Cuba para Cristo - Cuba for Christ

Mark's Story

"Think of England, then turn this upside down and you have Cuba!" That was what a Cuban pastor said to me recently on our trip to help Cuban Christians.

Why go to a Country where there is harsh poverty? A country where the people are repressed and cannot afford to buy a bar of soap? Where there is no democracy?

These are all valid questions and a lot of people say a big "no" when considering travelling to Cuba. But I said a big "yes" because the Cuban people need support.

This was my third trip to Cuba and I learned a lot more about Cuban society. Though still I do not really know what it means to be a Cuban - only a Cuban knows this. Life seems to be very hard for lots as the average wage is around £10 a month. As I spoke to people they all were fed up with the government. If anything Cuba has gone backward rather than forward. At the present the electrical plants cannot power Cuba. Power cuts are daily, the water is undrinkable in a lot of areas, and sanitation is horrendous.

But for the most part Cuban people are lovely and hospitable and they will sacrifice what they have for you. Our trip was a blessing for them as we gave aid in the form of laptops, medicines, books for seminaries and a lot of money! We led holiday clubs in Santiago and Habana, which was a tough but rewarding work. The mosquitoes got us and we came down with Diarrhoea but like the Apostle Paul we had to suffer to endure and the Lord truly blessed us.

I would recommend that everyone should experience a mission as it changes oneself as you see what life is like in another society. A young 73-year-old came to Cuba with us. This is what he said: "I have learned more in these 15 days (referring to Cuba) than l have learned in the last 15 years!"

Cuba Para Cristo!

Mark