Pray for Cuba

In Cuba everybody knows how to resolver – a verb that means “to manage with creative dexterity.” With the end of Soviet assistance, the continued U.S. embargo, and their own state ministries struggling to make provisions, Cubans have long developed creative means to scrape together enough rice for the week, connect to utilities, and maneuver around a crumbling infrastructure. Cubans are very nationalistic and love their country. They appreciate that the state provides high levels of reputable security, healthcare, and education, but often find that all other government services are unreliable. They have access to smart phones and televisions, but aging infrastructure and frequent power outages make them inefficient. As foreign investment trickles in from Europe and the U.S. continues to normalize relations, Cuba is in the process of re-defining itself and deciding how much liberalism and modernity to incorporate into its Socialist system.

Cuba is a totalitarian state run by a one-party Communist regime that limits freedom and personal liberties, curtails independent journalists, and arrests those who criticize the government. While maintaining strict control over people’s lives, the government implemented many new economic reforms in 2010. Cubans can now lease individual plots and invest in privately owned cooperative farms. They can own their own small businesses and become self-employed entrepreneurs. However, 80% of Cubans are still employed by the government, and remittances from overseas relatives account for two billion dollars a year.

In 2010 Cuba officially shifted from being an atheist nation to a secular one, and overt religious persecution diminished. However, in order to be approved by the government, churches must be members of the Cuban Council of Churches (CCC). Those that do not register with the CCC are unable to print Bibles or repair or build structures. They also face harsh intimidation: loss of work, inability to apply for top jobs, denied access to universities, utilities shut off, and even imprisonment. All churches are under surveillance and do not know which of their members are CCC informants. Though Cuba appears more open, intimidation and a lack of Bibles are continual obstacles to the spread of the Gospel. However, state hostility has deepened the Cuban Church’s faith, dependence on prayer, and unity. Persecution has challenged and propelled Cuban believers to minister to their community in innovative and bold ways.