Monday, May 3^rd 2021
A Weekday Emailer from
Matt Matthews
 
To Members and Friends of 
First Presbyterian Church
Champaign, Illinois
 
Dear Friends,
 
Some of you have asked to see the entire Cuba journal. Each day, different members of the team kept “the journal.” Here’s the whole thing. You can skip over the parts I wrote, which I’ve previously included here. 
 
Thank you all for your continued prayers for our partner church in Havana, the Iglesia Presbiteriana-Reformada de Luyano. They celebrated their 99^th anniversary yesterday. Please pray for their pastor, also, Rev. Daniel Izquierdo, who has been sick with prostate problems.
 
Finally, thanks be to God for our First Pres Cuba Partnership Committee. 
 
Here’s the journal from our winter 2019 trip. It was life-changing. I hope to join YOU on this trip in the near future.
 
* * *
 
Cuba Travel Journal
First Presbyterian Church, Champaign, Illinois
visiting brothers and sisters of 
The Presbyterian Reformed Church of Cuba at Luyanó, Havana
February 25^th—March 4^th 2019
 
Judi Geistlinger, Robert Ferrer, and
Matt & Rachel Matthews
 
Saturday, February 23^rd, Champaign
Matt Matthews
 
      All the weeks of planning seem to be coming together: our study, our prayers, our fun meetings, getting all the details straight, packing. Tomorrow (Sunday 24 February) we will be commissioned. Monday we fly.
 
Packing
getting ready
luggage getting heavy
thinking sun
Cuba!
 
Monday, February 25^th, Bloomington, IL, airport
Matt Matthews
            
            Check-in was flawless except we were told we needed a ‘tourist card’ which costs $50/person. I (Matt) put all the cards on my church credit card. We hope I’ll be reimbursed because I’m cheap.
 
            We are sitting at the gate at 4:57 a.m. We are ready to go with only an hour to wait. According to Judi’s hi-tech watch, it’s 11-degrees F outdoors, not counting a blustery wind chill. According to Robert’s weather app on his phone, it’s 70-degrees in Cuba, not counting wind chill. We are only about seven hours away from touchdown in Havana.
 
TSA
scanning people
plastic terminal chairs
muzak, frittering
travel.
 
Waiting
small talk
shaking off winter
thinking Caribbean
gratitude.
 
Havana!
 
            Out tickets say out plane was to touch down at 1:35 EST. I forgot to look at my watch, but it was close. It was sunny, warm, and we were glad to be on the ground in Cuba. When the plane touched down, passengers broke out in applause.
 
            The flight was pleasant. From Atlanta we flew over the piedmont of hilly, green Georgia to the sea, and at the ocean followed the coast of Florida until we veered out over the ocean of perfect blue speckled with white dots that, to the naked eye, could have been scattered flocks of gulls or whitecaps. By the time land reappeared—Cuba—we were descending and jockeying toward the airport. Passenger applauded—I guess—not because the flight evoked fear but because a lot of us had never been here, or had been gone a long time, or, I cannot say. I simply joined the clapping.
 
            On the shuttle from the plane to the modern terminal of grey chevrons trimmed in red—we deplaned on the tarmac—we met the 17-person delegation from Westminster Presbyterian Church, Minneapolis, on their way to their CPN sister church in Mantanzas. A Baptist engineer waited for his visa so that he could meet his delegation; they were rewiring a nearby Baptist Seminary.
 
            After we got our VISAs and got out of security (run, mainly, by young women who might have been teenagers and who didn’t seem too concerned about any threats we posed to Cuba security), Daniel and Yamilet met us with smiles and hugs. We lugged our bags to the Toyota church bus that was an older, possibly 1850s mode, and onto the road to Luyano.
 
            At the church, we were offered snacks of cookies and cold, frothy mix of papaya, pineapple, and guava fruit juices, coffee, and filtered water. We took a brief tour of the gated compound, petted semi-feral, wild-eyed cats (one halfway through pregnancy), and headed to Judi’s room to unpack and sort our gifts. 
 
            I am tired but glad to be on the ground, unpacked, and awaiting dinner in our home-away-from-home.
 
            Cuba smiles all around.
 
* * *
 
Carlos is our van driver.
 
