December
Picking up where I left off about my health, I had the tests done that my doctor ordered, and the results show that I have a hiatal hernia, a hernia located where the esophagus meets the stomach. It is in Phase 2, which means it is small, yet getting closer to a medium size. I am now on a diet, and will be for the rest of my life, to keep the hernia from getting bigger and to avoid surgery. It is also very important to control my stress, which also makes things worse.
On Christmas Eve, we spent time with a church family. We had good fellowship and enjoyed the food (what I could eat of it). On December 31, our Watch Night Service was very small because of COVID restrictions, but I thank God that even with small groups, we can still encourage each other.
I personally had the privilege of winning 5 people to Christ this month!
January
And we turned the page into a new year . . . and what a year, another very challenging year! As I look back to the early years of my ministry in Cuba, from 1999-2007, when the Communist Party ruled the country with an iron fist, there were many restrictions and a scarcity of basic needs in those years. After the year 2007, restrictions were slowly loosened up, and basic needs were more abundant. And then the year 2020 arrived! Because of the pandemic, restrictions were put in place again, and basic needs began to be scarce again. It is as if the pandemic sent us back 20 years. Cubans everywhere are jobless; there are hardly any jobs available or a way for people to earn a living. I now think that those early years were preparing me for the 2020 pandemic and beyond!
However, because of my health, I need to work smarter (wiser), not harder! Doors can open and close quickly. I must be sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s guidance and also be ready to help people in need of salvation with the Gospel and also meet some basic needs when I can.
“But whoso hath this world´s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” (I John 3:17)
Please Continue to Pray For:
1. My and my wife’s health.
2. Our finances.
3. The Holy Spirit’s guidance.
In His service,
Ricardo Leyva