One of the youth that went with us on our Youth Choir trip to Cuba, Abby Canfield, was interviewed about the trip by her local newspaper, The Doings in Western Springs. Abby did a great job describing the significance of this important trip. Follow this link, or check out the full story right here. Nice job, Abby!
Take a trip to Cuba through the eyes of a 14-year-old girl
April 21, 2008People in Western Springs do some of the most amazing things. I received an e-mail from resident Anne Canfield telling me about her 14-year-old daughter Abigail traveling to Cuba with her church choir. That's right. Cuba. When I was 14, traveling to Cuba certainly wasn't something we considered. Why would anyone want to visit a place from which people escaped over the ocean in boats made from upturned refrigerators or late model Chevys lashed to empty barrels?
Anne was fortunate enough to accompany her daughter and the 11 other members of her youth choir on their trip. Their church, Fourth Presbyterian in Chicago, has traveled to Cuba to visit their sister church, First Presbyterian of Havana, for the last several years on religious and humanitarian missions. As Anne told me, "The kids adapted and took everything in stride. It was the adults who had the most trouble adapting. We were the only Americans we saw. The people were warm, interested-Americans were a novelty."
I asked Abigail what it was like to visit a country that few Americans, especially those her age, have seen.
"It was really neat knowing that we were in a place that most Americans aren't allowed to go. It meant that we would be the ones to represent American culture to the Cubans, and tell other Americans about Cuban culture."
How were you received by the Cuban people you met?
"The Cuban people we met were some of the kindest and most welcoming people. After each service, almost everyone in the congregation would come up to us and give us hugs and kiss us on the cheek!"
What was it like to meet Cuban young people? What is their life like? How is it different from your life here in the states?
"Meeting the young children made us realize how much we have in common. They liked singing, and had a youth choir that we got to see in church. We really liked one of the songs that they sang, so, now that we're home, our choir director is teaching it to us. Singing that song is a great way to remember the kids we met.
"The Cuban children also love baseball. We brought them baseballs because there is such short supply of them. They often have to play with small rubber balls or practice with bottle caps. The kids were thrilled, but were so generous and gave some of these new baseballs to the opposing team to keep! Before the game started, they said a chant in Spanish that means something along the lines of: 'Who Lives -- Christ! ... His Name -- Glorified! ... His house -- Victorious!' Then they asked the boys of our group to sit in the dugout with them ... and later invited them to join in the game with them! Everyone had a lot of fun, and it was really cool to see two groups of kids from two countries whose governments don't agree getting along so well and playing together in what my youth pastor John Vest calls 'the universal language of baseball.' It also helped all of us see that although our cultures and our governments are different, there are a lot of things we have in common."
(This is where you pause in your reading and think about what a 14-year-old girl just taught you about the world.)
"However, their lives are very different than ours. They don't have nearly as many material things as we have and their food is rationed. Because of this we brought vitamins and other things like toothbrushes and even some small toys. We got a chance to visit some of the Sunday school classes and talk to the kids. The younger kids thought it was hilarious that we spoke English instead of Spanish. They would ask us to count to 20, then they would smile and giggle and ask us to do it again."
Honestly, I don't have much to add to all of that, aside from noting how easy it is for us as adults to forget to see the world through more innocent eyes.
doingsnews@pioneerlocal.com * (630) 320-5443
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