Dean Richmond (MCNet Canada) – Cuba is a truly a beautiful place with much potential and an industrious population. This is in spite of a system that daily works against this. I have to admit, I am a bit of a car guy and couldn’t stop taking pictures of all the pre -1959 cars (All those who had cars before the Revolution of ’59 were able to keep them. . .as long as they kept them running!).

My personal observation is that the Christians really love Jesus and their churches feel so alive. Yet they do so much with so little. As I talked with them, it was clear that they realized that they were in a kind of prison. The pastors we met were quality guys and desired to grow as leaders. The young people, particularly, were hungry for tools and strategies to spread the Kingdom. Our workshops are helping equip them and resource them to be effective in growing the community of faith.

One young 30 year old guy, who was interpreting for us in the pastors training in Havana, kept asking me questions about what a “call” to ministry meant. I listened and shared some thoughts with him. The next day he came back to me in the break and said he had read the chapter on “Calling” in our Mentoring manual that we had given him and got the clarity and peace of God on this issue for himself. Powerful stuff.

The side of Cuba that I observed is very different from the side most tourists see. But now I have been there and seen the real Cuba. Join me in praying for these leaders in Cuba. Pray for greater freedom so that they may fully realize their potential and the potential of all the peoples of Cuba.