Iron Rose Sister Ministries

Anita, we are thrilled to share part of your story through this blog. And even though you have already shared some aspects with me in our correspondence, I would love for you to tell even more of your story to our readers.

Tell us about your family and how you came to know Christ.

Before I was born, my mom prayed for me. I was taught to love God and obey His word. My father is a Pentecostal evangelist who is 81 years old and lives in Florida with my mom, who is 80.

I was a respectful child but misbehaved a lot too. I liked to play tricks on my sisters—I’m the oldest of the three. My father always called me Anny or my oldest and I liked when he called me that. We were always together. He would take me to church on his bike; he taught me to hunt and fish since we lived out in the country until I was seven and we moved into town.

At the age of 19, I had never heard of the church of Christ. December 29, 1980, my bus made a 50-minute stop in front of the church of Christ in Santa Cruz, in the north. I wanted to know what church it was, so I went over to ask. I spoke with a lady because I was hungry to know. A few minutes later, Julio arrived—same guy who is now my husband. We had barely met, but cupid’s arrow found its mark and I am still in love with him today.

Five months later, when we met again, he wanted to teach me the doctrine of the churches of Christ and I told him, “I have the same Bible as you have and the same God, so I will study on my own.” At this time, I was already a pastor in the Pentecostal church, so you can imagine how hard this was for me. I took a notebook and prayed daily, asking God to guide me into clear understanding. I would write in one column what I already knew and in the other column everything that was new to me.

Over time, as I finished my study, I made a decision and here I am in the church of Christ. My dad spoke with me only twice and very respectfully about my decision. “Think about it because in the church of Christ, the women are like clay vessels—they don’t do anything. You will lose your ministry and your desire to serve God.” At that time, it was true that women in the church didn’t do anything—like nothing at all.

Julio and I married. He was the preacher in Havana, the capital, (in a congregation called “October 10th") along with the preacher, Fernando Oliver. After two years of observing my attitude and my behavior, Fernando asked me if I wanted to work with the women. I didn’t even think about it, but immediately answered, “Yes!” I prayed, I prepared, and invited all of the sisters to the first ever meeting of the women in the churches of Christ in Cuba, in 1985. I was so happy and excited. The day came and there were only three women who came. I have an old black and white picture of that day. I kept praying and persevering. One year later, there were 25. And after two years, we were more than 35 that gathered to study God’s Word and visit the sick in hospitals.

They were difficult years in our country. Since my childhood, we suffered persecution and discrimination, but thanks to God, He helped us remain faithful. We would prepare food bags for those in need and for mothers who had children in prison. We gathered for prayer meetings. It was a difficult, but beautiful beginning.

Today, we see the results across the country from those first four women (me and 3 others), to the glory of God. Back then I also started working with children—a work that bore and continues to bear much fruit. Currently, when I make trips, I encourage them in the education of the children and support them by providing any materials I can.

Wow! What an awesome story to see how God has used you as His servant throughout the years. Thank you for your great work! And since you have been working with the women across the island of Cuba for so long, I think that’s why we had an instant connection when we first met. What dream have you always had for working with the women?

Yes, I work with women all across Cuba. The longer distance trips can get complicated, but I get ready for each trip with great hopes and love. It is not anything someone has asked me to do. I get no financial compensation for it. I pray. We plan. I contact the preacher in that location. And I go.

There are regions, especially in the country or the mountains, where 20 or 30 women are thrilled when I arrive in order to share with them and give them tools for their spiritual growth. The majority are women who have never had a meeting for the women and so every study or teaching is new to them.

I take as much as I can from the IRSM materials, including elements from each of the books, when I prepare each conference. I want them to have the main ideas and be able to hide them in their hearts and put them into practice. Sometimes, I bring them printed copies of the materials, so they can have a guide to continue studying. I love when these sisters from the congregations I have visited write me and tell me how encouraged they were to continue meeting with the other women for Bible study, prayer time, and visitations. Even though we can’t conduct any large gatherings, we do something beautiful at each congregation where I arrive.

