- Oregon Faith Report - https://oregonfaithreport.com -

Students in historic Cuba basebal trip

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cuba-corban [5]Corban University [6],
Salem, Oregon

“It’s a story about what God will do when you obey,” head baseball coach Jeff McKay said about the incredible opportunity Corban’s baseball team received last summer to travel to Caimanera, Cuba.

They were the first American baseball team in Caimanera in nearly 60 years and one of the few American teams to ever play on Cuban soil since the Cuban revolution of 1959. The local population welcomed the Warriors warmly and the local government officials invited the team to visit again this coming June.

The beginning

It appears God specifically chose Corban and the Warrior baseball team to be ambassadors for Jesus Christ in Cuba. Cuban-born pastor Glenn Wilson of in New Jersey began working with Pastor Mike Silva of Sisters, Oregon to ignite a trip that would merge outreach and baseball in Cuba.

Through prayer and varying connections, Silva and McKay began communicating about this opportunity.

“The players truly embraced the opportunity through obedience to God,” McKay said. “The effort and faith that it took to trust God to provide finances, safety and spiritual protection was something that was not easy, but each of the guys truly made a difference in the world for Jesus Christ. It was God accomplishing His will through us.”

The commitment

The planning for this summer’s trip is underway and the team is definitely all-in again. With a better understanding of Cuba, this summer’s trip will focus on presenting hope in Jesus Christ by offering a baseball clinic to young people and assisting a local church in outreach to these youth.

“We want to support the ministry of the local church, but we want to do that through baseball,” Paul Johnson, Assistant Professor of Intercultural Studies and Bible, said. “We are so humbled to be their guests and are so appreciative of the generosity of the Cuban government.”

“Baseball got us there, but we hope Christ is the result,” McKay said.

Read here for more incredible details of last year’s trip and the influence the Warriors and Cubans had on one another. If you would like to contribute financially to this opportunity, contact Ashley Russell, [email protected].