Great joy occurs when we realize God is with us on our journey, and that joy increases when we remember the wonderful things God has done for us along the way. Today, I want to focus on God’s presence with us throughout our process of building bridges of solidarity between the Alliance of Baptists in the United States and the Fraternity of Baptist Churches in Cuba.

Celebrating the Fraternity’s 20^th anniversary — founded September 8, 1989 — gives us yet another reason to pause and remember what has given us strength. It is a time that calls us to intensify our work and to reaffirm our commitment to nurture and harvest the seeds planted since our ministry began.

The Fraternity of Baptists in Cuba has a wonderful history, defined by a distinctive philosophy:

• A thoughtful, inclusive ecclesiology through which we see ourselves as a community of equals with full participation of women and men of all ages,
• A theology that compels us to discover and celebrate the presence of God in our time and context,
• A commitment to sharing the whole gospel of Jesus,
• An understanding that the God of the Bible is the God of all peoples and of all nations,
• An ethic that affirms the whole of life from the integrated perspective we as human beings need, and
• A vision sustained in the biblical and theological principles of our mission as the church of Jesus Christ in our time.

Identifying those who had a similar philosophy as the Fraternity of Baptists in Cuba and who wanted to partner with us led us to the Alliance of Baptists. This, at first, hopeful relationship became intimate and personal as we discovered the many things we have in common. We are alike in our evangelism, in our thoughtful theology, in recognizing the importance of women in ministry and the contributions of the laity. We seek our unity in the midst of diversity and in the acceptance of being fully human with our individual personal characteristics.

Our relationship with the Alliance has been determinate in the development of our denomination in Cuba. Your annual contributions and your support for all we do have been decisive in the success of many of our activities. Collaborating with the Alliance has helped us to:

• Pair churches in Cuba with ones in the United States. The telling of stories and experiences of faith has strengthened the bonds between us.
• Foster biblical, theological, and pastoral formation among Cubans through scholarships for students, resulting in pastors who have graduated with bachelor’s through master’s degrees.
• Expand missionary work, resulting in new churches in 12 of the 14 Cuban provinces.
• Acquire and refurbish land and buildings to organize new churches.
• Acquire two retreat camps in strategic areas — Molino Verde, near Havana, and Bethania, in the center of the country — which have facilitated the growth and strengthening of our work by allowing us to have workshops, summer camps, national assemblies for women, and various celebrations.
• Obtain educational resources to strengthen our program of pastoral education.
• Acquire transportation that has helped us elevate our work to the national level, as well as office space in the capital of Havana.
• Give financial help to others, helping hurricane victims to repair their homes.

Our partnership has allowed us to share the good news of Christ in a country that has lived — and is living — through economic difficulties. We thank God and the Alliance for accompanying us for these 20 years. Our partnership has helped the Fraternity to be faithful to the gospel during difficult times, and we pray that God continues to strengthen our relationship.