Tim Archer Thoughts on Cuba Trip
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Carribean, Travel
Tony Fernandez baptises a man at the Versaille Church of Christ in Matanzas, Cuba.
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
Tags: Church, churches of Christ, Cuba, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel
Ancient Rythm of a Cuban Farm
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Carribean, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel
Recorded these images on a farm outside Matanzas, Cuba. The farmer is 69 years old and obviously physically fit!
Tags: Caribbean, Cuba, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel, Video
D`Cámara Opus 5, J. Strauss
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Carribean, Culture, Education, Interesting People, Music, Tim Frakes Productions
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 in Matanza, Cuba. Here they perform Johann Strauss, Roses from the South.
Tags: Caribbean, Cuba, Johann Strauss, Music, Tim Frakes Productions
Reporting from a Farming Co-op in Northern Haiti
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Carribean, Disaster, Interesting Places, Peace and Justice, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel
Church World Service and Odyssey Networks in New York asked me to record a greeting while in Haiti, January 3-9, 2011 to mark the one year anniversary of the earthquake. This report was recorded in a tiny village called Mayombe in Northern Haiti.
Tags: Church World Service, Haiti, Justice, Odyssey Networks, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel, Video
Haiti One Year Later
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Carribean, Causes, Disaster, Interesting Places, News, Peace and Justice, Tim Frakes Productions
One year after the January 12, 2010 earthquake, Haiti struggles to rebuild. Yet, signs of hope emerge through sustainable development and rural agricultural co-operateves. Chris Herlinger, Church World Service, reports from Haiti.
Tags: Church World Service, Development, Haiti, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel, Video
Rebuilt Homes for Haiti’s Disabled
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Carribean, Disaster, Peace and Justice, Tim Frakes Productions, women
James Mwangi is a building engineer volunteering with the Mennonite Central Committee, a partner of Church World Service in Haiti. Mwangi is part of a team that assesses damage and helps to rebuild the homes of Haiti’s dissabled.
Tags: Church, Church World Service, Haiti, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel, Video, women
Rebuilt Homes for Haiti’s Dissabled
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Carribean, Disaster, Peace and Justice, Tim Frakes Productions, women
James Mwangi is a building engineer volunteering with the Mennonite Central Committee, a partner of Church World Service in Haiti. Mwangi is part of a team that assesses damage and helps to rebuild the homes of Haiti’s disabled.
Tags: Church, Church World Service, Haiti, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel, Video, women
Music Education: A Sign of Hope in Haiti
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Carribean, Disaster, Education, Interesting People, Interesting Places, Music, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel
January 12, 2010, Holy Trinity Cathedral in downtown Port Au Prince Haiti was destroyed by an earthquake. One year later, a youth orchestra rehearses in a shelter next to the ruined sanctuary. It is a sign of hope in Haiti.
Tags: Church, Education, Haiti, Music, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel, Video
Haiti: One Year After
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Carribean, Disaster, Education, Faith Based Production, Interesting Places, Peace and Justice, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel
The first days of 2011 find me returning to Haiti, exactly one year after the January 2010 earthquake that killed a reported 230,000 people and left tens of thousands more hurt and homeless. This trip, I will be working with a communications team from Church World Service. Church World Service works with partners in the U.S. and around the world to build interfaith and intercultural coalitions to eradicate hunger and poverty and promote peace and justice.
We plan to record footage for videos relating to sustainable development. It is a great honor to be asked to be part of this team. I believe that finding ways to address Haiti’s immediate and long term needs is important work.
Tags: Church World Service, Haiti, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel
Raise Your Voice
Posted by timfrakes | Filed under Africa, Carribean, Causes, Disaster, Faith Based Production, Peace and Justice
This is a music video in support of CROP Hunger Walks. Music by singer/songwriter K.C. Clifford. Following the January 2010 earthquakes in Haiti, I recorded footage that Church World Service used in this video. I even noticed a shot that Jim Quattrocki and I recorded in Tanzania more than a decade ago. Great to see this stuff put to good use!
Tags: Africa, Church, Haiti, Hunger, Tim Frakes Productions, Travel, Video