Sometimes ministry doesn’t go as planned. We went to the city dump to bless the poorest of the poor, and it turned into chaos. But out of that, Pastor Jose started meeting with people there, and eventually, a church was planted right in the middle of the dump. God really does work all things together for good when our motives are right.
May you be encouraged that what you give is doing this around the world. You may never see it on the news, but your generosity is making an eternal impact.
Some of you may not have funds to give, but you have your life. That’s the biggest treasure. Maybe God is calling you to give the biggest treasure of all—your life. Jesus speaks of recompense; salvation comes by grace, but recompense is something you get for what you did. God is observing us. We need to make the most of the time we have.
Jesus said, “Store up your treasures in heaven.” We know how to save for retirement, how to protect our families, but have you ever thought about intentionally storing treasures in heaven? There are ways no one knows about—praying in your closet, giving of your time, loving others. God notices everything.
If you give to missions, you have a full purpose. Don’t be deceived—you may not know where your money goes, but God keeps record of everything. It does make a difference. There is fruit, eternal fruit, and you will see that fruit when you step into eternity.
Just three weeks ago, Norlin told me about a young man named Gyrus. He was baptized in February, and now, just eight months later, he and his grandmother have started a discovery group that’s grown into a little church. He baptized 25 people in a small pool. That’s the power of multiplication when people are obedient to God’s call.
Their children’s pastor is so creative—he makes crafts by hand for dozens of kids, using whatever he can find. They walk through the neighborhood, calling, “The children, the children!” and kids follow them back to church. It all started with loving the children, and now the adults are coming to see what’s happening.
There’s a couple in Havana who started a church in a squatter village. She’s an Olympian, a gold medalist, but she makes just $11 a month. Yet she’s more joyful serving God, feeding the homeless and the poor, than she ever was traveling the world. Her greatest treasure is loving and serving others in Jesus’ name.
Every Monday night, Pastor Jose goes to the park, not a safe place, but he shows up with a plastic bin of stew. Whether there are 30 or 95 people, there’s always enough. It’s like the feeding of the five thousand—the food never runs out until the last person is fed. Their faith moves me.
Just because you say, “Oh, I’m retired and I’m pushing 80-some,” I’ve heard testimonies of people that have been called a little bit further in the mileage of their life, and God uses them as well. Don’t let age or anyone esteem you as something less because of your age. There are people waiting for some of you.
The third church Norlin started is called the Homeless Church. For a whole year, they didn’t do services—they just fed, bathed, shaved, and loved on the homeless. Neighbors who weren’t believers saw what was happening and started helping, making meals and giving what they could. That’s how the love of Christ spreads.
Norlin, one of the pastors, has a passion for reaching his community. He’s not just feeding children—he’s feeding the homeless and the elderly, serving thousands of meals each month. He knows this is the way to reach people in the midst of crisis: by loving them in practical ways.
In Cuba, we started feeding a couple hundred kids one day a week. But then, as people caught the vision, they began feeding two days, then three days a week. Now, in just two years, we’re feeding about 5,700 children, two to three times a week. It may not seem huge, but in Cuba, it’s a miracle.
These are the kinds of things you won’t see in the news. Nobody knows about this, but it’s really happening. People are accepting Christ in incredible ways, passionate and hungry for God. This is the fruit of faithful ministry that often goes unnoticed by the world.
When we show up to distribute Bibles, crowds gather from the neighborhood. People extend their hands, hungry for the Word of God. I see faces light up with joy, some even weeping as they receive a Bible. It’s a reminder of how precious God’s Word is, and how hungry people are for hope.
The Bible discovery groups in Cuba are so simple—just people gathering on a porch or in a humble home, reading Scripture together, asking, “What does this mean to you? How will this change your life?” Even before they accept Christ, they’re already learning to share what they’ve discovered. That’s how the gospel is spreading.
Sometimes we look at numbers and think, “Wow, a thousand professions of faith every month!” But when you look closer and see that churches aren’t growing and people aren’t being baptized, you realize something’s missing. It’s not just about decisions; it’s about discipleship, about walking with people and helping them grow in their faith.
