Thursday, May 1, 2014

Camp Yumuri-April 2014

Dear Friends of Cuba,

Thanks for your prayers while we were on mission in Cuba.  God always opens doors and provides for us while we are there.  Steve drove us and our duffle bags, which had been loaded into the Garner’s trailer, to Ft. Lauderdale Airport without any challenges.  Thank God we made it through U.S. and Cuban customs with no problems!

Our comfortable rooms were ready for us at El Calvario Baptist Church, in downtown Havana.  After unpacking our bags, we were involved in leadership meetings with Pastor Juan Carlos, who is also president of the Western Baptist Convention of Churches.  We were excited to continue collaborating with Victor and Abby, Cuban National Directors of APEN (Child Evangelism Fellowship). 


Saturday and Sunday we were involved in church activities and additional meetings.  We initiated a new ‘pen pal’ program for kids from our student ministry groups with kids at El Calvario Baptist Church.  Both groups are excited about making new friends! 

Monday came early as we loaded up the busses and vans to go to Camp Yumuri.  Camp Yumuri, is located near Matanzas, on ninety beautiful acres in Yumuri Valley.  Many weeks during the year, retreats, events and conferences are held at Camp Yumuri.  We were invited to join the 7 & 8 year old ‘retreat’ and had an awesome time!  Students and leaders from 38 different churches arrived by supper time.  Each day the schedule was packed full with time for devotions, music, games, Bible study, competitions, missionary stories, meals and snacks.  The chapel turned into a multipurpose room and was used to present the camp theme…’Put on the Whole Armor of Christ’…  Being a part of the ministry activities at the camp was a dream-come-true, answer to prayer for us.


Thanks to Tom Spencer, Rynell and Joe Novak for continuing to provide and partner with our ministry, we were prepared to present Puppet and Balloon Workshops.  As a result, seven additional churches are equipped and trained to begin Puppet and Balloon Ministries.


On the closing night at camp, we witnessed ten students praying to become Christ followers!  We are excited to go and tell….We enjoyed water balloon fights, soda drinking contests, and jump rope competitions with the underlying camp theme ever present.  Kids learned that God does in fact equip us with powerful tools which protect and allow us to stand firm in our faith.  Ephesians 6:10-18.



Take a look at the video clips of our week, entitled, Retiro de Principiantes, on YouTube…

Here is the YouTube link to Part 1…    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQsXPiqn21M

Virginia F. Hansen   •  561-712-1234   •  vacasa@bellsouth.net  •  www.cuba4christ.org
 Virginia Futch Hansen   •     Cuba 4 Christ    •   Virginia Hansen@Cuba4Christwpb  •   CUBA4CHRIST