Hector is the gate guard. He wears an Australian hat. He’s never been to Australia, but he has been to Russia, and, when asked, admitted drinking buen vodka.
 
Those who prepared our snacks were Mercedes and Silvi. Mercedes is a name that, Daniel says, has its root in the word “mercy.” 
 
In the kitchen, two heavy, soft melons sat on the counter. They said it was papaya. I’ll bet we’re going to see that again on our plates very soon.
 
Arrival
hospitable welcome
we are here
gracious reception
home.
 
P.S. Food, so far, is amazing, but the fruits are otherworldly. They are indescribably delicious.
 
P.P.S. “We have good thing, we have bad thing.” What travelers to Cuba learned during the Clinton years when they visited Cuba. This created pressure to normalize travel between our countries.
            
 
Tuesday, February 26^th
Robert Ferrer
 
      We gathered for breakfast in the dining room at 8:00 a.m. We had eggs, sausage, cheese. We were delighted by an array of fresh local fruit: papaya (also known as “fruta bomba” because the big melon is bomb-shaped) and guava. The Cuban coffee gave us all the boost we need for the morning. We were greeted warmly by Milados, our chambermaid. In her earlier life, we were told, she was a dancer at the Tropicana.
 
      The hospitality is unparalleled—we were immediately made to feel like family and honored guests. 
 
      I, personally, was so moved at dinner when a special dish was prepared for me because they thought, being Jewish, I don’t eat pork. Their thoughtfulness melts the boundaries that we artificially construct based on nationality or religion. 
 
      After breakfast, Daniel led a discussion regarding the church Luyano and life in Cuba in general. Judi brought a few maps so we can get an overview of Cuba and where we are.
 
      Maddie’s cousin, Daniel, came by, and we exchanged gifts. We delivered something from Maddie and Daniel gave us a couple of salamis. We discussed the role of church in the lives of people. Most people are very secular—most do not go to church—yet there is a spark of longing to belong. Pastor Daniel is an example of educated people with skills building Cuba; when the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s, so did Cuba’s economy and the lack of supplies resulted in many skilled people unemployed. 
 
      Fidel Castro said in 1959 “Our palm trees are not red, but green.” But as relations with the USA soured, the Soviet Union filled the void. 
 
      Cuba’s biggest problem is debt and lack of money to get raw materials. Today Cuba is relying heavily on tourism.
 
      Daniel says that there is a prevailing feeling that to “climb the ladder” one must join the Party—but there is no enthusiasm or ideological fervor. After a short break, we met with Hairam and Rosita to walk around town and see first-hand the devastation the recent tornado caused and how quickly people gathered to rebuild. As we walked, we saw groups of workers clear away debris. After our walk, we came back to campus for a delicious lunch with Daniel.
 
      After lunch, we had a city tour of Miramar (?) neighborhood.  We stopped at the Memorial Center of Dr. Marin Luther King, Jr. The director brought us to a conference room to discuss their mission and operation through two parallel organizations: One popular education, the other ecumenical, they strive to enable their constituents to take active responsibility for their destiny.
 
      Influenced by King’s use of non-violent protest, they focus of social issues and human rights. 
 
      Afterwards we went to the artists’ section of town where we say hand-painted murals and mosaic walls.  
 
      After dinner we went to one of the old forts to watch the canon shooting ceremony.
 
Wednesday, February 27^th
Judi Geistliner
 
                 The dawn was beautiful, cloudless day. As the city awoke, we all found ways to enjoy the morning. Some slept in—more them shows which is such a luxury! Judi did a little workout in her room and the Matthews discovered they still didn’t have much hot water. Matt got his first hot shower while Judi walked the grounds of the church. Since she was the only one to have hot water since arrival. Somewhere after 7:30 we lost power. 
 
            Breakfast began at 8:00, and without power, the fried eggs were replaced with hard boiled eggs. We had three kinds of fruit: papaya, pineapple, and tiny bananas, plus fresh pineapple juice and sliced hot dog-like sausages. Matt tried the milk, discovered it was warm, and made a latte.
 
            Following breakfast, we met with the knitting group. We gave six bags of yarn, a Ziploc full of embroidery floss to the group, and then the washcloths made by our knitting group, we gave with a bar of soap each. Five women were there and will give the rest to the other five who were unable to attend. Katerine insisted that we each take an item as their gift to us. We also contributed to their ministry: $10 CUC from Judi; $20 from the Matthews, and $20 from Robert.  
 
