In the 500 year old multicoloured town of Santiago we found ourselves lost in time back in the 1950's with vintage cars, Cuban men smoking cigars and playing dominoes on the street, and Latino salsa music filling the warm night air in the plazas.
Cuba has ridiculously cheap and delicious street food. So we took full advantage of the 1 peso (60c) ice creams, espressos and butter cookies every day!
In this communist country everyday life for a Cuban is quite hard. Small sizes of food rations are handed out to each household monthly; street sweepers' and doctors' salaries are very close to equal; and Cuban citizens often feel caged in as visas to leave the country are almost impossible to get hold of.
The government has a lot of control. Yes, even over the distribution of papel de banõ, aka toilet paper! (Some team members suffering from diarrhea found new meaning to the name "white gold", as we went hunting for this rare treasure all across town.)
In the midst of these circumstances the warm hearted, Spanish speaking group from GlaDios ministry were more than happy to host us. They went out of their way to make our time in Cuba unforgettable with a Grand Piedra hike, swim in the Caribbean sea and regular visits to the ice cream park.
God really spoke to my heart one day when we were serving at a church, consisting only of a little patch of ground with a tin roof and a few hand made wooden benches. They started the church in obedience to God's will for a congregation in that village. To them the definition of church is not a building with a bell, but the people inside. They are grasping the 'body of Christ' concept and building on a Kingdom that will last forever. What an example.
A theme for our team in Cuba was life purpose and calling and we had time to meditate on and pray into it for our team members. I just realized again how important it is for us to chase after and claim God's promises for our lives in order to become all God intended for us to be.
Thanks Cuba for attracting me with your foreign awesomeness! Thank you Jesus for calling me for Your purposes.
“Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble,” 2 Peter 1:10 NIV
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