The Life of Arnoldo Pastor Galiano began May 30th, 1940 in the province of Las Tunas, Cuba. His journey paused May 16^th, 2020 (5 minutes after 3pm).  He lost the battle to Death, but He won the War of Life – and He won many Hearts too.  He didn’t want a funeral.  He wanted to be cremated. He was truly clear about this to all of us.  My brother, my sister, and me, agreed on the matter immediately.  

So, while I was searching for affordable cremation services on the internet, I found an article: “Cremation for the Indigent”.  I’ve heard the word before (indigent), but I was not sure what it meant – so I googled it.  An indigent, according to the dictionary, is a person that is so poor and needy that cannot provide the necessities of life for himself.

After reading the definition, I took a deep breath, I smiled as thoughts filled my head, and then cried a little.  Although my father was a poor man, he was never and indigent in any sense of word.  By loose standards he may have been considered well-off.  In spiritual terms, He was a rich man, and rich in good deeds.  Allow me to explain:

My Father – The father of my Sister Gladys, my Brother Gabriel, and my little sister Damaris:

• Loved to Serve and help; He was Empathetic and Charismatic.
• A Man of Spiritual Integrity; Faithful; Loyal; God-Fearing; on-time; of Strong Convictions and Character.
• He was a Criminal Offender; Engaged in Clandestine work; Full of Heart; Hard Worker.
• He was a Family Man; Cornerstone; Papi; Abuelito; Brother; Uncle; and a good Friend.

Loved to Serve and Help Others

As some may know, taking a car ride with my dad was an unforgettable experience – good, or bad – it depends on your point of view.  He loved to go fast!  Actually, I dare to argue that he needed to go fast – it was part of his essence.

I spent a lot of time driving in cars with my dad – and I enjoyed the speed!  (Kids love adrenaline).  I spent enough time driving with him as a child and as an adult to notice how he gasped with empathy every time a homeless person walked by the car.  Sometimes he gave a little handout, sometimes he bought them a meal – or gave them his meal.  The needs of others always touched his heart and he loved to serve others – even before serving himself.

Acting from his empathy and his helping spirit, He built-up people with his words – but most importantly with action.  He loved to share food with his friends and family too (not just the homeless) – maybe because that was all He could share at times, or maybe because He knew that a warm meal or a good sandwich could fortify the soul and mend a broken spirit.  Sometimes, he might have tried – maybe successfully – to sweeten you from the inside out; with a candy, a stick of gum, cookies, or any sweet he could share.  That’s one way he built-up people from the inside-out.

He also built many from the outside in.  He would do this with a smile, his sense of humor, charisma, his insight, his deep respect, and most importantly with an empathetic heart that moved him to provide for, and to help anyone in need.  He was ready to help, whether someone asked him or not.  If he sensed a need, He would offer to help, with a ride to an appointment or to the kingdom hall, with a little cash, with food, with a place to sleep, and with (his sometimes peculiar, but always) well-intended advice.

My father served and helped many, and as much as he could – even if it were just with a little bit. 

There’s a comment section at the end.   If you knew my father, and at any time he was kind to you, or you witnessed him being kind to others – please honor his memory by telling us about it.  You can tell us in the comment section below.

A Man of Spiritual Integrity, Charisma and Deep Respect.

My father loved telling stories – true stories.  Stories about his childhood in Camaguey.  Stories about helping his grandfather run the family farm, jumping in the river, horse-ridding, misadventures, the revolution, and the country-parties, singing and dancing which he enjoyed in his youth to the rhythm of Los Compadres.

One account of almost 50 years ago took place in small town of rural Havana in Cuba.  Well, it was more of a recollection.  My father recalled the first time he overheard someone say something like; “lets go to the house of the “Glue””.  To his surprise, he later found out that they were referring to his house.  Apparently, the spirit in his home was so contagious that it was as if guests were glued because they found it difficult to leave time after time.

A man of Charisma can charm a crowd for a time.  A man of spiritual integrity can inspire many.  A man who can show deep respect will earn deep respect from others.  And a man who possess all three qualities can be likened to Glue. 

Yes, truly glue does not retain its original strength for ever.  Some of you that knew my dad of more recent years may have known that at times he lost his temper.  Other times he was too headstrong, and sometimes he became passionately unreasonable.  Sometimes I felt that it was because in this world, full of ambiguity my father sometimes tried, unsuccessfully, to see certain matters displayed or play out like the TV we owned in Cuba –in Black and White.  No doubt a man of spiritual integrity and deep respect would face forces that would test the fiver – the very essence of his strong character.

Criminal Offender, Engaged in the Clandestine, Full of Heart, Headstrong, Hard worker.

