Last week I spent some time with Brother Jim Roe, Missionary to Cuba from First Baptist Milford, Ohio. He and I worked through some licensing issues for Cuba and discussed plans and how we can work together more in the future on our mutual plans. Cooperation is a beautiful thing! Cooperation is what this commitment is all about. It is our burden to see Cuba completely evangelized, and to see her sending out missionaries from the Churches there to the rest of the World. Impossible? NO! We have seen God work great miracles. None of these miracles could have been done without some dedicated cooperation.

You as the intercessor have a major impact on this commitment. You cooperate or "come into agreement" with us each time you intercede with us. Metropolitan Baptist has worked as a facilitator for almost seven years. As facilitator we help groups, whether they be Missionaries to Cuba, or while congregations. We try to bring together our common objectives for Cuba and shed some light of understanding for the whole group. We assist Missionaries and Churches with our common burden in anyway necessary to fulfill their plans. We do this by creating common plans from our common objectives without taking a particular position of leadership in the discussion or actions. We host meetings to assist the group to find common ground, even helping them achieve a consensus so that we can work together in a spirit of cooperation. This has proven to be very powerful and we hope that other Churches will see this and build upon it for their own commitments. We are not a board, a missions agency, nor do we pressure anyone into a decision. In fact if all the men we know quit the commitment, Metropolitan is still called to go! Remember what Paul said in Romans 11:29- "For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance." We have to go, we just want to be as effective as possible while we are going. Everyone has their positions, carry out their own plans, and develop their own strategies. We just want to come along side them and aid in any way we can to see Cuba Commitment come to completion. Brother Jim Roe, Brother Bruce Martin, and Brother Robert Creech, among others, all have plans and work hard to carry those out. We just try to assist them in our common burden.

What we want to do next as the facilitator is explain to you the common burden we all have… see more Disciples in Cuba winning and discipling more Cubans. We see this being done much more powerfully by Latin American Pastors and Missionaries. As I stated in my last article…they can fly in and work virtually undetected, and can get more done than the American Missionary. As Facilitator we would like you to also cooperate with us and help us with the expenses of these fine men going on our behalf. It will cost $1000.00 per person per week to cover the costs of travel. We want to send two at a time for effectiveness. Last week I reported 5 trips have been spoken for by volunteers from Latin America. This last week 2 more men in Venezuela came forward as well. It is our desire to make a trip a month for 10 days a trip. This will be a grand total of $15,000.00. Will you consider this and pray steadfastly with us for this need?

Intercession

To recap this update we ask that you pray for these needs specifically and look over the letter for more details asking God to provide you with illuminated insight and discernment.

· Pray for wisdom as we help the group make plans and carry them out.

· Pray for wisdom of the Cuban men.

· Pray for funds to come in soon to send men from Central America to Cuba for further Discipleship training of the Cuban nationals.

· Pray for special insight with wisdom as to these travel plans we are making for the rest of the year.

· Pray for this Commitment - as we move into Satan's kingdom - he will fight back.

In HIS Service,

Travis A. Jones

Associate Pastor

Cuba Commitment Director

…responding to a burden