My heart is full and my spirit overwhelmed with what I heard last night and all day today: stories of how one faithful praying woman like Linda Leathers can start a ministry to women of incarceration (with no formal training whatsoever in the field) that, today, eight years later, has a US$3 million budget and spawned other ministries in two cities.

Renee James here again!

Wow! This morning's session weaved this Assembly's theme of "The Thread" through worship songs, images on the PowerPoint and Raquel Contreras' Bible study on Rahab. Contreras spoke from Joshua, chapter two.

Last night the Assembly opened. Lauran Bethell shared about the hope she sees - in the darkest places of our world: the places where girls and women are trafficked; their vulnerabilities exploited so that they prostitute for money to give to their families.

Our time is coming to an end here in Cuba. We write this as we relax and reflect on everything that has happened these past two weeks, and get ready to head home.