Crisis In Cuba: Life in the Dark
A tanker with enough oil to last up to 10 days arrived in Cuba this week, to the relief of the entire country. Despite this delivery, U.S. sanctions against oil deliveries to Cuba in hopes of forcing a regime change remain. The effects on civilians have been devastating, including rolling blackouts, hospitals in crisis, and transportation gridlock.
Mission partners of The Outreach Foundation tell us life for them has been increasingly difficult. One partner from Matanzas recently wrote the following to one of our board members:
“Things in Cuba have worsened considerably since we last saw each other. Despite this, we are doing well at the church, thank God.
A few weeks ago, we managed to install some solar panels that provide electricity to the church, allowing us to continue preparing lunches for the children, the elderly, and the workers. We are also maintaining our other programs to bring a little light to this part of Cuba.
We place our Hope in God for the well-being of the Cuban people, who need it so much now.”
Pastor Josue (far right in blue) poses for a photo with members of one of the congregations he serves in Cuba.
In a separate update, Pastor Josue, who serves congregations in small towns outside of Matanzas, a couple hours east of Havana, sent the following:
“The power outages are lengthy — sometimes lasting up to 48 hours — with barely an hour of service in between. Devices such as phones, rechargeable lamps, and my laptop run out of power very quickly.
We continue to pray for Cuba, and we ask for your prayers as well. The church presses onward in its work. As a pastor, I am currently ministering to the congregations located furthest from the city of Matanzas: San José de los Ramos, Manguito, and Perico — a large circuit that is challenging to cover due to transportation difficulties. Over the past few years, we have trained a group of leaders within each of these churches, and they serve with great dedication and faithfulness. Every week, I make the journey from Juan Gualberto Gómez (Sabanilla), where I live. I set out on Thursdays and return home on Sunday afternoons.
We ask for your prayers for the people of Cuba and for the church's ministry amidst so many hardships.
In the midst of this uncertainty, we find our strength in the Word:
For the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one (2 Thessalonians 3:3).
We trust that God will grant us the strength to continue serving and proclaiming the hope of the Gospel.”
As you can tell from these updates, life without access to electricity and transportation because of the oil shortage is incredibly hard. Yet our partners give us hope. The work of these believers does not end when the oil supplies run out. They press forward with their mission and find new ways to carry out the Lord’s calling.
THE OPPORTUNITY
We are so grateful for these partners and the hard work they are doing in their communities. We ask you to pray with us for their continued safety and courage. Please pray that the leaders involved in this conflict find resolution so the people may soon have relief.
The Outreach Foundation is accepting gifts to continue supporting the ministries of our partners in Cuba. You may make a gift by sending a check to the address below with “Cuba Partnership” in the memo, or you can donate on the GIVE page of our website: www.theoutreachfoundation.org.
