Hard Places and High Places in the Kingdom

In the great fields of labor, there are not only losses and burdens hard to bear, but there are victories of faith and times of gracious leading of the Lord. In the early days in Cuba, only the great Father of all knew of some of these things and of those who went through them on this side of the vale.

When God gave answer to a whole afternoon’s prayer by Faith Stewart, who cried out mightily for souls in her newly adopted land, and a goodly number came to the service that evening, there was among them a Christian woman of about sixty years, who, learning of the services to be held in her close vicinity, made an effort to attend. She was a native of the nearby island of Jamaica, and had met and married a Cuban man by the name of Gonzales. In her later years, when so many knew her and loved her, she was known by the name of “Mama” Gonzales. She became faithful, and on her experience of salvation, she became a member of the band of Christians who met regularly each week.

Attending a prayer meeting held in the new mission sometime later, she heard the people pleading earnestly for God to send in means, for they had run short of funds and could not pay the rent for the building. As she listened, her thoughts turned to a sum of money her daughter had entrusted her with. This dear saint of God had a daughter in New York City, who had sent her two children to visit with their grandmother and have full care of them for that period of time.

The time was drawing near for their return, and the daughter had sent sufficient funds for their return on the boat. A friend, who was also visiting in Cuba, was asked to see the children through as she returned to her home. This she was willing to do. Now since the Christians were daily expecting mail from the United States with money to pay the rent, the kind loan from Mama Gonzales was accepted. But day by day no mail came, no offerings to support the work, no possible way to pay back the money.

In the course of time, the friend of the daughter came to the home of Mama Gonzales for the money to purchase the tickets for the two children. It was a time of real embarrassment for the true Christian woman who had so faithfully trusted God. She was compelled to admit that it was spent. In anger the woman replied that she was leaving on the boat that evening, and she would herself explain how the money had been spent for other things. She was angry and insisted that she would not wait another day in favor of the situation.

With heavy hearts, these few Christians met that afternoon for earnest prayer, still trusting the God Who is able to do all things, and they cried mightily upon Him for deliverance. Before the time for the boat to leave that evening, a terrible storm broke out over the city and also over the waters and speedily spread in great fury over the ocean, growing worse and worse, and finally the word came that no boats would run until the storm was over and conditions permitted. For three days, all boats were in the docks; all travel was discontinued.

But God had not stopped working, and in that time, the mail brought in the required amount; and by the time the angry friend could actually go, the full amount had come in, and Mama Gonzales was able to hand it to the unwilling friend in time to buy the tickets for the children. This woman had been detained by the very forces of nature, and all went on schedule at last. A three-day wait was ordered by the Heavenly Father that the petitions of His dear child might have no cause to be ashamed. We are told in His Word: “Whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.”* (Proverbs 29:25) Only, there are times when God seems to test their faith almost beyond the limit.

She writes about this time:

We have just finished our thirteenth year of labor in Cuba, and as we look over the past, we pause on the threshold of the new year to “raise our Ebenezer” as a reminder of God’s great goodness to us, for truly we can say as did Samuel, “Hitherto hath the LORD helped us.”* (1 Samuel 7:12) And we press forward in our new year’s work with courage to do our part in getting the Gospel of Christ out to the people of Cuba.

But I wish to bring the faithful saint aforementioned to your notice, as she stands out in faithful service to God in those early days of the mission. In those early days, they began to hold an annual convention, and at this time found that, before the meetings were over, the food began to give out, and there was no money to buy more. As usual, they took their trouble to the Throne of God. And again Mama Gonzales arose to the occasion. She said that her rent was due, but the landlord had not come to collect it, and as she had knelt to pray with the rest of them, God had plainly told her that she should lend her rent money to bridge over the special need.

Again, trusting in God and fellowman to respond to the need of the hour, there was deep testing of faith in the God they loved and served. The money did not come in. Day after day, prayers went up to God. The landlord showed no mercy. He was most certainly not interested in mission work and the needs thereof, and he was most certainly interested in collecting his rent on time. Finally a day was set for her eviction from the little home.

