With all the hubbub surrounding the recent trend toward normalizing relations with Cuba, I thought I would repost this March, 2011 video I recorded in Matanza, Cuba. My friend Tony Fernandez is the bass player in this wonderful string quintet. D`Cámara Opus 5 is popular in Cuba and has toured in the United States, Europe and around the Caribbean. Tony asked me to record them during my visit. Here they perform Johann Strauss, Roses from the South.

The post Not the Cuban music you were expecting. D`Cámara Opus 5, J. Strauss appeared first on Tim Frakes Productions.

The post Havana Cuba appeared first on Tim Frakes Productions.

In the years following the 1956 Cuban Revolution, a hand full of scattered churches of Christ that began in late 1930?s, dwindled to a few hundred members. Today, revival is spreading across the island.

The post Cuban churches of Christ Spread Gospel appeared first on Tim Frakes Productions.

My friend and traveling companion, Tim Archer wrote about our trip to Cuba in his wonderful blog, The Kitchen of Half-Baked Thoughts. His post is a nice review of our visit.

Opening roads in Cuba
Posted on March 8, 2011 by Tim Archer

Back from my trip to Cuba last week, I want to share some more of what I experienced there. I’ve written in the past about the evangelistic efforts going on in the province of Matanzas, but I’m still overwhelmed every time I see the work in person. The Versalles congregation in Matanzas decided to reach out to communities around the city, something that the church had done before the Revolution.

They chose a road that led from Matanzas to the province of Havana (which now has been split in two and renamed, though I don’t remember the names). They prayed for those towns, asked members to give them names of people they knew in those towns, contacted respondents to Herald of Truth’s radio programs and set out to start churches. When someone was converted, they were told that the church would meet at their house the following Sunday. Those people would always invite family, friends and neighbors, and a new congregation was born.

After a time, congregations had begun in every town on the road they had chosen, so they picked another highway. When all the towns had churches meeting in them, a third highway was chosen. The church is now working on a fourth highway in their province.

The last few years, the Versalles congregation and the churches planted from it have averaged 280 baptisms per year. The retention rate is high. The number of Christians meeting in the province has basically tripled since 2006.

While describing their outreach methods to a visitor from Alabama, Tony Fernández made a statement that brought tears to my eyes:

When we are out and we come to a town that doesn’t have a congregation, we always stop and have a prayer for that town. Above all, we pray asking forgiveness for not having reached them yet.

Wow! I wish I felt the same passion, the same urgency. Maybe some of theirs will rub off on me

The post Tim Archer Thoughts on Cuba Trip appeared first on Tim Frakes Productions.

Recorded these images on a farm outside Matanzas, Cuba. The farmer is 69 years old and obviously physically fit!

The post Ancient Rythm of a Cuban Farm appeared first on Tim Frakes Productions.