Cuban Pastor Alberto Castilla Visits Panama Featured

Written by  Tom Franklin Published in: D.R. Blog On: 13 April 2013 Read: 4024 times
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Pastor Alberto Castilla enjoying his first McDonald’s
They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and this one is very historic and many of you have had a lot to do with this. The man on the left in this picture is Pastor Freddy Centeno. He grew up in my father-n-law's ministry and started a church in a now annexed (used to be a part of Nicaragua) part of Costa Rica called Liberia.  When Regina and I went to do our internship in Costa Rica my father-n-law was working on several projects (Sunday School building ect.) in Liberia and so we spent quite a lot of time with Freddy Centeno's former church learning the ropes of ministry from my father-n-law John Barnes. Freddy became the first missionary sent out of the churches my father-n-law started and went to Panama where he has since started several more churches which Regina and I have visited and ministered to in the past. The man on the right is Pastor Alberto from Guanabacoa, Cuba.  Pastor Alberto and his wife Lissett (a Pediatric Dentist) were the directors of the Manna center there, which was the 5th center we started in Cuba way back then.  Alberto and Lissett when we were forced to leave, were just learning the ropes of ministry and several years later lost their Pastor - Pastor Lazaro (who also was the head of the Manna ministry in Cuba). When Lazaro left the ministry - this left us in a pickle in how to continue to fund these ministries . . . (due to us not being in the country) which Pastor Byron Willis was facilitating for us from David, Panama. (The story of how Byron and I met the Panamanian family during Pastor Byron's annual missions conference and how they were used by the Lord during this time is a very special story indeed.)  However after a lot of prayer and council with Bro. Barnes and the leaders of the Fellowship in Costa Rica (who committed to visit Cuba twice a year), it was decided to suspend MANNA due to the leadership vacuum that Pastor Lazaro had left and so that the churches would depend on the Lord during the very difficult times they were going through. Needless to say, making the call to Chuck Ward that day was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever had to make. Yet, God had a plan and the churches survived the storms of persecution and grew from 4 churches to 7 and Pastor Alberto who took over leadership at Pastor Lazaro's church has been at the center of that for the last 5 years. That leads us to this picture and many more pics and communications we have received over the last few days.  You see no one in our churches in Cuba have ever been outside of there own country - Pastor Alberto is the first. Not only, I'm, sure is he enjoying his first McDonald's hamburger but many other firsts as well. What is more amazing is that he and I'm sure other Brothers and Sisters that have helped him in Cuba - made the churches in Panama and Missionary Freddy Centeno his priority on his first official visit outside of the country. Why Panama? - of all the countries - SMILE - this is where the story gets even more miraculous. In November and December of 2004 of last full year we were in Cuba we had 4 – 4 day faith promise missions conferences in Cuba. It was incredible – all our people were on cloud nine – they came in 1950 classic cars – motorcycles – horses, buggies – I have never seen anything like it -– the kids from the MANNA centers had choirs, they had special food, they dressed up, lessons were presented and the people were able to see videos from another country and and talk to their home missionaries to get a feel for their burden - each conference was completely different and was one of the biggest blessings that Regina and I ever participated in while in Cuba.  Giving to other people to evangelize not only in Cuba but to others in another country – was completely brand new to our people. They had always felt that they were the ones that needed the help and had never in their life considered helping others outside their country. When they were confronted with the fact that they had a responsibility to participate in the Great Commission and shown a plan to accomplish that – they caught the vision and they caught it with passionate heart and gave like I have never seen them give. Each church was able to take on for support two home missionaries and one foreign missionary. Regina and I still have one of the greatest treasures we own from those conferences. That is the very first faith promise missions card from Guanajay, Cuba - the first church we started in 2002.  In August and September Guanajay was devastated by two consecutive Hurricanes – Hurricane Charley (which went right over our house) and hurricane Ivan. 200 homes in Guanajay were completely gone. One of those homes was the very first family Noel and I led to the Lord in that first church – Michel and Yenisledis. Because this family – literally lost everything – the church to encourage them moved their entire services the week of the conference to the foundation of where there house had stood – it was one of the most moving things I have ever seen – Sunday night they collected 67 cards – and of all the cards collected within the four conferences I asked the Pastor's if I could keep this one card. The card was - Jasmin Breto's card (it is still in our possession) – Age 9 – who was one of the first girls who accepted Christ in the first Manna center in Guanajay - she wrote on that card - without any help, without growing up in a Christian home, without ever having attended a faith promise missions conference in her life and without any income – she wrote - I promise to give to missions per week – 1 Peso and my heart.  When I read that card in the conference - the first one selected - I knew right then that she had captured something that many people in the world never understand – she realized she needed not only to give of her limited resources by faith but to pour her whole life out and to give her heart in service to Him. To this day we are reminded by Jasmin's story that our job is to not get distracted from the little one's in this life and her story and that of many others, have continued to drive us to do more and more for Him.  Finally as Paul Harvey used to say - now the rest of the story - that first foreign missionary presented back in 2004 - that first field that was shared during those 4 missions conferences almost 10 years ago was none other than Missionary to Panama Freddy Centeno. Today after many years they have sat down and fellowshiped together in Panama for the first time. We want to thank every one today that has been apart of our ministry over the last 15+ years. Thank you for the part you and many others had to do with this seemingly innocent picture and story. God is good! Is 55:8 - "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD."
 
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Last modified on Wednesday, 07 December 2016 19:30
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