About Us
We believe in God, Creator of the world, and in Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of creation. We believe in the Holy Spirit; we believe in the leading of the Holy Spirit and we trust in the Holy Spirit to lead us in our ministry to the world.
Our History
Living in Faith was conceived in 1995 during a mission trip to Cuba. Our founder (Russ Montgomery) saw that even simple things could make a profound difference. Living in Faith has been a catalyst to change the lives of our neighbors by providing clean water, improved vision, basic nutrition, and life-saving medicine. In 1996 Russ met a missionary assigned to Cuba who needed to fill eyeglass prescriptions. That was the beginning of the eyeglass ministry. After spending more time in Cuba, Russ discovered a number of other ways he could help improve basic living conditions for his brothers and sisters in Christ, and ways he could assist their churches their local mission activities.
Living in Faith has conducted regular mission trips to Cuba since that time, and has also focused on building a local Cuban presence for the Living in Faith organization. Now there are a number of Cubans serving in evangelistic, humanitarian and logistical positions for Living in Faith. We are non-denominational and work with many church organizations.
The Cuban Government has taken note of the humanitarian outreach of Living in Faith. This has shown the compassion of Christ, coming from America to Cuba.
Over time, Russ shared many of his Cuban mission stories with Haitians living in Tampa. For several years we were asked to expand the ministry to Haiti. After an exploration trip to Haiti in 2000, the Board of Directors of Living in Faith voted to expand the ministry to Haiti.
Our Organization
Living in Faith is a very lean organization. There is no receptionist, there is no donor relations professional, there is no marketing staff. Our efforts are focussed on doing God's work. Our newsletter is written by our field team. Volunteers help with administrative tasks. This website was created and is maintained by a volunteer. But there is no lack of accountability and control.
Russ Montgomery
Russ Montgomery comes from a background with experience in Administration and Sales. He gave up a career in sales to become a full-time missionary in 1998. Russ made this career change after having experienced a mission trip to Cuba in 1995 and asked the Lord to use him. Not knowing Spanish or the culture, Russ took the bold step to travel to Cuba alone in 1996 and met with church leaders who gave him the encourgagement to begin the ministry.
Milca Quintana
Milca is our Project Coordinator and Overall Administrator. Prior to coming to the United States in 2015 she was our Coordinator in Cuba. Both her father and mother are retired pastors in Cuba. Milca attended seminary, graduating in 2003. Milca also continues to coordinate our mission trips to Cuba, identifying those projects which can best benefit from the ministry of Living in Faith.
Juan Carlos Santo
Juan Carlos is our expert plumber in Cuba. Service to the Lord runs deep in him. Juan Carlos and his wife, Yordania, are both children of pastors. He was a plumbers apprentice for 10 years, and has now has his own plumbing business. Juan Carlos installs new water purification systems with our mission teams, and maintains the water systems that have already been installed. He is the face of our Woman at the Well project in Cuba.
Our Mission Teams could not do their work without an effective supply line. The prayers, funds and participation of our supporters make all of our work possible.
The most important member of our team is you. Living In Faith could not exist without the generous support provided by individuals who believe in our mission.