I have more than one dream I am praying about and have been for a while. I would love to be able to get to the most remote locations—where no one else goes—in order to have a time with the women there so that they, too, can learn how to walk more closely with the Lord. I would also love to have prayer retreats and retreats for spiritual growth where women can be equipped to have a more intimate relationship with God and with one another.

What has most impacted you or inspired you from the time we spent together in Cuba?

The days that we spent together here were some of the most decisive in my life. I always wanted to do this kind of work with women. But I will admit and confess that I was afraid of being misinterpreted. Now I realize that it was a tool that the enemy was using in order to keep me from making a decision. Since that time, I told myself that I must decide to share with all of the sisters across Cuba and wherever God wants. These teachings have built me up and opened my eyes to a deeper relationship with God and with other sisters.

Anita, you don’t know the joy that it gives me to hear how God is using you to equip others with what you have been equipped! This is what it is all about my dear sister and friend.
Tell us a little more, please. What are you doing now with the IRSM resources?

I started here in the province I live, Mayabeque. Then I moved forward and have gone to provinces further and further away, on the eastern side of the island. I am confident that God used your visit and each of the conferences you gave as tools to help me to decide to reach out to other women who were unable to participate in those conferences God gave us through you.

With the IRSM resources, I share them with all of those I can, whether through letters or Bible studies. But I love to encourage the sisters and show them the possibility to grow, serve and grow closer to God and to one another.

You have told me a few stories, but maybe there are others you would like to share of someone who is being encouraged and equipped through this blog or through other things that you have taught them through the resources and IRSM books.

There is a large group of women that does not have email, nor the possibility of internet, but God always opens doors so that the IRSM blog can get to them. As long as one of them can get it, maybe through her husband’s work address, they get together and share the article and spend some time in prayer. There is one place called “Alto Montero” in the Gramma province. I received a letter from them recently, telling me that since I met with them for a Bible study and to share the IRSM materials, the sisters have continued to stay motivated. They meet to study the Word and serve God. And they have started a children’s class. Yes, the children were growing up without anyone teaching them, but I was able to share with them during the classes all the areas in which a woman can serve God. They sent me a picture of the children’s class. It is so precious to see the motivation they have had!

In the city of Holguin, one of the congregations there, similarly, has started to have women’s meetings for study and prayer. One sister wrote to tell me how sad she was that she has been unable to have children. It is uncommon for us to share such personal things, but she opened up and shared how the enemy has tormented her through the lies in this issue. What she didn’t know is that the exact issue that she shared with me is the same problem I had, which prevented me from ever having children. I found out about seven or eight years ago, from a gynecologist, that some simple pills to help control that aspect of my hormones would’ve allowed me to have children. Where I grew up and back in the day, those things were not talked about. But today, I was able to talk with this young lady and share some advice with her. She is going to the hospital to have some tests run where she lives and, Lord willing, she will have a baby someday. But she has learned to trust in God and put her hope in Him instead of being overcome by sadness because of Satan’s lies.

How can we pray for you and for the work in Cuba?

I plan to continue the purpose of helping equip more sisters. We are truly hoping that you will be able to come back and visit us again, enriching us with more knowledge and tools.

Pray for the Cuban women, that God will help us understand the truths from His word, grow, serve Him, and I can reach the sisters that live in the farthest reaches of Cuba that are harder to get to. We are praying that God will continue to bless Iron Rose Sister Ministries and thank Him for all of the brothers and sisters who, in one way or another, help make these things happen in our lives.

Thank you so much for your time, Anita, and for sharing your story. You are an inspiration and such an encouragement—through your words and your life in service to the Lord. May God bless, guide, and accompany you always.

P.S. Because of internet limitations in Cuba, Anita will be unable to respond directly through the blog, but I would love to pass on any messages of encouragement or prayers for her and other Cuban sisters.

