El Cerro, Havana
Conducted by
Elder Glenn H. Hill
with the support of
Mrs. Mary Alice Hill and Dr. Lucinda Sue Hill
and Ruber Alvarez, local church pastor.
| We arrived at the El Cerro SDA Church (▼, left) to find a well-lighted and comfortable facility. Soft music came from the building and there were many children seated on the floor at the front of the church. An excited Pastor Alvarez (▼, right) told us, "I've never seen this many people in my church!" | |
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| People began arriving by all means of transportation, except cars! They came by bus, they walked, and used bicycles, including a three-wheeled "tricycle" (►). |
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The two ladies who were Mistresses of Ceremony, got the program off to an excellent beginning with their comments and music. One of the early highlights of the evening was the awarding of door prizes, which included pamphlets and Bibles. |
| Dr. Lucinda Hill (►, daughter of Pastor Glenn Hill) and
her translator (Rosalina Ibañez Morales) gave an
excellent health-nugget on how to prevent diseased arteries. These health
presentations are given every night before the message.
Then Pastor Glenn Hill (▼) presented the evening message to a packed church. It is interesting to note that since his retirement in 1995 Elder Hill has conducted over 30 evangelistic campaigns, eight of which were during 2001! |
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One thing that impressed all of us at each church we visited was the good quality sound systems (▼, right). To say that they have been "patched together" is an understatement. But they all work very well. It seems like components from every electronics manufacturer in the world are in use somewhere in one of these churches. |
 Air "conditioned" on the "condition" that you turn on the fan! |
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| While in these reports we have been emphasizing the children in attendance in each of the sites the audiences are always mixed and include both babes in arms all the way to those from an older generation (►). |
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It was at this church we met Pedro Lázaro Sorriba, 39 years of age (◄). His childhood was very hard and while his mother was good to him his father never gave him anything. Religion was not part of their family's life. As a teenager he joined the military and fought in Angola. There he saw many terrible things happen including the death of many comrades in arms. His heart told him something was wrong. Pedro learned to love the fast life of women and alcohol. He married and had a daughter, Naila. Later his divorced and moved to another province. After their divorce his wife and daughter were both baptized as Seventh-day Adventists. Later Naila became very sick with a bone disorder that became so serious she could not walk. She asked her father to pray for her. When he heard these words it changed his values and he became a softer, more compassionate person. For days he could think of nothing else but Naila and Christ. One day he said, "I'm crying for Christ and Naila and I'm going to go to church," and he did. He asked God to heal his daughter and said he would follow Him. Two months later his daughter got up to walk. She had been healed. They prayed together and thanked God for the evidence of His power. Pedro gave his life to Christ and was baptized December 31, 2001. |
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Comments from Elder Hill: TO OUR
FELLOW RETIREES: |
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