            Katerine had explained that the proceeds from their sales provided money (40-percent to the church and 60-percent to the knitters) for their ministry of the breakfast program.
 
            Alejandra also talked about other ministries: garden concerts the last Saturday of the month from the cultural center music institute where a member of the church is on the faculty, a health program for people in the third age (senior citizens) as well as exercise programs (Tai Chi and calisthenics) both of which are open to the community. Melinda a church member also teaches Spanish dance to girls from the neighborhood on Tuesdays. 
 
            From there we loaded up the bus and headed to Matanzas.
 
* * * 
 
Knitting group:

• Katerine
• Alejandra
• Melinda
• Mariella
• Bertila

 
* * *
 
            We arrived at Central Presbyterian Church around 11:15 a.m. where we met Ari Fernandez and his wife Beidy. Ari is pastor of the church. His wife has a position with the Cuban church in charge of programs—education, training lay leaders, coordinating Vacation Bible School. One project she is working on is developing a Cuban hymnal, seeking input from churches all over Cuba.
 
            Ari’s church has about 100+ members and regularly has 80+ in attendance. They have children and some young people. Ari showed us the sanctuary where they have a baby grand piano and drum set. One new program is music lessons for children. Beidy explained that muisc is not taught in the schools, so this has been a big draw. At least one new family has joined as a result. 
 
            They showed us their apartment which has a salon, a good-sized kitchen, and three bedrooms. They showed us a terrace they said they eat dinner there every night. 
 
            Their church has a Living Waters of the World Program (as does Luyano) and offers water from 4:00 to 6:00 every day.
 
            From there we went to lunch as a restaurante called Pacha. We all suggested Daniel order for us. Rachel, Robert, and I all wanted fish, which was a meaty steak-like fish topped with shrimp and cheese. I was beautifully presented with salad, cucumbers, tomatoes, cooked veggies and (???) around the plate. Daniel ordered appetizers for us. We had ‘tostones,’ which are plantains molded into small cup shapes and fried, then filled with meat and topped with cheese. We had ham and cheese, and shrimp and tuna as well. We shared some flan after the meal, then Daniel and Robert each had café with milk, which Daniel told us was ‘cortalito’ (cut with milk).
 
            At the restaurant, videos of a popular Cuban musician were played on screens. Ricardo Arjona.
 
            Over lunch we discussed Matanzas history and a recent celebration of being 325 years old. A re-development and restoration project included rebuilding the high school, which Ari told me had 1,000 students. The city population is 600,000 in comparison to Havana of two-million. We discussed theology, boundaries, and sabbath.
 
            After a leisurely lunch we went to the seminary. Daniel gave us a tour, showed us his apartment while in seminary, which buildings he designed/built, we visited the library, toured the gardens, refilled our water at a Living Waters plant fountain, and wandered to the gazebo.
 
            At the gazebo we met Emily Beggin, the associate pastor at First Presbyterian of Virginia Beach. Matt and she know many people in common. Emily told us she was ‘solidifying the sisterhood’ with their partner congregation of San Nicolas. She is staying with Maricela. She thanked Daniel profusely as Imara from Luyano was able to get her an emergency VISA, with an hour to spare before she got on her flight to Havana.
 
            Emily recommended a restaurant in Old town Havana called Restaurante Jama, a fusion restaurant of Cuban and Japanese food. 
 
            We met up with David, a mission co-worker with his wife Josey at the seminary and brought them coffee, powdered milk, and vitamins with iron, as requested.
 
            We boarded the bus and headed back. 
 
            We stopped at the Bacaneyaga bridge and had pina coadas (I bought Daniel his, spending $10 CUC total.)
 
            While there we delayed our dinner, as we only got back at 6:28 and were supposed to get to Yahimi’s at 6:30. On the way back, a soldier stopped the bus, boarded and brought his wife with him. They rode with us to the outskirts of Havana.
 
The Tai Chi class was going on, and I sat in the lovely evening air watching them practice until it was time to go.
 
At 7:00 we headed to Yahimi’s house.  Her parents greeted us, Griselle(???) & Mario. She warned us that a party was going on across the street and it was quite loud.  She said a famous actor was dressed as a clown and entertained the children after school.  She said she suspected that this coup of getting a star to appear in Luyano was likely from the recent tornado and people doing their part to lift spirits.
 
