I’m writing this from a hotel room in Miami, waiting my trip to Cuba for one last class in the youth ministry program.
Tomorrow morning, I take off for Cienfuegos and then to Santa Clara. I’ll be co-teaching the last class in the three year youth ministry program with Randy Smith, the President of Youth Ministry International.
Next week, we’ll have a graduation. I’ll take tons of pics and video, and I’ll put it up when I get back.
Yesterday, we went to Xochimilco with our friends, the Torberts, their family, and Joel, a missionary in England (who used to live in Mexico City). We had a great time on the boats, listening to Mariachi music and eating quesadillas and other great Mexican food.
Xochimilco is a great place to go (despite the traffic to get there from the north end of the city), and it’s really fun if you want to experience Mexican culture.
Here are some pictures of Xochimilco, Mexico.
It cost us 160 pesos to rent the boat for an hour, and the vendors come alongside you in their own boat selling drinks, food, and entertainment. It’s like a Mexican Venice. We had a blast!
I wrote a guest post over at Life in Student Ministry about free software that I love.
It’s a list of downloadable software that you can use for photos, audio, video, office/publishing, security and utilities, study, and web stuff. Check it out.
What are some other free applications I should have included?
I went downtown yesterday with Huberto to buy him his graduation present at the “Plaza de Tecnologia,” or, as I like to call it, the Mexican Best Buy. It’s a huge building (it takes up like a city block) with a bunch of electronics kiosks in it.
In the maze of corridors, you can find anything you want that has to do with computers. It’s totally an experience to go into the crowded place with everyone yelling at you asking you what you are looking for, what you need, etc. Huberto had gotten some stuff stolen when he was at a youth drug rehabilitation center visiting one of the students in his ministry, so we replaced some of that stuff for him for his graduation gift.
Anyway, at the Fine Arts Palace (Palacio de Bellas Artes), they had these huge bronze heads outside, and I got a picture with them. We also got a picture of Huberto kissing one of them.
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There are people in life that do great things but go unseen, or their legacy is known to only a few. Today as I was grading papers from my class on Camps and Retreats, I came across one such hero.
Helen Black was a missionary in Cuba long before the revolution. She arrived in Cuba in the 40’s and founded an interdenominational campground known as “Mi Campamento.” Her work with young people raised up some of the greatest Christians who would carry on the work of the gospel in a country where it hasn’t always been easy to be a Christian.
She was also a professor at the New Pines Seminary, and “Aunt Helen” was known for her ability to teach the Bible. She loved Cuba and dedicated her life to the Cuban people. She died in Cuba at the age of 84, but her legacy lives on in the lives of Christian leaders and young people who still attend activities at the camp she founded.
I pray that my life can have an impact like Helen’s life did. She may not be known to man, but she had an eternal impact in the Kingdom of God.
What about you? Do you have any good stories of unknown heroes who have impacted you or the lives of those around you?