We did not know her then, but have had the privilege of knowing her for several years now, and truly believe she waited that hour with calmness and sweetness. The biggest thing in her life was her love for God and her absolute trust in Him. Perhaps she thought it at that time to be the will of God for her to suffer this humiliation and hardship before her neighbors. For on that day, she sat calmly awaiting eviction from her home.

A cable reached Faith Stewart. Someone had cabled twenty-five dollars to her. Strangest of all, this money came from an absolute stranger.

Faith Stewart rushed uptown to get the money changed into Cuban money. But she began to praise the Lord when the word came.

“Why,” asked a worker, “do you praise the Lord?”

“Because banks do not deal in potatoes; they deal in dollars,” she replied.

At that time, American money when changed into Cuban money was of more value. She cashed the twenty-five dollars into Cuban and had twenty-seven dollars and seventy cents.

The room rent for one of her workers was due; this was for six dollars. The rent for the mission in Mariano also was due, and this was for nine dollars. For some reason, she felt strongly that she should only give the remaining ten dollars to Mama Gonzales. She hastened to her home and found her waiting for her things to be put out. She said, “Mama Gonzales, I have some money for you.”

“Well, praise the Lord.”

Now, after she had felt so strongly that she should only give out the ten dollars to Mama, all the way to her home the voice of the tempter seemed to say, “Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? How can you hand her the ten dollars when you know the amount of her rent is eighteen?”

So she said, “But Mama Gonzales, I have but ten dollars.”

“Well,” said this faithful child of God, “my Father in Heaven has already sent me eight dollars, and ten dollars is enough.”

So after all, when the landlord came, there was a straightening up, and God again had given victory.

We called at the home of Sister Gonzales, for she is now in her nineties. She is a tiny soul with the skin of a light Jamaican. She cannot see as well as once, and neither can she hear as well. But her mind is clear and memory good for her years as she asks and urges in her gentle, patient way, “Please sing me one of the songs of Zion.” The very expression of sweetness and gentility reveals a life rich in faith and the experience of a holy life in Christ.

Soon the mission work, which had such a humble beginning, had eighteen Sunday Schools in Cuba. These were led by leaders who realized the value of winning the children for Christ. Again, she writes:

The Roman Catholics are laboring harder than ever to gather in and hold the children, for they know the value of this. Every child they lose means a weakening of their forces just that much.

God has helped our workers to catch this same vision, and with burdened hearts they have been going forth, pressing through many hard things to gather in these little ones. They often go a little early in time to wash, dress, iron, or mend, that they might be able to get them started.

Nearly all our children have been brought into our Sunday Schools from Catholic or Spiritualist homes, and it really means something to bring into our schools and to hold under Bible teaching over fourteen hundred of these. We have been laboring to plant the real truth of God’s Word in young hearts, and have had a good many definite conversions among the children in the past year.

It may be added that several families have been to the church services and eventually won to Christ through these children carrying home the truths they learned in the Sunday Schools. She continues:

Besides these eighteen Sunday Schools, we have a number of groups of children who are being gathered under trees or just any place the workers can get them together, and are being taught the beautiful Bible stories and the plan of salvation. We have some workers who devote almost the entire day (on Sunday), gathering and teaching four or five of these groups, walking from one district to another to do it.

At that time, there were sixteen congregations. How many ministers in America are content to serve as long as possible with a good house, one small congregation, a living wage, never expanding, never expecting to branch out for others, and spend a lifetime in this easy way in the service of God? Where is our vision and burden? How will we answer God when we face Him at the day of Judgment?

These people, under the leadership of Faith Stewart, put five services in English and six services in Spanish, weekly, over the radio. That service bore fruit. Four qualified ministers came to them through the radio work. Later, when the Bible School was started, because of the urgent need of trained workers to combat the false teaching all over the Island, five of the students entered the school because of the contact with the message over the air. As with the Sunday School children, most of these students had a Catholic or Spiritualist background, and had need of definite and thorough training for the work. She writes:

This year we have ten consecrated students who expect to pour out their lives in Gospel service, giving out the Word in its fullness and power. Some of these are standing alone, having no relatives who are not Catholic or Spiritualists. In the midst of strong persecutions, they have dedicated their lives to the work of God.

