Cuba Day 3

 Today, day three of Cuba, we helped at the farm and visited the homes of three Christian Cubans. After waking up at 7:30 (5:30 in your time), we had devotional. Mr. Scherrei spoke about Elijah and Elisha from the Old Testament and also how complex the world around us is and how it clearly shows the work of God. We then had breakfast and headed out to the farm.

The drive to the farm from the church that we’re staying in is about 45 minutes. Once we got there, dressed in our work clothes consisting of long pants, hats, sunscreen, and LOTS of bug spray, we split into three groups. One group was helping prepare food in the kitchen for our lunch later. Another was helping clear the weeds in the surrounding area of the coffee plants. The last went around with machetes hacking trees so that they would grow better (only the boys were allowed to do this, much to the dismay of both Laurens). In the group that helped in the kitchen, we sorted through rice and beans to make sure there were no miscellaneous items, including but not limited to rocks and maggots. Once this was completed, we moved on to peeling garlic for the remainder of the time.

Meanwhile, the group that was clearing the area around the coffee plants did just that for about an hour. Then our leader Alejandro asked us if we wanted coconut water, and we eagerly said yes. He took us to the coconut trees where we met up with the machete boys and Alejandro got a pole and hit the coconuts until one fell down for each of us (a group of about 9 kids). Some of us attempted to cut the coconut on our own, but it proved to be very difficult and only about three actually did it while the rest of us had Alejandro cut it for us. It was different than the kind you buy at the store because it was much more fresh and very good. Our group also got to pick a cherry to eat, and they were very sweet if you chose a ripe enough one and if not, you were greeted with a tart taste.

The more sweaty of the kids got to take a quick rinse off in the shower before we sat down to eat the graciously prepared food from the farm staff (with some help from some Valor kiddos) - lunch was very good. We then hopped on the bus again and our first stop was at a house church that was renovated by some missionaries and others in their church community. There was a dog there and it’s now Hannah’s new best friend. The next stop was at a single mother’s house that had two kids, the eldest (11 years old) having Cerebral Palsy. His name was Luis and though he could understand us, or at least hear us (for us non Spanish speakers), he was highly unresponsive. It was hard to see this little boy, laying on the bed, not being able to move more than his eyes, while we’re just looking at him, wondering why we were born like we were and he was born like he was.

We went to another house after and met another boy with Cerebral Palsy, an 18 year old. His name was Leo and he was a lot more responsive than Fabian. He was sitting up, smiling, and the lady who introduced him to us told us that he could even walk (with heavy assistance). His mom was a single mother for a long time but got married to a man in her church community. A mission group built her a bigger house. Leo loves baseball and got so happy when Mr. Scherrei asked him about it and talked to him about the players and the Cuban teams. His smile lit up the room.

We drove for what felt like a really long time until we got back to the church where we’re staying. After a small break, we ate dinner. The fish we had, Parco, came out as the full body fish that she cut in front of us. We had strawberry ice cream for dessert which was very good. We went to the beach for the second time. We were  swimming in the crystal clear water for a good thirty minutes and then we tried doing flips in the water. Someone would perch on the hands of two people (Paul, Kyler, and Josh were the bases for different people), and on the count of three, the person sitting would be launched into the air and do a backflip. Lauren, Kyler, and kind of Josh were successful. We were there for the sunset before we went back for a team debrief. We had some deep conversations that were honest and curious. We all headed to bed to rest for our day with some Cuban kiddos tomorrow!

We love you!

Mary and Hannah