Well hello there! We should now have been loving on Cuba for four days. It is hard to pre-write posts like this. I can’t predict our adventures or misadventures in Cuba.

Loving on Cuba: Creative Commons 2.0 via Wiki Media

Often as people we struggle with the hero complex. We desire to help people because they need our help. We help them because we are in a better place then they are and so we are needed. Often that is simply another way of stoking our own ego.

We as Christians are not immune to it either. We want to be the saviour of the world. My desire though, is that we as a team would not be there to be a saviour but to share the Saviour. That we would learn as much from our Cuban friends as they learn from us. Sharing with people is the best way to mutually help each other.

From what I learned about Cuba before we left on the trip, Cuba is poised to cash in on the medical vacation market as Mexico is getting increasingly more unstable and corrupt. There are a lot of doctors in Cuba. I know that my Belizean friends fly to Cuba for their medical emergencies. So not everything about Cuba is bad.

In fact, did you know that Cuba was a big part of fighting the Ebola virus in Africa? They were quick to send doctors there to help, and in fact, took a leading role in the fight against Ebola. So Cuba has a lot to offer the world too. It is just that we have different things to offer each other. So I hope I can just love on Cuba with what I have, and receive love from them in what they have.

They are not an uneducated, know nothing country, though their education may be heavily biased by the communist government. For example, anything leadership is forbidden language in Cuba. I can bring a Bible into Cuba, but not a John Maxwell leadership book. Leadership is considered a threat to the communist way of life.

Same thing with organisations. That too, is a word that evokes an allergic response. Organisations are seen to be a threat to communism. So in many way, Cuba is not so much about religious restriction as communist party protection. Of course that also often restricts religion.

So I am keeping my eyes open to see how all of this plays out on the ground. For me, it will be a completely different psychological and philosophical world to observe. I find this stuff fascinating!

Of course, if you wish to, we welcome your continuing prayers. Pray that:

• all the bacteria we eat would turn into healthy protein
• we will enjoy trekking to places in Cuba
• we will be aware of what the Holy Spirit is wanting to do
• we will learn from our Cuban friends as we try to teach them
• our team would be all snuggly as a group of teddy bears
• we’ll actually know the Spanish songs we are teaching them by now

Looking forward to writing a post experience post about my Cuban adventure. Enjoy your day!