We talked about where Yahimi was born and Matt did a great job attempting to speak in Spanish to Mario.  Mario loved it and Matt got him to open up about his love of salsa and the history of how salsa is really based on a Cuban song and is therefore a Cuban dance. 
 
Mario worked in HR for his career, working in management at a travel agency until retirement. They told us to listen to Chuco Vades, a famous Cuban pianist.  “Ira Quere” is his album.
 
            Our dinner was delicious. We had pineapple juice first. Rice and black beans went with roast pork –a fantastic roast prepared with garlic, onions, and dry wine. Griselle explained how to make it and Rachel promised to try it.  They called it something like carne asada.  We had yucca (cooked with garlic – a specialty of hers and a favorite of Mario’s plus veggies and beets, plus a green salad.
 
            After dinner, Griselle presented a pineapple pudding and papaya – candied or something in a sauce.
 
            We all talked about how wonderful it was, presenting our gifts and sharing love.
 
            We walked back with Yahimi and her mom—they did a devotion at the tables, debriefing what had been and the upcoming schedule. Osvaldo joined us for 15 minutes, then to bed!
       
 
Thursday, February 28 
Rachel Matthews
 
            Today Osvaldo is joining us as we travel to Revolutionary Square and the Cuban Art Museum. The Spanish founded Cuba. Havana was popular because of trade winds and safety in transit.                        
 
            The Spanish copy (copied the British).
 
Osvaldo said the recent tornado in Luyano went down the Pie Blanco.
He said it was an intelligent tornado. (It knew right where to go.)
 
We passed the chocolate factory (on our bus tour of the city.).
The sports arena had the Rolling Stones and people filled up even the roof tops around it – 2 million people.
Royal Palms are Cuban. It’s in the Coat of Arms.
Palm seeds make pork (pigs) tasty. (That is what they used to feed the pork in Cuba).
 
Revolutionary Square was closed the day of our tour.
 
In the hospital section of town is a park called Farm of the Windmills.  It is like Central Park.  We passed the largest Catholic Church, Sacred Heart.  Jesuit.  Pope Francis visited.
Lona St. / Queen St.  First Presbyterian is one block from there.
 
We picked up Vladimir (who became our art museum guide).
 
Alexander Manuchi – Italian who invented the telephone.
 
The Revolutionary Museum, was under reconstruction for the anniversary.  However, we were able to scan it. We went very fast through all the floors.
 
Even that meant checking our bags, walking up several flights of stairs.  The brutality of the revolution, the significant sacrifice of the people and the passion of the revolutionaries were evident. The perspective was decidedly Cuban.  History is told from a viewpoint.
 
The art told its own history of Cuba at the Classical and Modern Cuban Art Museum.  We picked up Vladimir who is an art teacher who filled in the history of the Cuban artists.  Osvaldo translated for him and added stories of his own.  Vladimir’s favorite painting is “The Chair’ by Wilfredo Lam and Osvaldo’s is “Relacion” by Tomas Sanchez.  Cuban artists were decidedly influenced by the revolution but also by the Spanish artists. 
 
            Much of the art is philosophical and symbolic. The Afro Cuban art has Santeria (synchronistic Cuban religion) religious elements as well. We were boisterous and interactive in our tour which got us in trouble with the guards. I saw them smile though. I think they enjoyed our enjoyment of such treasures.
 
            Lunch, as always, was bountiful. I am so grateful we can eat these veggies.
The downtown market had beautiful art. The art was on the exterior rows of a huge metal warehouse overlooking a bay (if you walked outside).  The interior rows were full of trinkets and tourist items–leatherwork, jewelry, clothing.  It was overwhelmingly consumeristic in this enclosed space.  I wondered if any of it was from China or somewhere else imported.  We did finally find some items to take home.  There was a painting for 250 pesos or cucs that was of an African woman with a rainforest coming out of her head.  It was wonderful.  I thought the Earth Care committee would like it but it was in a different league than I could afford.  We got beads for the Cuban dinner auction. 
 