#IronRoseSister #growth #godisgood

In the original Shrek movie, Donkey and Shrek profoundly discuss ogres and their complexities. However, Donkey does not understand Shrek and thinks that the comparison between ogres and onions, who both have layers, is not as appealing as a comparison to the layers in parfait because, “Everyone likes parfait!”

No matter which way you slice it, ogres, onions, people, and parfait all have layers. Even Jesus had layers. He was the son of Mary and the Son of God, brother and cousin, teacher and friend. The complexities of His life on earth give us even more ways with which we can connect, and on multiple levels.

I also like to compare His parables to onions because of the layers to their meaning, their interpretation, and their application in our lives.

And while all of these things are true, I have recently observed something else about onions. Out of their layers, they grow and multiply to grow new onions. Multiple times. And on my kitchen counter!

An onion’s nature is to grow. Even with no direct sunlight, lack of water, and devoid of nutrient-rich soil. I mean, where will an onion find those things on my kitchen counter? Yet it grew.
This picture is of the second time the onions grew out of their inner layers. The first “batch” went into a pot of Venezuelan black beans.

And as I looked at this second growth one morning, I realized how much I can learn from the onion about my own growth:
• A lone onion may multiply to produce another onion, but there is a limit to how big or how much an onion can grow if it is not truly grounded.
• Truly connected with the Divine Gardener, I can continue in steady growth and bear more fruit—fruit of the Spirit and the fruit of new disciples.
“Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me” (John 15:4).
• My own efforts will fizzle and dry up if I am not drinking of the Living Water (John 4:10, 14).
• The deeper I dig into the layers of God´s Word, the greater my understanding of who He is and who I am called to be will grow
• And, grounded in the Word, rooted and established in love, I am better prepared for true, lasting growth (Eph. 4:15).

Yes, I really did get all this application from a couple of onions sitting on my kitchen counter.
What is God showing you about growth? Let´s peel back the layers and discover what God is teaching you through today!

#IronRoseSister #allthingsIRSM #growth #onions

As a ministry and individually, we have been focused on growth for 2018. And as I reflect on how Iron Rose Sister Ministries started, where God has brought us thus far, and where we are going, I am reminded that growth is a process—a process in which we joyfully and painfully find ourselves, through faith.

In 2013, a seed of faith was planted that sprouted as the initial stages of a bilingual women’s ministry resource. IRSM was “born.” Through the watering and tending of many prayer warriors and financial supporters, God brought about explosive growth, even in the early stages.
Within the first year, we rejoiced over trips that spanned the northern, southern, eastern, and western extremes of the Americas, thanks to hosts in Alaska, Argentina, California, and Washington D.C.

Within the first two years, we had already provided resources for thousands of women, equipping them to connect to God and one another more deeply.

By year three, we were equipping women in all 19 Spanish-speaking countries and over half of the states in the U.S. In our fourth year, we experienced more growth  than we could manage. Personally, I experienced a burnout from being stretched too thin by the amazing growth opportunities.

And so, now, after we have planted, watered, and tended the growth, we are now in a time of pruning for more intentional and multiplied growth in the future.

July will be our five-year anniversary. And just as a kindergartener has to prepare for her school years in which she will make new friends and learn new things, we must prepare as we look forward to the many more women we will equip across the Americas and what we will learn through the new directions God will lead us! In order to prepare for that growth, we must also go through some pruning, or growing pains, as we have called them.

Pruning is NOT fun. It hurts. Fresh places are exposed, left raw and vulnerable. Stripped of what we once knew, we are broken down, straining to be built back up again.

Pruning is a process and that means that it takes time. As a ministry or personally, we may not see the fruit of the growth as soon as we would like. God, the Divine Gardener, patiently walks with us through the pruning. Each painful cut is for our own good, for our growth, transforming us more into the image of His Son.

Thank you for joining us in the IRSM planting (spreading the word about IRSM), tending (using IRSM resources as we together tend to the spiritual needs of women) and watering (through your prayers and financial support). You are part of the process as God brings the growth.

