First Person: To Cuba, ‘for such a time as this’

When God’s voice whispers to our hearts, what will our response be? Will we obey, or will we ignore the call?

Susie Wilkins

Scripture comes to mind, like Jesus’ command in Matthew 28 to “go and make disciples of all nations” and the Lord’s question in Isaiah 6:8: “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” (And I said, “Here am I. Send me.”)

With family and friends committed to pray for us, a team of 10 of us from Simpsonville First Baptist Church departed on Oct. 23 for Cuba for one week. For some, this was our first mission trip to Cuba, while others had been numerous times.

The Cuban people welcomed our team with open hearts and open arms. To be people of such poor means, they possess pure, contagious joy. In the Christians we met at our house churches, the love of God overflowed through them.

Our purpose was to witness to the Cuban people through home visits, to hold kids’ clubs, pass out Christian tracts, worship together and do whatever else the Holy Spirit led us to, like painting a room at the church building.

The Cuba mission team from Simpsonville First Baptist: (front row, l to r) Andy Clark, Evy Woods, Pat Clark, Dale Abbot, Marveena Lynch, Cletus Lynch; (back row) Steve Forsstrom, Bobby Abbott, Susie Wilkins and Dan Green.

The fields are ripe in Cuba, and the harvest is ready for God’s kingdom. We know of 12 people who gave their hearts to Jesus. The glow and transformation on their faces was inspiring to witness. Seeds for God’s kingdom were scattered throughout Cuba.

A special blessing was to meet a 95-year-old saintly seminary professor and hear words of wisdom from him. Another blessing was to worship with a newly organized house church located on a dirt road deep in the country. Sitting on benches of rough timber under a pole light, about 40 people came together to sing and praise God and hear his word preached.

The ladies’ theme for the week was from the book of Esther. The quote, “for such a time as this,” is very appropriate for Cuban women (and men) and all Christians. As we live our lives, it is “for such a time as this” to share Jesus with our family, friends and the world. Please pray for the Cuban people.

Adios to my sisters and brothers in Jesus Christ.

– Wilkins is circulation manager for The Baptist Courier.