In Cuba, nearly every week my father took us to a “small party” at a friend’s house.  It was usually a different house each week.  As a child, I always looked forward to seeing friends in these arrangements.  Specially because there was refreshments and dessert! I was never disappointed, except once.

I remember the afternoon we had an arrangement with the Cespedes family (Francisco, Margarita, Aristide, Sara, Vitia, Eunice, Alexander) and a few other friends.  I was overly excited because at the end there was…. Cake! I knew the drill.  First, we studied the bible and bible related article – Wait!  Did you say Bible?  In Cuba? In the late 80’s? 

That day, in that moment, without realizing it, I was witnessing my father as a Criminal Offender of the Law. He was engaging in a clandestine criminalized activity – the study and distribution of the Bible and Biblical literature in a country where such activity was banned and punishable by law.  So, when some strangers approached the house, I noticed the unusually abrupt end of the arrangement.  The reader stopped reading and launched the literature piece up into a crevice of the home’s attic and someone announced “lets eat the cake”… to which I replied… “Yesss!” 

I didn’t understand what was going on right then and there.  But as a child the event was memorable because how fast and strangely it concluded… with dessert (which I can’t recollect – either because the dessert was interrupted also, or because it wasn’t memorable to my taste buds) – hence the disappointment.

“The Strangers”: were agents of the Security of the State of Cuba.  “Arrangement” or “small party”: was code word for secretly planned spiritual gathering for friends to study the bible as a congregation. Because the members of the bible students did not participate in any political activity and did not belong to any political party or activist group in Cuba or anywhere in the world, people called us many names – some good, some bad – but my father preferred Jehovah’s Witness – A.K.A. Criminal Offenders in the Republic of Cuba during that time.“The Punishment(s)”: Forced labor, Prison time (in deplorable conditions), physical and sometimes mental torture in the form of isolation cells to strip men’s unalienable rights. 

My father was imprisoned 3 times – Once, before my conception; second, before my birth and while I was an infant; and third, when I was a boy.  Despite this unruly punishment, his spiritual conviction and faith, his fullness of heart, his headstrong determination, and his hard work to advance the interest of God’s kingdom and built up his spiritual family was unwavering.  His integrity was admirable – He would want me to tell you that he didn’t do it alone.

I’ve seen my father cry, we a do at times.  He was not invincible, but he had hope, and a hidden fountain of strength.  His hope is faithful and is true, and he held on to it till the end.  My brother Gabriel was the last person to witness the strength and the integrity of his hope.  Just a few weeks ago, when my brother brought him home from his 2^nd to last hospital visit, our father sat on his dinning room chair and directed a memorable prayer to God.  That prayer was filled with sincerity, true faith, and hope – and it was directed to his source of power.  He would want me to share that source with you it’s found in Isaiah 40:28-31. “Do you not know? Have you not heard? Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, is a God for all eternity.  He never tires out or grows weary.  His understanding is unsearchable.  He gives power to the tired one and full might to those lacking strength.  Boys will tire out and grow weary, and young men will stumble and fall, but those hoping in Jehovah will regain power. They will soar on wings like eagles.  They will run and not grow weary; They will walk and not tire out.”  That was our father’s strength, the fountain of his power.

Arnoldo Galiano was not a Criminal offender.  He was a slave for his God Jehovah, he was fully engaged in building up spirits of men, He was headstrong, and he was a hard worker for God and for his family.

Family Man, Cornerstone, Papi, Abuelito, Tio, and a Good Friend

My fondest childhood memories from Cuba was the long train trips we took cross country to visit family.  The trips always started in Cojimar (the home of Hemingway- and my freckled cousins), then on to Las Tunas and Camaguey.  My father always stuck to his family like glue.  He has left behind Brothers and Sisters for whom he cared deeply.  Nephews and nieces that loved him dearly.  Grandsons and Granddaughters whom he cared for as his own children, and one great granddaughter (Niki) that made his last years bright.  My father kept us connected, he was a family man (he told me so about a year ago), he was a cornerstone, he was Papi, Abuelito, Tio, Brother and a good friend. 

He Loved to Share His Unwavering Hope

Four years ago, my father visited my in-laws’ home.  I greeted him with a kiss on the cheek as always, then I sat in the living room.  It was the day after my wife’s grandmother died and there were others grieving in the house.  My father stayed on his feet said a few words with the hope to console anyone he could and to express his grievances.  He opened his mouth and began saying in his own words: “This is an incredibly sad moment. Sadly, the death of our loved ones is inevitable in this system of things.  Although your grandmother is now sleeping in death, we share the same hope of Martha, the sister of Lazarus when she expressed to Jesus Christ in the Bible the sentiment in John 11:24 – “I know he will rise in the resurrection on the last day”.  Those where my father’s words to console.  That too is his hope.