Time for Bible study.
Tamara gave me a letter to give to Kathy S.
Hermanas de Hermanos
Relacion in Christo (relationship in Christ)
Adelphi a brethren in Acts 57.
Matt. 23.8, 25.40,  Luke 22.32,  John 21.23
Usoen el A.T.  Old Testament hermanos extension to family members
Gen. 13.8, Gen 29.4, Sa 1.26,  (Ez) Esd 6.20 
NT humano
Brethren used 160 X in reference to Christians as they share the same faith and hope.
What makes us sisters and brothers?
Understanding of Jesus himself
(comprehension)
We use the term because –
We are children of God Jon 1.12, I Jon 3. 1,2)
Matt 6.9 we share the same Father.
Invocation of God as Father in OT, 40 X’s (3% of the total)
In the NT 260, X’s (63% of the total)
What does it mean for you to be called by God with the same title bestowed for Jesus? Robert connected this to Gen 26.  We are called to form an assembly.  Ecclesia
The body of X  –  I Corinth 12. 12, 27
How to be a community beyond the local church?  To maintain the common unity of the body we are?  In which ways can we nurture together our faith and keep the bonds tighter?
Story of our 2 church relationships
The Knitting Circle
Su Voz
Main achievements – Building Bridges
2 Cor 5.20 Ambassadors of Reconciliation
 
 
We toured the church.  On the second floor are 4 dorms each with their own bathroom/shower. 7 + 7 and  6 + 6.  There is a sitting area overlooking the sanctuary.  In a few months the Christian Youth will have their meeting/assembly there and will fill up the dorms.  Any group can us it / preferably on religious VISA.  A suggestion—a spiritual practice retreat with the day of action / praxis.
 
            We ended the day with Dominos.  This was a peaceful end – a keeper.  Matt played guitar.
 
 
 
Friday, March 1^st
Matt Matthews
 
            Prior to breakfast, I traipsed around the Luyano campus trying without success to capture some pictures taking advantage of morning light. The light was summery and golden but my pictures turned out flat and uninteresting.
 
            Breakfast was not. As usual, we relished fresh pineapple, guava, bananas, frothy fruit drinks, small shots of hot café, breakfast ‘hotdogs’, an egg scramble, bread, cold water, and hot sweet milk.
 
            Conversation wasn’t so great because I had to sit next to Daniel. Ha, ha. He’s getting pretty good at ‘busting’ me. I’ve been treating him with kid gloves. The gloves will come off at lunch. In my world, joking and a hand on the shoulder means familiarity, friendship, and love.
 
            We piled onto the bus—our rickety, old friend—for a 30-minute drive to Santa Maria del Mar. Robert was the first soul into the ocean. I was the last. We bobbed around as white as fish bellies in bright swim trunks. The deeper water was blue. At the beach, turquoise waves broke into pearl foam. Midway between the beach and the horizon the blues blended into a color I cannot describe, and in midwinter could hardly believe. 
 
            Katerine and Norco are our friendly hosts. Katerine and her twins are moving soon to England. I told her she would miss her Cuba sun and Cuba warm. There’s an ocean in England and the same sun, but there is no scene comparable to this. Cambridge is filled with wonders, but not Cuba’s.
 
            At the Restaurante Costarenas a hundred yards from the beach, we sat outdoors beneath a high tarp. By now, our pink skin needed protection from the bright sun. Katerine, Robert, and I ordered cervezas nacionale. Norco ordered a coke. Judi and Rachel ordered rum and cokes; when the drinks appeared with ice in them, they became immediately alarmed and asked the waiter to take the ice out; nothing poses as egregious a threat to intestinal health as a cube of local ice. Amiably, he returned the drinks sans ice but with more rum. Soon Judi and Rachel were laughing loudly and talking with their hands like native Cubans.
 
            The waiter thought my and Rachel’s pizza was to be an appetizer for the table and the paella was for everyone, which is why we ended up with two whole pizzas and six paellas, a heck of a lunch for just six of us.
 
            I used Judi’s Spanish-English dictionary to shape nonsense sentences, which amused Norco and Katerine. I liked hearing them laugh and watching their faces twist up with delighted smiles. Maybe they were being polite. “Dessert with sugar in a plates,” I said, “to bring happiness to the peoples of the world.” And, “I stamp (sellar) a jungle (selva) with a traffic light (semaforo).” They didn’t know what I was talking about and nobody cared. The laughter seemed meaningful enough.
 
