We arrived in Hong Kong late last night after about two and a half days of being in Tokyo! Today was our first day of VBS! I had the opportunity to work with third and fourth graders and my mom had the opportunity to work with the older children and youth. It was great to see some of my dear friends from Hong Kong again! Some of the children stayed after VBS to be a part of a dance workshop that we did this afternoon. We hope to be able to continue the workshop each day throughout the week! I also hope to be able to post some photos of our time here in the next few days.

My mom and I are on the way to Hong Kong where we will be meeting a group of friends to help host a Vacation Bible School for children through "Inner City Ministries." As a part of my time in Hong Kong, I will also be helping to host a dance workshop throughout the week for some of the children and youth from Inner City Ministries! My friend Caroline, who works with ICM in Hong Kong, informed me that the children are expecting me to teach the dance classes and are already working on some of their traditional dance forms to share with all of us!

This will be my third visit to Hong Kong and I am very much looking forward to returning. It is a very special trip as I originally did not know if it would be feasible for me to return this year. However, God has been providing for every aspect of the journey in amazing ways! For me, it will be very sweet to see friends that we have made in the past, and to show the children at ICM by our returning, that we have not forgotten about them!

I am especially grateful that my mom is able to be with me on this trip!

We were originally planning on arriving in Hong Kong this evening (Saturday morning in CST). However, our flight fro Tokyo to Hong Kong has been delayed until tomorrow morning. We are in a hotel this evening and will head out for the airport in the morning. I hope to be able to share more stories from this journey throughout the week!

Because of HIM,


Lynette:)

This evening I received some of the photos from the trip to Cuba! My dear friend and photographer Vince took these photographs. He did an amazing job capturing some of the essence of Habana and our time there. I am so excited to share with you a glimpse into the people of Cuba and the country that my parents and grandparents once called "home."



On the plane heading to Cuba for the first time!!!



One of our first views of Cuba from the air! Amazing to see the place that my family once called home- a place that is so close to where I grew up, yet always seemed so far away.



The room where I spent my first night in Habana.





Getting water in Habana. Very important to stay hydrated in the heat!

The place where we ate our meals each day. Truly a blessing!


My first meeting with Migdalia, a relative by marriage. We walked quite a few blocks from our hotel, to find her home!


Some of the guys playing basketball at the youth outreach in the park.


Some of the youth, and even a few adults at the park wanted to learn dance, so my friend Tara and I were teaching them a dance combination!


Some of the guys from the church in Cuba are amazing Hip Hop dancers!!! They were great and so much fun to hang out with!!!!



More dancing in the park:)




Some of the youth we met at the park. Marlo on the left, accepted Christ as His Savior at the church, on the final Sunday that we were in Habana. Praise the Lord!!!


Some of the younger boys wanted to learn a dance combination as well.


Meeting more of my family for the first time. On the left, my third cousin Niurka and on my right, my great aunt Irma! Truly a blessing to meet them!



A family photo with my cousins and great aunts who live in Cuba! Everyone in this photo I had never met before coming to Cuba!



Tara and I were invited to dance with the dance team of the church in Cuba:) It was great to be able to dance with them in praise and worship at their church in Habana!!







My last day in Habana. I am searching for the home where my mom grew up. I have the address, and I am close:) This is the street that my mom would have played in as a child!



Found it!!!




Wow! Amazing!!! This is where my mom grew up!!!! She has never been back since she left after the Revolution.
This is also the home where my grandma owned a school. The second floor of the home was a school. The government took the school away from her after the revolution 50 years ago! I am so grateful I had the chance to see this home first hand!

I then went to find the home where my great aunt's live. I was greeted ever so warmly by my great aunt Olga. I found out upon my arrival, that this is also the home where my father and grandfather grew up!!! It is also the home where my great aunt's grew up! Wow!

Chatting and catching up!!! In the case of my great aunt Isis (on the left), we were meeting for the first time ever! These are two of the sisters of my grandfather Jorge who passed away in March of this year. Irma in one of the pictures above, is his other sister. All of them wanted to know more about what happened to my grandfather and how our family was doing. I had the opportunity to share with them the miracle that before passing away, my grandfather gave His heart to Jesus!!! My great aunt Irma heard the Gospel from the Cuban Pastor on the day I met her. She later assured me, that she also was going to ask Jesus into her heart!!! God You are so great!!!!!!!!!!!!!





Another special moment for which I am so grateful to the Lord!!!!!!


I hope that I will have the opportunity to return to Cuba to visit again! I ask that you keep the people of Cuba in your prayers for many to continue to know Christ, and for the continued growth and strengthening of His church!!! Thank You Lord for the privilege of allowing me to be on this very special journey!!!!!!!

Hi Everyone!!!