“5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task.6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.” (1 Cor. 3:6-9)

Plant. Water. Tend. Prune. Repeat.
And don’t forget to harvest after God brings the growth!
Will you be a harvest worker with us? A planter? A waterer? Will you help tend to and equip more women to connect to God and one another more deeply? Will you pray with us for wisdom in the pruning?
Thanks for joining with us in the growth process. We can’t wait to see what else God has in store! Remember... it is God who makes it grow. And for that, we are thankful.

#IronRoseSister #allthingsIRSM #growth

My name is not Rosa. And I am not married to a man whose last name is Hierro. An English-speaker may not understand the humor of those statements. But if you know me, you at least recognize the truth in them. Allow me to explain.

When a North American woman marries, she usually takes her husband’s name. Rose Smith marries Mr. Jones and becomes Rose Jones. In the Hispanic culture, when a woman marries, she takes her husband’s name, but it is added to the end of her maiden name with “de” (of). So, Rosa Perez marries Sr. Martinez and she becomes Rosa Perez de Martinez.

When Rosa introduces herself, the shorter version of her name may be “Rosa Perez” or, as often happens in Christian circles, she may introduce herself as “Rosa de Martinez” (Rosa of Martinez).
So, why the cultural lesson? One, I think it is important to gain an understanding and appreciation of other cultures, especially one that we have tremendous opportunities with which to connect!

And two, because it also explains one way in which many of our Latina sisters understand the name of Iron Rose Sister Ministries. In Spanish, we are known as Ministerio Hermana Rosa de Hierro (Ministry Sister Rose of Iron). Re-read the direct translation of the name, in light of the cultural way in which names change in marriage. Can you see why people might think my name is Rose and that I am married to someone whose last name is Iron?

I have come to see this misunderstanding of our ministry’s or my name as an opportunity to remember my true identity. As a bride of Christ, my identity is found in Him. He, like iron, offers strength when I feel weak. And I, the weaker vessel, the delicate rose, am protected by the solid, unchanging power of the iron.

However, as women, even though we are described as the weaker vessel (1 Pet. 3:7), it does not mean that we are weak. We, too, are strong iron. Our strength is tested through the trials of life, but we are sharpened, as iron sharpening iron (Prov. 27:17).

God made us with a perfect balance of delicate beauty and strength—an iron rose.

Today, as we reflect on and share in the Common Threads, I encourage you to see yourself as a delicate rose, protected and strengthened by God, and therefore also a source of strength for your other Christian sisters, your Iron Rose Sisters.