            Towards the end of lunch two men approached with congas and a nylon stringed guitar. They regaled us with an impromptu concert. Nothing quickens one’s pulse like music, especially music well-played, as this was. Spanish speakers in the small crowd of diners—there were maybe ten of them—laughed at the same times. Those of us who didn’t speak Spanish missed the joke, and I told Katrina when we walked to the van later that I wondered if the singers had been making fun of us gringos. On the contrary, she said. They were singing about America. 
 
            I blushed with shame.
 
            I dozed on the bus to the chatter of the others. When we returned to Luyano, we retreated to showers and naps. Marilyn, we were told, would take us to Old Havana tonight. 
            
            We spilled out of our rooms to the patio for reading and conversation. Oswaldo (“not Lee Harvey,” he insisted), Vladimir, Marilyn, Daniel, Hector, and Rosita’s husband all dropped by for afternoon salutations. As the afternoon eased towards evening, we watched the old women in white shirts congregate in the compound for Tai Chi. We talked about joining them, and then we did. We stood up and formed a ragged line behind them. We stretched, massaged our faces with our finger tips, touched our toes (or tried), stood on our toes, pointed our toes, and bent our necks and arms in every direction. The women were flexible and could stand on one foot like flamencos, which is to say they were perfectly balanced. These gentle contortions relaxed me, though made me feel a little like a beached whale as I was the most awkward of our nimble group. At least I was a relaxed beached whale. 
 
            These centering movements took us to another good dinner—this time shrimp creole, salad, baked plantains, and a creamy yellow soup. Daniel arrived late with a six pack of cold Bucanero Cervezas. Cheers!
 
* * *  
 
Dinner
good stuff
always a surprise
we are
blessed
 
Dinner
frutas especiales
much hard work
we are 
loved
 
Silvi
always serves
with a smile
she’s a 
saint
 
* * *
 
            Friday evening was a letdown, one for which, I guess, we were due. Everything else all week had been so amazing. You can’t have one amazing experience after another forever. Carlos faithfully dropped us off at the Iglesia San Francisco in the heart of Old Town Havana. Marilyn, our faithful guide from Luyano, took us through dark alleys until we stepped out onto the wide plaza. We watched a street band play a song, strolled in a circle, sat down at tables on the plaza and tried ordering dessert but they only sold booze, so we got up, walked around in another circle, then found ourselves in a chic second story restaurante that, to our happiness, served ice cream and flan. The cigar smokers in the small club shared their secondhand smoke. The piped-in muzak was too loud and lacked the soul of the tunes outside. Even in the third world one can be beset by first world problems. 
 
            We did devotionals back at the church. Sitting on the patio in perfect weather refreshed me. The stray cats moaned their discontent, however. Maybe one was in heat. Maybe one wasn’t thrilled with our reading from or interpretation of Hebrews.
 
Saturday, March 2^nd
Robert Ferrer
 
We started the day with breakfast: eggs, sausage, fruits, etc.  We prayed for Eric – wishing him our best and good graces as he leads services back home, solo, this weekend.
 
This morning we attend an ESL session led by Osvaldo.
 
Class 18
Videos – Views and discuss in groups
Idiom card games
New song: Bruno Mars, “Just the Way You Are”.
Video review different
Sounds generated by “ed”
watched   –   lived   –   wanted
   (t)                 (d)             (id)
 
Osvaldo told us that many of the rooms in the church were used for school classrooms—but when all the schools were nationalized they had to disband the schools in church. 
 
Next stop is ISECRE—Science of Religions School.  An interfaith school combining secular subjects with religious subjects.  Pastors without training receive degrees.  Adolfo (pink shirt)—founder and director (emeritus). Started as theological school for lay people. Expanded to include all religions. Present: Adolfo, one of the professors and a student, and current director. 126 students current enrollment. 4 – year program.  Also 2 – year masters of religion.
 
Director!
Science of Religion is a major program of the institute.  Important to promote dialog and understanding.  Share spirituality. Unfortunately, government does not accredit the program – under nepotism.  Adolfo: new constitution open to broader values. Both genders are equally represented as students.  Many of the students have already completed university degrees.
 
