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“I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” —Jesus, John 17:4 If you ask me what I learned in Cuba, I’ll tell you that I learned to let my Father lead. And by letting Him lead, I learned to bring glory to Him through faithful obedience, rather than frantic striving. If I could pinpoint the moment this lesson hit me, it would be the day I became friends with a two-year-old boy. He was the tiny, shy, brown-eyed son of one of the Cuban pastors. I called him Ninito and he started calling me Tia once he finally warmed up to me. It started with the two of us playing soccer on his parents’ porch one evening. The rest of my mission team was sitting around the dinner table, tired after playing a much more intense so…

Giving Christ Your Portion “And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums.And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny.And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” -Mark 12:41-44 (ESV)             This story in the Gospel of Mark describes a remarkable woman who, though she had close to nothing, gave everything …

My trip to Cuba was my first mission trip that we were doing all evangelism. I have been on many many trips that we have done physical labor during the day and evangelism in the evenings. On this trip I not sure what to expect, but I went with a open heart. I have always believed that I was a good Christian, but what I witnessed from the young people in my group was so enlightening. They didn’t hold back. They praised God and spread his word. They always knew what to say and when. I learned so much from witnessing their unhindered love for Christ and I yearned to be like them. On the day that we were attending the baptisms at the river, I knew I would be one to be baptized. Jesus called me to him. This is just the beginning for me. I am learning to pray in a whole new way. I am comin…

Five months ago I googled “mission trips” and I came across Adventures in Missions. I signed up without knowing much about the organization. But it turns out to be pretty sweet & simple, be a servant for Jesus! I never been on any mission trips or did any volunteer work so I was somewhat nervous. I went without knowing anyone from the group, but I came back home missing everyone so much! I made best friends with people all across the United States and Cuba. This is the HAPPIEST I’ve ever been! Thank you, everyone, for the lifetime experience! 

I kind of squealed a “let’s go see the horses, guys” before walking off to be extra touristy with my iPhone 6+ in the middle of the campo in Sancti Spiritus, Cuba. Thank goodness a few of my team members followed behind me as I snapped a gazillion photos of the less than mediocre brown horses patiently eating yummy grass. Being born and raised in New York City, you don’t see horses just lounging around. You catch the occasional police officer perched on top of a horse but for me it’s a rare sight. So the inner city girl was joyous each time I saw one of these majestic animals. I must have driven my teammates insane with the “oh my gosh, I love horses” for the hundredth time. But thankfully they were patient with this city girl.  As I walk…

An entire week later & I am officially back from Cuba. I think it’s safe to say I didn’t want to be back, I wanted to be caught in the whirlwind of Cuba & it’s love. But sadly, I have to face reality. Although I’ll be sharing a more in depth post, I want to share a little journal entry I wrote from my second day in Cuba along with a gazillion photos! August 7th, 2016 It is now my second day in Cuba and it’s nothing like I thought it would be. Although I tried to come with zero expectations, a thought of “what if” always creeps in. I came with a belief that poverty ruled this country but what I have found is a people rich with humility, simplicity, and love.I have found a country rich in culture and wealthy in personality. In the U.S….

The waves crashed over us as we attempted to keep our frail friend from being swept away into the Caribbean Sea. She was dressed in white and all smiles. Her eyes lit up as one brother talked about the meaning of baptism and the other translated into Spanish. “I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”…. “Yo te bautizo en el nombre del padre, Hijo, y Espíritu Santo” That was my cue. I’d assist by gently immersing her in the water.    There were a total of 8 to be baptized that beautiful day, including one mother with her son…and a man in his 50’s.(photo by Kristen) This is the same man whose testimony had been shared several days before at the Easter Sunday service. As a yo…

“Hey, Kristen, can you come here? I don’t understand what’s she’s trying to say. . .” It was my first full day in Cuba, Easter Sunday, and church had just ended. A bunch of us had just leaned over a railing and watched a pizza delivery guy give the person at the door a stack of delicious smelling boxes and drive away: our lunch. There was was also a large amount of people still milling around from the church service in the pastor’s home, talking excitedly with each other and with us. As Colby explained to us the day we arrived, the church lives in community in Cuba. They care about each other and share life together. And that means lingering after church even with growling stomachs. I was hungry, but honestly, I was more tired than anything. I didn…

John 10:27: My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. During the beginning of the week in Cuba, our  leader Colby Gardner gave us a challenge that would require us to practice Listening Prayer: You can begin by reading Scripture and then ask the Lord to speak to you through it.  If you have a question that you want to ask God, you simply ask it and then listen for the answer. The question Colby asked us was to ask God for a word of encouragement that we would give someone that week.  God could speak to us through scripture, show us a vision, a color, give us a name, etc. We were to quiet our minds and wait for God to speak.  Quieting my mind can be so difficult at times. Yet in Cuba we were without the distractions of work, and technol…

“It’s going to be the closest I’ll ever get to time travel.” Over and over the past few months, that’s what I said about going to Cuba.  Even while knowing other countries had access to Cuba all this time, I half expected to step into a parallel world, where every form of technology was from the 1950s. And of course, the cars.  Instead, I found a country with cell phones and televisions, a rich history, a struggling economy, and a thriving Cuban church. It’s true; the cars are awesome. They are everywhere. And on our off day, 9 of us went on an hour tour in three of these beauties. It was something I’ll never forget: laughing, wind in my hair, arms raised, as our cars wound around each other in the hot Caribbean sun. We stayed …