Story number 4 for 8 Mar 2002

(Cuba)–Elsewhere, food shortages continue in Cuba, despite a 32-million dollar food deal between the U-S and the island’s government. However, tensions between the countries are mounting again over Cuba’s link to terrorism. The ups and downs of politics means the burden of helping the people falls on Christians. Medical Ambassadors International’s John McWilliams. “People are hungry, spiritually. They can see that, physically, there’s a lot of dead ends and they’re having a difficult time; this opens them up spiritually to look beyond the physical. We have a plan to spread at least another four to six teams in other areas of the island, once we get a model established for this work.” McWilliams says their major mode of ministry is through Community Health Evangelism (CHE). He adds that people are responding with voracious appetite. “The churches we’re working with are using what is called the ‘cell’ or ‘family group’ method of growth, because they cannot build churches. It is illegal for them to build churches, so, they’re spreading out through the family.”