#IronRoseSister #beautyandstrength #CommonThreads

Unknown Certainty
Tiffany Jacox

Life is one big mystery. We grow up excited for the future and what awaits us. We stress and worry and plan for our future as we grow into young adults. We have hopes and dreams but we never really know how the next day will pan out. We have faith and hope in each new day or maybe we just take it all for granted.
Many of us have experienced many different things throughout our lives. Maybe some of those experiences were positive and joyful or maybe they left you hurt and confused. I know I’ve experienced joy, pain and confusion. Growing up in a difficult childhood, having a baby at the age of sixteen and getting married before my 17th birthday. My husband joining the military, taking us to a new life I had never known. Then many years later a slew of personal issues that would have to be dealt with, along with the trials most people face on a day to day basis. Unfortunately, I didn’t always stand firm in my foundation of faith. I was a lukewarm Christian at best for many years, until finally, I completely fell away for seven years.
In what my husband and I would classify as a good time in our life; I found I wasn’t complete. I was empty and searching. It took me months to realize what was missing in my life and in 2010 I nervously approached my husband, who was not a Christian, about how I believed that Christ was missing in my life, in our lives, and I needed to find my way back. We found a wonderful home in the Bellevue church of Christ. I developed a new found love and understanding with Jesus Christ and my husband gave his life to Christ in 2011. Our two daughters also gave their lives to Christ in the following years. This was my first experience realizing the unknown in my life and seeing God provide.
During my lifetime, I had never really thought about my path. I never really wondered what God had in store for me. I knew the pathway to heaven was narrow and that Christ was the only way, but I never considered anything beyond that. But as I felt Him calling out to me and my heart began to listen, I inevitably got in the way. I started trying to figure out what I was made for. What were my talents? What did I enjoy? Where could I make the most impact? Boy, do you notice a theme there? It was all about “me” instead of Jesus. No wonder I was having trouble!
In 2015 a wonderful woman in my congregation asked me to co-teach our Sunday morning women’s class. I wasn’t sure I was up for such a task. I would be one of the younger ladies in the class and I don’t have the knowledge, wisdom nor experience these wonderful ladies would have. I didn’t quite measure up. I also hadn’t really done much of anything in front of a group before and that was terrifying to think about. Thankfully she assured me that I had what it took and she would be there for me. Ok, I thought, I can do that. It’s not like I will really have to lead or teach, not much anyway. Oh I love how God works! Turns out that I ended up teaching that class, my very first adult class, on my own. Not only did I survive but I did just fine. God used this time to provide me with a confidence, no matter how small, that He already had in me. He proved to me through the experience and through the support of the ladies, that He has equipped me. Teaching really requires a lot of preparation and study. Another bonus from God, it helps to keep me in His Word on a regular basis. It also helps me to look a little deeper and really meditate on what the living word of God is saying to me. Wow, that first year really opened my eyes and grew my faith. God took my insecurity, my weakness and my uncertainty and used it not only for my good but for His good.
God stretched me even further in 2016. I had started to learn the year before to trust in God in new ways. I started a local mission in this year based off an idea I had seen an old high school classmate do. I started Prayer in the Park. I set up a booth in our local farmer’s market each and every Saturday. We handed out materials about our church and we just greeted folks with a smile and offered our prayers. We had some people who stopped just to ask questions or just to chat. We had some who stopped and asked for prayers. Each week I had to call and see if there was a space for us and make sure that we were still welcome. We were on a short leash being a religious group. This is when my faith began to grow even more because each week we were granted permission. Every Saturday we were able to spend time with other vendors and members of our community in the beauty of God’s creation and build trust and develop relationships. We were even blessed with seeing some of these people come to worship services. It was a beautiful thing.
This was also the year that I set aside my fears and went on my first overseas mission trip. My husband had gone the year before and had encouraged me to come along this time. So, I prayed about it and prayed about it and then I said, “Okay God, here I go......send me.” Our youngest daughter also came along. What a beautiful experience and what lessons I learned. 2016 was an amazing year with my local mission, my first overseas mission trip and my second year of teaching ladies class that I was really starting to see God move. I was starting to really let God lead me. I also began to understand what peace and confidence in Christ meant.
However, 2017 proved to be a more challenging year. I lost a cousin to aggressive breast cancer. I still had personal issues I was working through, job stress, financial stress, ministry frustrations and all the things we all deal with each day. Once summer came, God reminded me to refocus. Our ministry was welcomed back to the farmer’s market and we found a ministry made stronger. We were blessed with the opportunity to talk with more people than the year before. We had more people sharing their stories with us, some of them heart wrenching, yet they allowed us to pray with them and love them. We were the light of Christ.

