More From Roberto Fernández-Acosta

In the summer of 2018, I arrived in Ghent, Belgium, as part of a doctoral research stay that would last three months. Before leaving Cuba, my country, I said goodbye to my family, my wife, and our little daughter. I did not suspect how hard the distance and life in a completely unknown country would be, since it was my first time abroad. Three months seemed like it would go too fast for me to notice the absence of my loved ones. But that was not the case. After several days of being alone without being able to speak my native language, without seeing a familiar face, without being able to gather together with other believers, I felt immense anguish: “Is this what my life will be like for the next eighty days?” Then as an answer to my cry in prayer, several brothers and friends appeared—countrymen who faced the same things as me but who had the experience of living in the beautiful city for a few months. With them I found a house dedicated to God.

Their church was a haven of peace for me—a place where I could worship God and receive God’s strength in the middle of a complex period, a temple to perfect my love for God, the Bible, and his people. Many things surprised me about that place, but it was a great surprise to find the living God and the glorious presence of the Spirit in a denomination with so many doctrinal differences from mine.

Under the effective leadership of American pastor and missionary Junior Haley and his Romanian wife, Loredana Haley Radu, a conservative church had been established in Ghent. Their way of worshiping and singing was very different from what I was used to in that they only used classical hymns and never contemporary music. And they had many theological differences as well regarding the doctrine of the Holy Spirit, the leadership of women in church, and their preferred version of the Bible. I know believers who just in the face of one of these differences would choose not to congregate in said temple, but that was not my case. Years ago I had begun to learn that God is present among those who love God and obey scripture with passion no matter how “different” appear to be.

Thanks to this church, I incorporated classic hymns such as “A Shelter in the Time of Storm,” “All the Way My Savior Leads Me,” and “Higher Ground” into my devotional life. I also began to read other versions of the Bible and gained a new understanding of doctrines that I was less familiar with previously. I was enriched in every way: spiritual, emotional, and intellectual!

Today I am preparing for a third three-month stay in Ghent. It pleases me to know that friends are waiting for me in a church founded on the Word of God. Believers, we must always remember that God has called us to unity:

“Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all” (Eph. 4:3-6, KJV).

Yes, our God has called us to love beyond borders.