds, have done prison visitation for years. With the Cuban government’s easing of restrictions on church contact with inmates, Dr. Francisco Rodés, retired pastor of First Baptist Church, Matanzas, saw a significant opportunity to increase the Cuban churches’ ministry among inmates. “Few of these chaplains receive economic support for this work,” said Rodés, who now serves as the Cuban Council of Churches’ national coordinator for prison ministry and ... read more

From Las Ninas Have you ever wondered about a Cuban baptism? Would you imagine that it would include collecting firewood, pasture sledding on palm leaves and swimming in a lake afterwards? I bet ya’ll think that is crazy, but for us - normal. Well, usually we don’t pasture sled but sometimes we swim and the firewood was collected for a bonfire we made to cook a stew to eat after the baptism. Before the Baptism the kids, grownups and teenagers separated into groups for a retreat for Lent. The kids walked around the lake, skipped rocks and played. The teenagers talked under a tree and the grown-ups did a bible study. After some songs, some of the teenagers climbed up the palm trees and got some of the dead branches and cut them with machetes. We ... read more

A Cuban New Year From what I could tell, the New Year in Cuba is a bigger holiday than Christmas. They have some of the same traditions, like staying up ‘till midnight, but they also have some different traditions. Our neighbor Victor had the idea of roasting a pig for our New Year’s Eve supper. We invited our other neighbors Oscar and Marianela, and Victor and Danedy invited some friends of theirs to come named Betsy and Carlos who brought their beautiful husky. We all contributed to the meal. Victor cooked the pig. Mom and I cooked a Cuban kind of cake called flan and yummy banana chips called chicharitas. Marianela made salad and prepared a root called Yucca (don’t let the name give you the wrong impression. It is really good!) and the typical rice ... read more

DISCLAIMER: REFLECTIONS FROM LAS NINAS WERE NOT AVAILABLE AT PRESS TIME. WE UNDERSTAND YOUR DISAPPOINTMENT. WE PLEDGE FULL PARTICIPATION FOR THE NEXT POST. Kiran’s Musings Today makes 4 weeks in Cuba. Describing a routine will be impossible as one has not yet emerged. I therefore will just give some examples and stories as a glimpse of our life here so far. Cuba has modernized in various ways since our last visit almost 2 years ago. Some new small Japanese cars have taken the place of many of the classic old Chevys that filled picture books of Cuba. Large Mercedes buses are the main long distance travel options for Cubans and visitors. Some houses now have hot water heaters and washing machines. It is not common, yet I have seen numerous youth walking down the streets with ... read more

Greetings All! So, I was able to access our gmail account this morning. It's expensive, so we won't be using this much. As I was leaving our house, Freddy from the seminary was talking with Kiran about setting up an email at the seminary for us. As soon as we know it, we will pass it along. We won't be using it like we do at home (which is really quite nice), but it will be a way for us to have regular contact. Again, Gracias a Dios! However, it will be a while before we check in again because on Sunday we leave for 10 days. We will be in three different cities (Cameguay, Holguin and Vayamo), on the eastern end of the island, offering a prison chaplaincy workshop in each. There will be about ... read more