            We left the institute with a feeling of warmth and amazement – an amazement on how there is so much interest among the Cuban people to learn about each other – to celebrate diversity and understanding…
 
            ALL under the common Cuban flag.  Much to my surprise and delight Daniel (with the enthusiastic support of everyone) took us to Grand Synagogue Bet Shalom.  We entered the sanctuary as the closing prayers were recited.  I was told that no matter where you go you will find the prayer service as familiar as home.  This was certainly the case here. 
 
            From the synagogue we went to the town market. It’s an expansive, busy place with produce and meats. The variety of food competes with anything you’ll find in the produce section of our supermarkets. Went back to our campus church for lunch, readying for our next venture into Old Havana.
 
            For Old Havana City tour, Osvaldo was our guide. We had an “insiders” tour – with Osvaldo’s command of history.  We viewed the Greek Orthodox Church with its magnificent courtyard.  We walked through the Garden of Mother Teresa.  Burned (?) are famous Cubans from all areas of Cuban arts and culture.  We walked through many of the narrow streets of Old Havana – each street full of life and history. 
 
            Café Taberna is where many famous musicians play. The streets were alive with music from street musicians. The courtyard of Arabia had a peacock roaming around. We went inside Cuba’s only mosque.  Palza de Armas was one of many plazas brimming with people. Osvaldo took us to a museum containing a full miniature to scale of Old Havana. One of the highlights of the tour is we stopped at the hotel frequented by Ernest Hemmingway.  Pictures on the wall showed him with many Cuban heroes. We took the elevator to the hotel rooftop where we had an incredible view of the city while drinking Cokes. A special exhibit  at the Cuban cultural center amazed us with the mobiles consisting of birds of peace.  We finally made our way back for a short rest before dinner with Yamilet.
 
            We were greeted by Yamilet and her husband, Rolli. Beautiful home. Gracious hosts. We settled for dinner—What a feast:  chickpea medley, chicken, fish, salad and rice. After dinner, we were introduced to their daughter, Laura. She is studying art at The Institute. Laura showed us her artwork. Special preview. What talent. We all couldn’t help but be very proud of her. After coffee we embraced goodbye and went back to the church. By the way, Yamilet is also an artist and we bought several of her pieces for the church auction.
 

Sunday, March 3^rd
Rachel Matthews
 
 I am grateful for Mercedes – she has prepared our breakfast every day.  We attended Sunday School. We saw many of the people who were helping us during the week (Tamara, Katerine, her boys, Osvaldo). The S.S. lesson was led by Racquel, Katerine’s mother. She began with a devotion on world peace and our praying for it. She prayed for First Presbyterian Church, Champaign.  So did Osvaldo. The Baptist Church was having a work day to recover from the tornado. Luyano Iglesia Presbyterian sent 2 workers.
 
            In class we studied Paul in Hechos / “Acts”.  The women in class could resonate with Paul in the storm. They talked about they themselves in the recent tornado. Paul had courage. Raquel taught the whole lesson without notes. 
 
“Donna and Nancy from Champaign regards from Irene.” 
Osvaldo’s daughter-in-law and friends:  Anessa  (singer?) and Ocidi.
 
Judy read scripture’
Matt served words of institution
Rachel served elements with Yahimi and Pepito and Yamillo.                                          
Lunch was served with the session.  Ahram took pictures.  Rachel ate at the table with Leahi, Ahram and Noico.
 
Evaluating the visit with the session:
 
1.        Logistics /recommendations and food
Guest and house wonderful.
Food was wonderful  –  Santa Silvi
Hospitality good.  Hot water fixed.
Fresh fruits and veggies everyday  –  succeeded!
Felt like we experienced Cuba.
Max crowd 12-15. What is a minimum?
Luyano is happy to have anyone – but 6 is a good minimum.
 
Invitations have to come to Champaign –
Ask for an invitation letter, need one. 
We need to fight for the Cuba embassy to open.
Once you get a visa there is no need for an invitation.
 
2.        Program –
Too busy
Enjoyed  families’  homes, Old Havana, beach
Practical important ministry
Critique of ourselves – learn Spanish
 
3.        Future plans
Spirituality retreat
Prayer and Praxis?
Et labora?  ora caba
 
Su  Vos?   It is written nationally.   Synod  level.
 
Robert – one on one people travelling with group was special.  When we got to worship at the end of the week – we felt we knew you.
 