I was provided a moment to submit to God one particular day in the park. We had some lovely women who had stopped and were sharing their struggles with us. I was asked to pray. I was asked to pray over these women, right there in the middle of the park, with dozens of people around. I panicked for a moment and then I took a deep breath and said, “God please lead me.” I was still shaking as I put my arms around these women and prayed. The Spirit was with me and the words flowed easily. I was moved to tears. What a vulnerable moment. Afterwards, I needed a moment to myself to thank God. He provided me with a moment of love and understanding, growth and support. He showed me that He is always right there with me, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It also gave me the strength to do more prayer in front of others. I also went on my second overseas mission trip in 2017 and found this trip to be a lot more about listening and submission, the next building blocks to making me a Godly woman.
2018 has already provided me with many opportunities. I feel a confidence and passion in reaching out to others. When I get nervous or scared, I just remember the path God has set before me. I have a great desire to encourage all women to really listen for God’s direction. I am in my third year teaching my ladies class and I just love it. It has helped me grow in my knowledge and my faith tremendously. I plan on continuing in mission work but I am waiting for the Lord to direct my path on when and where. I am in a way, taking a bit of a time out to listen for his direction. I have been given proof in my experiences and my relationships to trust God. He sends people our way when we need it and when we least expect it. He provides opportunities for us, we just have to be ready to receive them. Be still and listen and be ready to say, let’s go! The uptight control freak I used to be is learning to be a little more relaxed and trusting in Jesus. His way is always better than my way and I now look forward to the unknown because I have seen the beauty that comes from unrivaled abandon to the Lord. I am totally certain of my unknown uncertainty, and I welcome it because God is already there waiting for me.

Romans 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those you are called according to His purpose.” (NASB)
Colossians 3:17 “Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” (NASB)
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.” (NASB)

#IronRoseSister #growth #mystory #Godsleading

On Wednesday, I shared my interview with our Cuban sister, Anita. Among my other correspondences with her, I wanted to share another story she shared with me recently. I pray it is of great encouragement, especially in the growth God may be calling you to.
Note: One of my favorite Bible verses is also one of hers!

My dear sister, I want you to tell you this story from my youth...
This year, my husband Julio and I will have been married 35 years. We are both 56. And my husband, Julio, has been a preacher for 40 years.

In the 80s, the church of Christ in Cuba was limited to six congregations, spread across the island. When Julio and I had only been married two years, Julio worked at a sugar factory and preached. I made and embroidered baby’s clothes. I also taught the women and the children at church.

One day, Julio told me that since he was nine, he always dreamed of going to his home province, Matanzas, to establish a church of Christ there. And that now it was time. “I want to go and preach in Jovellanos, a city in the center of the province, where the church has not met since 1969. I told him quickly and definitively, “I will not go.”

I began to defend my position: We don’t know if this is possible from a legal perspective. We have only been 6 congregations for years and no one has gone out to preach. I’m sure we can’t do it. Besides, that is the city with the highest level of criminality in the country, has the highest incidence of witchcraft and Afro-Cuban religions. We don’t have family there. There isn’t enough money... all human arguments.

I spent three days in bed crying over the decision. “I don’t want to go!” My husband patiently prayed and waited. When he thought it was the right moment, he spoke with me again about it. “In places where there is so much sin, that is exactly where we need to preach. I know that preaching outside of the church may cause some problems, but I know that God will be with us.” After a time, I agreed to go with him.

For two years, we went every weekend without seeing a single conversion. Later, we moved there and the two of us persisted in prayer and the work of evangelism. After a time, the work began to yield fruit. Forty or fifty children attended the class in the barrio. The church grew. People were being baptized and staying. The church became more established with elders and a dedicated meeting place.

From Jovellanos, we went to preach in the city of Cienfuegos, to the south. We also established a church in the city of Colón, preached in San Miguel, Cardenas and other places where the Lord’s church continues, to the praise and glory of God. Others were encouraged by our efforts and decided to evangelize in other places and provinces. It is beautiful to know that today there are more than 200 congregations across the island and it all started from an “I will not go!” My first reaction answer was not in consultation with the Lord. I needed to ask “What do you want me to do, Lord?” And, as Isaiah said, “Here am I. Send me!”

In a national women’s conference, nearly twenty years ago, I shared this story and several women told me that from that point forward, they decided to accompany their husbands in evangelizing. I pray that now, again, it will be an encouragement to some other sisters.

God bless,
Anita

#IronRoseSister #growth #God