the Children of Cuba By José Morales*
We Go to “ The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst: the young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them” (Lam. b:U). T HE importance o f Cuba as a mission field, especially for work among children, cannot be disregarded. Eternity alone will reveal the results o f our efforts dur ing our short stay there. Certainly it will take eternity to thank God for the blessed privilege we enjoyed this past summer in that field. The doors o f opportunity were wide open; we could work to our hearts’ desires. An example of this was in the Baptist Church o f Havana where hundreds came to know the Lord while we were there. Another was with the children at Rancho Boyero. Near the highway that leads to the airport, which is at the same time the highway to Cabanas and Pinar del Rio, is Santiago de la Vega. This town is morally decadent and econom ically ruined. The condition o f the homes illustrates the state o f the peo ple. They consist of two or three forked poles holding up a roof o f cor rugated iron as protection from the *Spanish instructor at the Bible In stitute o f Los Angeles
from the valuable lessons the two regular workers were giving. The two main points being stressed were personal hygiene and marriage rela tions. This in spite o f the fact that the children were all from six to f i f teen years of age! In our first meeting fifty attended. The girls in our party will never for get the warm welcome they received. With outstretched arms, kisses and a bouquet o f wild flowers picked along the road on their way to church, these dear children showed their love and appreciation. I could not hide my emotions at this demonstration. Nat urally I could only promise we would be there every Saturday as long as we were in Havana. At 9:30 in the morning we started singing hymns familiar to them, as “ Onward Chris tian Soldiers,” “ Holy, Holy, Holy,” and other old favorites. A fter a word o f prayer, I gave them the object les son with the Gospel Nut. They were especially impressed with the red representing the cleansing blood of Christ. How they drank in the gospel message! In less than five minutes they had memorized all the verses that accompany the lesson. The conduct of the children was (Continued on Page 20) T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
tropical rain. The iron, in turn, is held down by rocks so that the wind will not carry it away. My compan ions and I had the opportunity o f en tering into the mud huts these people call home, and coming face to face with the miserable conditions which are commonplace in the lives o f both children and adults. Santiago de la Vega is divided into three sections: Rancho Grande, Ran cho Boyero and Santiago. There is a small church seating one hundred persons, constructed by the Central Methodist Church. Some young ladies from this church are occupied in child evangelism work. They extended an invitation to our group, and thus we had the opportunity o f going to San tiago and its children. Before I go into details o f the mis sionary work, I am sorry to state that tuberculosis is running rampant in Cuba, and there are no adequate means o f caring for its victims. The hospital is little more than a large tract o f land covered with a roof of sugar-cane stalks. Death is a familiar visitor. Our group was well received by the natives. I shall never forget my first impression, not only from the hungry expectation o f children, but also
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