We will work in Advocacy.  Push for visas so we can see you in Champaign.
 
Judy and all of us would like to feel less like a tourist but don’t know how to make that happen.
Eye opening trip for Matt.
We are grateful
5th of May – Cuba Sunday
Worship planning
Cuban Hymns
_________
Bus
_________
Go to New Orleans – Cuban Partner Network.
 
 
 
Monday, March 4^th
Matt Matthews
 
            On the way home, jostling in the church van, I ponder how I’ll never be able to utter the word “world” from the pulpit ever again without thinking differently. 
 
            Thank you, Cuba.
 
I’ll miss you.
 
Sweating men cutting grass with machetes as Carlos carts us as gently as he can to the airport. Pay phones. A man on his motorcycle—with his goat. Packs of dogs on sidewalks watching the cars whiz by. Los gatos in sunny courtyards. The man sweeping the gutter of a busy city street with a push broom. Bulls and horses tied to stakes on the roadside at the outskirts of the city. Palm trees. Packed city buses, standing room only, filled with people of all ages. Trees with enormous leaves, mimosa leaves, shining leaves, hanging brown pods pointing to the ground like wiccan fingers, pink flowers, orange flowers, red shoots, yellow and lime blooms. The sign on the greenhouse hawking plantas medicinales. Fading pictures of revolution on walls, on billboards, on buildings. Old men playing checkers on benches in the small neighborhood parks. Carlos’ smile in the rearview as he taps the horn twice and waves generously to another passerby he knows. On these roads with the holes and taxis and zipping scooters one hand on the wheel is a gracious plenty
 
Our flight to Miami was uneventful. Upon landing, however, we rushed to customs only to wait in line. Robert had gotten an app a week ago at check in that allowed him to bypass this step. He told us to get that app, too. We didn’t listen. As he sailed through customs, we waited like cattle shifting from foot to foot. Cleared at the last stop, we charged to get our bags, which Robert had gotten for us, then to the gate on concourse H only to discover had we arrived seven-minutes prior we would have gotten our bags on our connecting flight. No worries, the nice lady at the counter said. Flying space available should get us to Atlanta eventually to catch our 9 p.m. connection. 
 
In this unexpected Miami layover, we ate. Heading to our gate, I bought a small fortune’s worth of primo chocolate for the beleaguered troops. Swiss milk chocolate with coconut filling makes everything better. It took the edge off. 
 
WiFi worked in Miami, and like junkies we buried our faces in our phones for a fix. 
 
When Paul Simon recorded So Beautiful or So What largely in his Connecticut home, he accommodated the ambient noises common to a less than perfect soundproofed studio. Acorns, for example, fell on his roof and tapped out their contribution to his guitar passages. He and producer Phil Ramone worked the sounds in. “Everything is music,” Simon said, “when you start to listen.”
 
Missed flights, bumpy rides on a cacophonous church van, poison ice cubes, rationed chocolate, migrating at jet speed from winter to summer and back, and dozens of other inconveniences are all part of the song. Everything is music when you start to listen.
 
* * *
 
            Our flight to Bloomington arrived on time. Jay Geistlinger, dressed in a long black coat akin to priestly robes, greeted us with a beneficent smile. He had draped each of our heavy coats over the chair backs at the table near the restrooms near baggage claim. We struggled to get the strange encumbrances zippered onto our reluctant bodies. Our bags awaited us, and, outside, so did the snow. The temperature when we woke up was 95-degrees warmer. But neither wind-chilled, bitter skies nor jetlagged memories of the warm ocean obstructed the bright stars as we stepped into the cold night for the van ride home.
 
finis
 
 
 
Much love to you all.
 
 PEACE,
 
Matt Matthews
Cell: 864.386.9138
Matt@FirstPres.Church
 
* * *

From your Nurture Team — Last week’s photo challenge was a bit easier, and Judi Geistlinger was the first to correctly identify the photo of Karin Vermillion.   

  
Here’s this week’s photo.

Visit http://fb.com/groups/firstpreschampaign to make your guesses, or email them to photos@firstpres.church.  
 
Please join in the fun!  We are running low on photos, so we would like you to select a photo from your younger years (grade school, high school or early adulthood). Photos need not be professional. Candid shots are welcome. Please send your photos to photos@firstpres.church.