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FIEL International is a non-profit organization that seeks to empower Christian leaders with the resources they need to build sustainable, discipleship-centered ministries in Cuba.
Dear friends of FIEL, Happy New Year! Exciting update: Adam and I are planning to return to Alamar, Cuba on Friday, January 14th to Monday, January 17th! Due to COVID travel restrictions, this is our first trip since September 2019, when we got to travel there with some of you!
We are so excited to be together in person with Arturo - to sit across a table drinking Cuban coffee, to pray together, to brainstorm discipleship strategies in Alamar, and to solidify further construction plans on the ministry headquarters building. These kinds of conversations and moments are what inspired our logo design, because they are central to FIEL’s mission of (F)inding, (I)nspiring, and (E)quipping (L)eaders to build sustainable discipleship ministries in Cuba. But, as you have read in previous emails from us, it has been an eventful, difficult last couple of years in Cuba to say the least. Our dear friends in Alamar have been through so much, and so much has changed. Naturally, we are both excited — and a bit nervous — for this long-anticipated trip. Philippians 4:6-7 (The Message Version) says, “Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”
We want to invite you into our excitement and worries, so that together we can turn them into prayer. Specifically, please pray with us for:
Discernment on what donations to take now and what to save for our next trip. Thanks to your generosity, we have more donations than we can take with us.
Safe, smooth travels to Havana and back to the United States.
Protection from COVID during our trip. We of course do not want COVID ourselves, but more importantly we do not want to bring COVID to Alamar. And, we would rather not get stuck in Cuba (the US requires proof of a negative test to return from any country).
Effective communication and fruitful conversation. Adam and I are both conversational in Spanish, but it definitely takes a lot of energy and concentration (and God’s power) to communicate complicated ideas and understand everything said to us, especially since it has been so long since we’ve been able to return to Cuba.
Energy and endurance. Traveling to Cuba, even after many years, is still a huge cultural adjustment, and there are many complexities added to this trip this year as we've shared in our 2021 email updates (currency consolidation, political instability, COVID). Pray for us to be rooted in the Holy Spirit as He ministers to and through us.
Vision/clarity from God on what discipleship ministry in Alamar can look like going forward. After a long time of pushing pause on many of our goals and strategies, we want to be open to God leading us, whether it is a return to previous goals and strategies or a call to some new ones.
We are so grateful for your friendship and for your prayers! Please mark January 14th-17th on your calendar to be praying for God’s plan to be lived out during these upcoming days.
Grace and peace,
Chas & Adam
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