Thank you so much for your desire to be updated on my life and on what is taking place in and through De Rey Ministries. The last month has been one of a great deal of transition and change! I have been reminded that although I am not worthy to know God or share His truth with others, God is gracious, loves us, and uses us in the midst of our shortcomings.

CUBA MISSION JOURNEY UPDATE!
Last week, I had the opportunity to embark on the first international journey of this new season of life! Interestingly enough, the journey that I took was to Cuba! For those who may not know, my family is from Cuba and came to the United States shortly before and after the revolution took place there.

I had never been to Cuba before, and can say that it was  a powerful and emotional time. Myself, several others, and a team from my home church in Miami worked with a church in Havana who truly believe and live out the fact that Christ came to set the captives free!!! This church seeks to go to those who are in bondage to drug addiction, alcoholism, prostitution, and homosexuality, and share the truth and love of Christ with them! Many who have been set free in Christ, are now leaders within the church who are returning to the places from which they came to proclaim Christ to others who do not know Him and who also need freedom in Christ!

As a part of this trip, myself, along with my friend Tara, had the opportunity to teach some dance steps to children and teenagers out in the park "curita" in Old Havana. As we danced, adults began to join in as well, including a man who seemed to be a recovering alcoholic, and a woman who seemed to be homeless and pleaded with us to come back the next day and teach some more dance steps. One of the young men who was working with us on learning the dance routines, accepted Christ as His Savior later in the week when he came to church and responded to an invitation to accept Christ as His Savior! How great is our God!!!!

MEETING WITH FAMILY
Perhaps the greatest personal highlight of my trip, was the opportunity to meet with family in Havana that I have never met before! The Lord blessed me with the opportunity to meet great aunts, second and third and even fourth cousins! I had the chance to talk about Jesus with my great aunt, who had very evidently been sensing a spiritual void in her life. After hearing the pastor talk about inviting Jesus into her life, she assured me, that this is what she is going to do!!! Also, one of my family's friends who came to the family gathering lunch that we had on Sunday afternoon accepted Christ as her Savior and came to church that afternoon! I also had 5 additional family members who came to church with us that afternoon although most had not yet accepted Christ as their Savior! Praise the Lord! How Great is our God!

On my thirtieth birthday, June 29th, the Lord blessed me with an incredible day! He allowed me to spend the first half of the day in Cuba, seeing the home where my grandma ran a school and where my mom grew up in "El Vedado" outside of Havana, as well as the home where my grandfather, great aunts, uncle, and father grew up! It was amazing!!!! Later in the day I had the chance to come home to Miami, where a house full of family was waiting for me to greet me for my birthday and celebrate our return! We sat around the dinner table sharing what I had just experienced and recounting stories! Some of my family cried as I shared my experiences, and we also had moments of laughter!  It was truly a special and unforgettable 30th which I believed was laid out by the Lord!!!! Thank You Jesus!!!!!

I am hoping to continue moving forward with other ministry projects in the coming weeks and months!

PRAYER
Please be in prayer for the church in Cuba! The people of Cuba are hungry not only physically, but also for the Gospel. The churches are going into some very dark places to shine Christ's light and to share freedom in Christ for those who are held captive. Some members of the church are well aware of the fact that they could be put in prison for the work they are doing and the methods they are using to share the gospel. However, they consider it a privilege to be in chains for Christ, if this should be what they encounter. They know that Jesus is the only one who brings true freedom. Please pray for their strength, stamina, provision, peace, joy, and unity in Christ! Thank you for your prayers!!! 

GIVING
In order to move forward with upcoming ministry projects to Hong Kong, India, and Peru, we are in need of prayer and financial support.
If you are prayerfully led to do so, you may donate funds towards the Cuba mission journey as well as other De Rey Ministry projects that may take place this summer and fall, by going to the De Rey Ministries website at www.Derey.net. 

Once on the site, you can click on the donate tab. This will take you to the A.C.T. International Donations page.  Once on this page, you will have the opportunity to indicate whether you would like to make a one time or monthly donation, as well as the payment method you would like to use. You will then have the opportunity to look for De Rey Ministries or any other A.C.T. International Ministries to whom you would like to designate a financial gift. A.C.T. will then send you a tax deductible receipt for your gift.

For those of you who would like to make a gift through the Brentwood Baptist Church Mission's Department. You may do this by making your financial contribution to the Brentwood Baptist Mission's Department and designating my name, Lynette Villa de Rey, at the bottom of your financial gift. The mission's department will then send these gifts directly to A.C.T. International designated for De Rey Ministries.

Thank you so much for your prayers and your support! I so appreciate your encouragement and ministry to me and those that I am having the opportunity to meet on this journey!!!

"The Lord bless you and protect you; the LORD make His face shine on you, and be gracious to you; The Lord look with favor on you and give you peace." Numbers 6:24-26 



By His Grace Alone,


Lynette Villa de Rey

De Rey Ministries
www.deRey.net
Lynette@derey.net

www.actinternational.org