Not so sunny Scotland. That's right, I'm still here!
I know I haven't given you a proper update in some time so I do apologise. Many of you will have been expecting me to have arrived in Cuba by now but things have changed... again!
The last week or so has been pretty hectic and it's not really worth explaining all the details, but I'll do my best to fill you in. Due to various problems and circumstances, Latin Link didn't book my flights before Christmas and so they started to do this after the holidays on the 2nd Jan. After finding flights, they then realised we hadn't heard if my visa was ready yet and so that had to be chased up. Unfortunately the consulate in Cuba was closed on Friday but they were able to get there on Monday and found out that my visa was in fact, not ready. In countries like Cuba, often if you don't chase things up they end up at the bottom of the pile, and this has probably been the case.
We also found out on Monday that the pastor I was going to be living and working with is being moved to another church. He still wants to accomodate and work with me but he has asked for a couple of months to settle in. This doesn't sound like very good news, BUT it turns out he is moving to the church I worked with in Regla in 2012! From the start of my journey organising my Stride placement, I had been told working with this church again was not a possibility and so left my expectation there, however the hope of coming alongside them in service to the Lord has always been a dream in my heart and now God has fulfilled it in a way that none of us could have seen coming!
More news on Monday revealed that the other strider who has been in Cuba from October has decided to leave. She was meant to start teaching english at the baptist seminary in Havana this month and so now the seminary are again in need of an english teacher. This means that I can take up this role while allowing Pastor Delvis some time to adjust in Regla. Although I have no experience of teaching english it has long been something I have had an interest in doing, and so I feel very excited and privileged to be given this role and to help with something that is very much needed. Working at the seminary will give me the opportunity to network with lots of different pastors from various churches which will be very beneficial in terms of potential future ministry in Cuba.
SO, the totally new plan is now that I will leave for Cuba as soon as my visa is ready to go and work in the seminary as an english teacher for 3 months, before going on to work at the church in Regla for the rest of my time.
There is also now a possibility of me staying on in Cuba until November. I want to be in Cuba as long as I can, but Latin Link need to agree to it as do the leadership in Carrubbers, as I would have no other Latin Link members with me in Cuba from July and would be looked after by Pastor Delvis, who is one of the few people that Hollie (LL Cuba short term coordinator) would trust with a strider while she is absent. The other issue is that it means I would miss my formal language training in Costa Rica, but I am hoping through hard work and lots of help from the Holy Spirit and my friends that my Spanish can get where it needs to be for bible college in Jan 2015.
As much as it's another change of plans and I have no idea when I'm going to be leaving, I am so so excited about this new (and hopefully final!) plan. As I look back over the last 5 months, I can now see God's sovereign hand at work in everything that happened, masterfully crafting and composing the events that needed to happen in order for His will to be done. When I first found out that it wasn't possible for me be in Cuba beyond July this year, I was filled with confusion and hurt over what was happening. I felt so strongly about what I felt God had made clear to me about His plan, and yet it had seemed that any possibility of that happening had just been totally erased. I sit here now, knowing that I finally have the answers I was so desperate for back then.
God is the author of my story. He plans all of the twists and turns, shocks and surprises, heartbreak and hurt, while all the time building up to the glorious ending which only He knows but which, we can be certain, will display His ultimate faithfulness and sovereignty over all of our lives. I can be at peace knowing that although I cannot control what happens in my story, I know the author and He is good and He loves me.
Please pray:
- For my visa to come through quickly with no further issues
- For good communication between everyone involved
- Over the possibility of staying in Cuba until November and God would make it clear if it is the right thing
Many, many thanks for all your prayers and support! I feel very blessed to have so many faithful people behind me.
Full of joy for the present and hope for the future,
Amy
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