exactly one month from today...

...we will travel to Miami and board a plane for Havana, Cuba. It's been a while since I last posted and honestly this blog hasn't quite taken off as the creators had wished...but we've just been prepping. Our travel dates were pushed back due to our Visa request. Unfortunately, the date change affected several original team members but luckily David and I could still go! We have 11 people on our team now and we met last night for a time of fellowship and logistics.

I'm proud to announce that David is now our Team Leader :) Although, he has not been on the Cuba Mission before he will lead our team. There are several people on our team that have been multiple times before so they will help guide him. Once we land in Havana all of the planning and logistics will be led by Father Carlos.

Also, due to the rescheduling we will not be working at the Vacation Bible School in Cardenas, but rather working at the Farm and leading our own small VBS for the parish children and helping with farm tasks. Should be hot, but interesting. I heard that last night the small village has a dance party almost every night and it is most proper if we participate - I'm in!

The new dates of our mission will be August 2-11, 2010. Please continue to pray for mission team and the Cubans we will encounter.

Until then...we will be packing, collecting supplies to take down, and preparing our hearts and minds for our trip.

what's in a name

Havana daydreamin'
Boy he'll be dreamin'
His life away

Doesn't exactly have any correlation with this post except for the name but we liked it. Sadly, my Cuban song title suggestion was denied and I had never heard of this Jimmy Buffet song, go figure. David is a huge Jimmy Buffet fan and when given the task to name the blog he did so quite quickly and with enthusiasm {really}. Havana Daydreamin' was also the title to his 1976 album...can you tell {see picture above}. I did a little research and came up with a few fun facts, albeit it's from Wikipedia so please forgive me if I provide you with any false information...

It is Buffet's most successful album to date.

Havana Daydreamin' reached #65 on the Billboard 200 album chart and #21 on the Billboard Top Country Albums Chart.

None of the three singles from this album charted.

welcome

Dear friends and family,

We are writing you to ask for your prayers, support and financial gifts as we prepare for a mission trip to Cuba with St. Peter's Anglican Church in Tallahassee, Fl. With God’s grace, Mary and I will be traveling July 18-27, 2010 as chaperones to high school youth as we help lead a week-long Vacation Bible School and High School Summer Camp to students of St. Peter’s companion church – San Pedro Apostol. We will also have the great opportunity to bring supplies and work first hand in San Pedro’s farm that is producing abundant crops and fresh milk for the Cuban parishioners of our companion and sister churches. Our team’s mission for this trip is to expose St. Peter’s students to the work of Christ in the world, to develop personal growth in our spiritual journey, have the opportunity to serve others, make new friends, and experience Christ’s love in another culture.

Cuban students work diligently throughout the entire year to be able to attend Vacation Bible School and the High School camp. It is their reward for working hard and they look forward to this experience.

A typical day for us during our trip will include: VBS in the morning and organized afternoon and evening activities. We will start our trip in Havana for one day and then in nearby Cardenas for the duration. One of our activities with the youth will be an afternoon at beautiful Cardenas beach. This trip will be a luxury for both the Americans and Cubans. Like Florida, Cuba’s beaches are at arm’s length and one is no more than an hour away at any given location. However, the cost of transportation does not allow Cubans to freely enjoy this Godly creation that we take so easily for granted. We look forward to taking the youth to enjoy an afternoon at the beach – for some it will be there first time – as well as many other wonderful activities planned. Mary hopes that one afternoon she will get to go dancing and have the Cubans show her some moves!

The approximate total cost for both of us to be able to go on this journey is $3000. We pray for God’s provision for ourselves and the rest of the mission team. The majority of our payments are due by May 1^st. Please consider donating to our missions fund so that we might be able to share the glory of God’s eternal love. The total $3000 cost will go towards our visa, travel airfare and taxes, meals, camp supplies, and other miscellaneous costs. We will be allowed into Cuba on a Religious Visa and although 90% of the economy is controlled by their government many Cuban people are filled with the love of God and truly live out the Gospel message.

If you are at all interested in sending a monetary donation it would be greatly appreciated! Please e-mail Mary at marycaroline04@hotmail.com for more information. We will send you a Cuba 2010 prayer magnet we sent out with our actual letters. If anything please keep up with us on the blog as we prepare for our journey in July.

We are both very excited for what the Lord has planned for us and all participants (even you!) in this mission trip. I have been on several mission trips with St. Peter’s and this will be Mary’s first. Your prayers are most important as we prepare for our trip. We want to be a blessing to those who we encounter in Cuba and them in turn a blessing to us. But ultimately what we desire for most, is that the love of Jesus Christ is shared throughout all nations – those less fortunate than ours and even our own country.

Blessings,

David and Mary