Day: 10

A Rain of Miracles

“Oh, that you would rend the heavens and come down . . . to make your name known to your enemies and cause the nations to quake before you! For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, you came down, and the mountains trembled before you. Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. You come to the help of those who gladly do right, who remember your ways.”

Isaiah 64:1-5a (NIV)

When I met Oleda for the first time in the final years of her life, she seemed solemn, even cranky. But after spending a bit of time speaking to her, I got a clearer glimpse of her true personality and was immediately drawn to her warm, engaging nature. And when our discussion progressed to deep, spiritual things, I found her to be positively sparkling!

Oleda came to the lord in 1955, just before the Cuban revolution. She was 80 years old when I spoke with her. Thirteen years have passed, and I’m sure she’s with the Lord now. She was in poor health and said, “My body wants to die. I feel like dying, but I am holding on.”

She clung to her life to remain active in ministry and to finish her race well. I was introduced to her when I requested someone to talk that was familiar with Cuba’s spiritual history. Given her age and state of health, the secret police wouldn’t imprison her for talking to me.

I’ve spoken to thousands of Christians around the world, but she really stands out in my memory. She was full of the presence of God, having lived through Cuba’s modern history. What she taught me about persecution has stayed with me will be with me for the duration years to come!

She witnessed Fidel Castro’s rise to power and lived through the initial hope that he would improve the lives of Christians. She told me, “When Fidel first came on the scene we thought he would help the Christians. He talked a very good game and pretended to believe in God (as he was gaining control). We thought he would bring more freedom!”

As Castro turned against Christians, Oleda stood strong. She said, “My father was involved in Castor’s revolution and became very angry with me since I wouldn’t stop going to Church. He insisted that I stop, but I felt I would die if I didn’t go. (As a consequence) I eventually had to leave home because of the strife.”

After leaving home, she went to Bible College. Within two years, the communists began their persecution. She said, “Many Christian workers began to be arrested.” At the time, she and her husband began pastoring a church, which they did faithfully for the next 25 years.

A Rain of Miracles

The greatest period of Oleda’s life began in 1988. After 28 years of intense persecution from the communist regime – and equally intense prayers rising up to the Lord – something began to stir in Cuba. The Lord began to reveal Himself in mighty way to the Cuban people. Here is her testimony:

“Literally thousands of people were healed in the most miraculous way. People would walk out of Church carrying their wheelchairs, they were healed of every type of sickness and deformity, and they had visions and every kind of manifestation of the Lord’s presence. So many people suddenly came to Church that the pews began to break. We began to sleep at the church so that we could minister most of the time. We would open the doors to the church first thing in the morning and the church would immediately be filled.

The authorities came to us and told us we had to stop. “We can do nothing, it’s not us, it’s the people; they are coming.” The government pressure was so intense that our lives were in danger.  They threatened to close our whole denomination. The secret police took me and my family to a secret place and told us we must stop immediately. They told us that we could only open the Church at night-the Church could not open during the day.

We were so afraid that they would kill us that we agreed. We would only open at night but still the people came. We had to hand out tickets because so many were trying to get into the limited seats.

The miracles continued and the people continued to come from all over Cuba and even farther away. One man came from California. His young son back at home in California had terrible asthma and he was asking for prayer for him. I asked him if he had a picture of him that we could pray over. We prayed over the picture of his son. We found out later that the boy was healed the moment we prayed for him many thousands of miles away.

Another man asked us to pray for his mother. She was in an insane asylum. She was completely insane, she wore no clothes. We prayed for her and two days later she walked into the church in right mind, completely normal.

One man came in who had been in a terrible accident. His leg was terribly deformed as a result. He came in to church sobbing and he told us he would not leave the church until he was healed. I didn’t know what to do so I called in another pastor. This pastor told him we would not pray for him until he stopped crying.

He was able to pull himself together and we prayed for him and he was healed in a miraculous way. But then he began to sob again.

Another woman came in to the church with a terrible deformity in her back. She was permanently bent over and her back was misshapen. She was a physician and was healed instantly in front of everybody.

For 28 years the communists had told the people that God didn’t exist, and the Church was treated horribly. After the events of 1988, they could go on telling the people the same lies but the people had no choice but to know that God was there. God came in a rain of miracles.”

I knew the answer but couldn’t help but ask her about what happened as a result of this incredible display of the Lord’s power. I asked her if many came to the Lord at this time.

“OOOOOAAAAAHHHHHHHH,” she exclaimed, waving her arms, “All of them!”

At the beginning of this revival, her denomination in Cuba had 12,000 to 15,000 people. Seventeen years later, the denomination had more than 350,000 people!

That kind of church growth is mind-boggling. It makes no sense. This happened after the Cuban secret police beat, tortured, imprisoned, and murdered pastors for thirty years.

You hardly ever see this in human culture but so often, this is the story of persecution.

For Further Reading

“My servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.  Just as there were many who were appalled at him– his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness– so will he sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand.”

Isaiah 52:13-15

“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever.”

Deuteronomy 29:29

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 3:16

“But the advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

John 14:26-27

“Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.”

1 Peter 4:12-13

“And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God. Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”

Mark 11:22-24

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