Sunday, June 20, 2010

My Dad


With Fathers day on my mind, I wanted to write a post on my dad. If I had to sum my dad up in one word it would be brave. Although using one word isn't really fair, so I'll use others. Brave, Strong, Kind, Godly, Unselfish, Giving, Loving, and the list could go on and on.

My dad, Ignacio ( or you can call him Iggy) was born in Florida. However, it's not the Florida you're thinking of. He was born in Florida, Cuba, near Camaguey. By the age of 16 he was singing in a professional group and touring Cuba. I claim I got my singing voice from him.( as well as my artistic abilities. My dad can draw like crazy)

A few years after that God tugged at his heart, and he decided that was not the life he wanted to lead. He left fame behind and dedicated his life to ministry. I can't say how much that speaks volumes on my dad's character. He met my mom in College, they became engaged and life was as " good" as it could be living in a communist country.

Suddenly his life was turned upside down when he was forcefully taken from his college, put into a truck, and taken to a concentration camp in a distant part of Cuba. He was in his early twenties at the time. I cannot even imagine going through that experience. He was separated from all he had, all he knew, and from the woman he loved. At the time Castro did not want the country to have anything to do with religion. So he took all young men, from all around Cuba, of all denominations who were studying to be pastors, and put them into concentration camps around Cuba. The plan was to "brain wash" them into thinking communism is better than religion.

For 3 long years my dad stayed in this hard labor camp. His faith in God was tested daily. It was prohibited to talk about religion, have a Bible, or pray. When someone he knew snuck a Bible in, they buried it far from their barrack where they would sleep. Every night my dad or one of his friends would crawl out in the darkness, dig up the Bible, crawl back and read by candlelight. They were willing to risk their life for what they believed in. In our country now days we can have multiple Bibles in out home and never even read them. The Bible was soo precious to them during those times. I want to learn from that.

It was my dad's faith in God that got him through those difficult times. He saw my mom only a couple of times during those 3 years, and all letters they would write each other were pre-read or never delivered.When the rest of the world found out about these concentration camps, Castro opened the camps up and allowed all to leave. My dad was free. Him and my mom married and from there on, I could tell a million more stories of their struggles, triumphs, and blessings from God. I'll leave those for another time.

I want to thank my dad for giving me the opportunity to be who I am. For teaching me about God, and for always praying on my behalf. My dad after 40 years continues to pastor to this day. Yes, I am one of those PK's as we're called. I was blessed to have my dad baptize me, and perform my wedding. Those are moments in my life that he made so special and I will never forget.

Happy Fathers Day to the best dad ever!!!! Love you!


Happy Fathers Day to all dad's out there.

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