Have you ever had a parent show you a drawing of his young children?  Most parents love and cherish these drawings.  But truthfully, most of these drawings are not incredibly good?  Still, mom and dad love that drawing – they are proud of it!  They hang it up like they would a masterpiece; it warms their heart.  Arnoldo’s great-granddaughter colored one of those “masterpieces” that he kept in his apartment.

If the life-course of any human (including my father’s life-course) was to be transcribed into a piece of paper – it might just look like a child’s drawing to many outsiders.  But in the case of Arnoldo’s life-course, the judge is not a man, or an outsider.  Arnoldo’s life-course will be judged by a loving father, a loving father that saw all he did – the good, and the bad.  Yet, he looks onto that transcribed piece of paper like it’s a Masterpiece of Faith, Love and Integrity. I know this because my father taught me the words in Hebrews 6:10 – “For God is not unrighteous so as to forget your work and the love you showed for his name”.

If my father where able to send me a message right now – He would want me to tell you where he is.  He is not in Heaven – Heaven is for God and the Angels.  He is not in Hell – it does not exist. He wants you to know that He is dead, sleeping, but he is not without hope.  He is in God’s perfect memory. Like a memory stick ready to be downloaded into a new and perfect body – like a saved strand of DNA that also contains every single memory and thoughts that made him who he was.  He would want me to say, that just like Arnold Schwarzenegger – He’ll be Back.  Yes, he also loved to laugh!

He would want me to remind the words written on the Bible book of Ecclesiastes 9:10 “Whatever your hand finds to do, do with all your might, for there is no work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the Grave, where you are going.” – So, Get to Doing! 

My father’s recipe for “doing” in life was simple.  A recipe of methodical effectiveness.  He loved to use the words Methodical and Efficient.  His Moto is in 1 Corinthians 9:25 “Now everyone competing in a contest exercises self-control in all things. Of course, they do it to receive a crown that can perish, but we, one that does not perish. Therefore, the way I am running is not aimlessly;  the way I am aiming my blows is so as not to be striking the air; but I pummel my body and lead it as a slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself should not become disapproved somehow”

He would remind me and my brother (and all others he loved dearly) that not all there is to do is worth doing. That we are are living in a world full of ambiguity – a world of posers and men who hide who they are.  A world where everything that seems important can become obsolete the moment the trend and the algorithm changes – and then it’s not important.  Our dad would want us to remember that it is easy to get confused with all the shiny things and loose our way.  Then he would read to us Jesus’ council in Revelation 3:17-18 “Because you say, “I am rich and have acquired riches and do not need anything at all,” but you do not know that you are miserable and pitiful and poor and blind and naked,  I advise you to buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may become dressed and that the shame of your nakedness may not be exposed, and eye-salve to rub in your eyes so that you may see.“  What kind of treasure are we searching for?

Our father labored for the right kind of Gold during his lifetime.  His treasure is safe in heaven until the day God Calls on him to rise and live once again.  The righteous man Job said it best when he expressed his conviction on the book of Job 14:14,15 – “If a man dies, can he live again….. You will call, and I will answer you.  You will long for the work of your hands.”

A Spiritual Family Man’s Wishes

Finally, to the people that he called friends, and to his dear relatives with whom Arnoldo spent his last days – perhaps in ways he may not have typically done so in the past.  To many, who may have questioned, and may still question the wisdom and unwavering faith of an old man who barely made it past grade school – I would like to remind them that many scholars of the past and present day, irrefutably educated women and men – in all fields of science and knowledge also share his faith.   Not the credulous or blind faith that most of the world knows.  Not the type of faith that demands blind belief without proof.   Not the type of faith that is the aim of satire and ridicule in modern movies and social controversies.  The faith Arnoldo aimed to share is the same type of faith I hold – faith based on evidence as described in Hebrews 11:1 “Faith is the assured expectation of what is hoped for, the evident demonstration of realities that are not seen.^”

So, if you are Hungering and thirsting for righteousness like my dad.  If you are meek, and a peacemaker – you will find comfort in Gods promise in Psalm 37:9-11 “For evil men will be done away with, but those hoping in Jehovah will possess the earth. Just a little while longer, and the wicked will be no more; You will look at where they were, and they will not be there. But the meek will possess the earth, and they will find exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.

 If this sounds appealing, then by all means keep doing what your hand finds to do…. But don’t strike the air – take to heart the words of Romans 6:23 “For the wages sin pays is death, but the gift God gives is everlasting life by Christ Jesus our Lord. “Anyone can work to earn this gift” – and my dad would want you to earn it!