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Rick and Helen Hillard (pictured third and fourth left) of
the Torbay & Teignbridge Branch were also part of a team
that went to Cuba at a different time from Graham and to
a different part of the country. Like Graham, they found
the experience different – in a good way!

After settling into our hotel and a good night’s sleep we

*Karla looked very surprised to find a couple of people were introduced at breakfast to our three interpreters,
speaking in a foreign language outside her garden gate. explored the town and prepared for the next day’s
teaching. We taught four sessions each morning, with a
We asked if she could spare us a few minutes, so Garnet, break for coffee, small cups of very sweet Espresso, and
Gabby and I were invited into her home. Immediately
inside the front door we found her husband lying in his then lunch before splitting into groups to venture out onto
the local streets and meet the people where they lived.
sick bed. He sat up and welcomed us but was obviously
in some pain, which seemed to come in regular, intense We visited different churches during the week. We were
bouts. Even simple painkillers such as aspirin or always very welcome and there was no doubting the
paracetamol are very hard to come by in Cuba, unless passion of the Pastors and Leaders who attended. We
you have hard currency and the ability to travel to always started with a very vibrant and passionate time of
collect it. Some of the churches do help people with worship.
these items and I know that representatives of SWG On the streets we met a variety of situations. Most people
will often pack their suitcases with medical supplies were very receptive and received Scriptures willingly
to be given over to the local pastors where they have
an established relationship. We had a delightful chat and entered conversation. Not only did we minister to
the locals where they were, mainly sitting outside their
with this charming couple about their lives, children
and grandchildren before we moved into conversation homes as many are not working, but we were humbled by
their cheerfulness although they do not have much and
about faith. They had a few idols hanging up around the life is difficult for them. It just showed us how blessed we
room, so we weren’t surprised when they mentioned
that they prayed to idols, but we were surprised to hear are in the UK and at times we were moved to tears by the
conversations we had and one or two of the more serious
that they also worshipped Jesus and believed in what
He did on the cross. Gently we covered our belief that and difficult situations we came upon.
Jesus is the only way and that our attention should be There were several occasions where we were able to
focused only on Him, but we had to agree to disagree pray with people in their homes, asking for the Lord to
on that. Having said that, we left on excellent, friendly bless them and their family, for healing where needed,
terms and our prayer is that the Holy Spirit speaks very and for several who wished to make a commitment to
clearly to them. follow Jesus. We were always near the church we had
been to so we could recommend those who we spoke to
"On arrival in Varadero we were met at the airport visited the church to seek fellowship and help there. It is
by Eduardo who works with the Cuban Council of good to know that the churches would be revisiting the
Churches, The Cuban Bible Society, and the Church of community, armed with the resources provided.
God denomination. Eduardo drove us three hundred
miles east to Camaguey, where we were scheduled to We have kept in touch with the interpreters we worked with.
teach in ten churches throughout the week. Eduardo One of them, Idalmis was excited to share that an outreach
had organised the visits with Orlando who was the local from their church, using the programme we had taught
representative in Camaguey. them, led 120 people to the Lord in just a few hours."

Graham concludes: “In summary I would say that God blessed our work in Cuba. It was wonderful to
leave behind Christians better equipped and resourced to share the Gospel over the coming decades
and to be a part of God's amazing work of meeting the spiritual needs of those few people we were
able to minister to on the streets.
All these trips represent true life-changing experiences and seeing the impact of scarcity of goods on
peoples’ lives was very humbling indeed. I thank God for it.”
* names have been changed

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