Alissa and Hasil, a young married couple, presently serve as pastors in Havana, having previously ministered in the rural area of Mayabeque. Their dedication to ministry was put to the test during the pandemic when transportation options became practically non-existent. They tirelessly explored various avenues to secure reliable transportation, but all their attempts proved futile. As a last resort, they turned to bicycles, borrowing them to reach the communities they needed to serve.

Their ministry journeys often spanned challenging terrains, with rides of up to 20 miles one way, followed by additional 5-mile walks to reach their destinations. Once there, they would lead worship and carry out their ministry work, staying for days before embarking on the arduous journey back. Their paths were also made more difficult by constant security checkpoints due to the pandemic. They were exhausted. Whenever Alissa saw motorcycles pass them on these trips, she began to pray a simple prayer: “Lord help us.” God soon provided them with their own bicycles so they no longer had to borrow them but Alissa kept praying. Then God connected them with Open Eyes.

“We are so thankful because this has been a great surprise for us. We didn’t have any idea that God was going to respond in this way. We prayed and prayed, and it came to a point where we almost forgot about our prayers but God heard and God responded on this day.”

– Alissa (On the day of our Mobile Messenger launch)