Armando is a model of how to give gifts.

There’s a tiny church in west Havana, Cuba, that meets on a stained concrete patio outside
the home of Poopa. The patio and stackable plastic chairs make up all of the physical
elements of their humble church sanctuary.

One of the church members is Armando, a 71-year-old man who lives in a five-story apartment
building nearby.

In the summer of 2022, Filter of Hope teams distributed filters and shared the gospel with
families near Armando’s church. During their visit, Armando received a filter because of his
connection to the church.

His Neighbors Needed Clean Water, Too

But Armando was the only person in his apartment building to get a filter. He knew Filter of
Hope planned to come back and distribute more filters in the future, but he didn’t want to see
his neighbors have to wait.
So Armando found plastic jugs in various places, enough for many apartments in his building.
Using just one filter, he filled up the jugs with clean water and then delivered them to
individual units on a regular basis.
No one asked Armando to do this and no one paid him, but he kept delivering water for about
a year. He gives new meaning to the word “regifting.”
He told them, “Someday the churches will come back and give you a filter, too.”

Filter of Hope Comes Back

This past July, Filter of Hope staff member Chuck Roeper and two American church teams
from North Carolina and Arkansas came to Havana. Armando’s church was a hub for the filter
distribution, and Armando volunteered to guide one of the teams to homes that wanted a
filter.
Chuck was very impressed by Armando. “He was such a kind and gentle person.”