They are cut off from everything and must be provided with room and board, school supplies, and clothing. Conditions in Cuba are very different from those in the United States. By the time they have finished their training, their faith also has grown exceedingly in knowing how to trust God. Our workers must live as God provides.

And again:

Many of our young people are on fire for God and have a real passion for lost souls. At different times when a pastor has to be away, some spiritual young person fills the place.

It was about this time that a new phase of the mission work began. They started publishing tracts and papers in Spanish. They carefully planned a real campaign in the city of Havana, with its great population of over one million souls. As a result of this venture, new people began to attend the services in some of the missions. One illustration of this is well worth telling here.

At one of the evening services in the chapel at Almendares, there came a husband and wife, a Spanish couple. They had heard the message over the radio, and because there was and had been for some time an unrest in their hearts and a dissatisfaction in their own religion, they began to seek for something better. What they heard in these messages stirred their interest to seek for something better. They were people of the world and dressed in the apparel and personal adornment that the world finds so necessary. But something in the messages they heard attracted their attention, and they began to attend regularly.

Little by little they began to remove the signs of the world from their apparel and to dress like those who were members of the mission, until they were as modest in appearance as the Christians. But they had not accepted Christ as their Savior. They lived far across the great city of Havana, and had to come a long way to be in the services. Undaunted, they searched until they found an apartment not far from the mission, then moved in and told the Christians that now they would be present every time the doors were open.

Not long after that, they bowed together at an altar of prayer and became Christians. They did not know that the Bible says, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God,”* (Matthew 6:33) and it took them some time to get ready (by laying off something this week and another thing next week) to finally decide they were ready to take the final step. They had come in the midst and seen the modest attire of the saints, and also the difference in their manner and appearance, and it caused them to feel that truly God’s people are different, obeying the Word of God that plainly teaches, “Whose adorning, let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel, but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of the Lord of great price.”* (1 Peter 3:3-4)

After the husband really became a Christian, separated from the ways of the world, he could no longer afford to belong to the men’s club where his particular friends and associates were members. They were refined people, and the husband was employed in one of the government offices as a bookkeeper. He stopped smoking and also turned down the proffered glass of liquor. Friends at the job began to note a definite change in his habits. When asked why he would not partake, the answer was, “I have become a Christian and do not drink liquor any more.”

Not very long after taking his stand for a life of clean living, he was relieved of his position in the office and fully realized the cost of becoming a Christian.

This man and wife have worked faithfully through the years, sacrificing former means and have lived on little to be true to God. They have never wavered in the great task but stood like a rock in the billows. They have been a real pillar of the church of God in Cuba.

Many were the experiences of those early days, times oft when need was great and only trust in God helped through the test. One time Faith started for the United States in quite a hurry. She reached Miami, Florida, and there sought to purchase a ticket to the North. The ticket agent pushed the money toward her, remarking that Cuban money could not be accepted.

She stood there amazed, wondering what to do, and realizing that in her haste, she had failed to change the money. There was just enough money left to buy a ticket to Nashville, Tennessee. She could get that far, but who did she know at that place, for she would have to stop over. Then the name of a man and wife in that town came to her, and she went calmly on with her journey, asking God to supply her needs.

She reached the station and called up the friends. They gladly heard her voice over the wire, and asked her to wait while they came up to the station to meet her. When they reached the home, they explained that the supper had just been put on the table when she had called, and they had refrained from eating to have the pleasure of sharing with her.

They sat down together, and one of them laid sixty dollars beside her plate. Then the hostess explained.

“We were sitting here at the table discussing the fact that we could not put our tithe into the treasury of an apostate church, and were trying to decide where to send it that it would do the most good. While we were talking over these things, the telephone rang, and we knew that God had sent you to take the tithe.”

How marvelous again, and, oh, how very wonderful, for these people did not dream that not one dollar remained for her to go on her journey, and God had safely directed her thoughts, first to the city, and then to the persons where this matter was being settled.

Truly, “no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”* (Psalm 84:11)