There’s a lot of talk about change in Cuba these days, and it’s true, exciting things are afoot. But what does it all really add up to? For the first time, Cubans are “allowed” (as in: it was illegal before) to purchase things like pressure cookers, rechargeable electric bicycles and in a few weeks, cell phones! They have even been granted the “right” to stay in the “tourist only” hotels that they have been bard from for so many years. All this is pretty big, and must be embraced as steps in the right direction, but even in the US we are familiar with the difference between being “allowed” to do something and “able” to do something. Consider that our own, all American Disneyworld is open to everyone. Everyone that is, who can afford the $71 per person to get in (Walt must be spinning in his grave!). For a family of four that would be about 1/10 of our monthly income, making it occasionally possible with lots of prior planning. But what about actual daily needs in relation to an average Cuban salary? Imagine that the tube of toothpaste you squeezed this morning cost 1/8 of your monthly salary. To begin with you’d squeeze quite a bit less on your toothbrush. Now bump it up a bit, how about a small “pressure cooker” that costs four times your monthly household income (and that’s a bargain price), or one night in a tourist hotel that costs more than what you (and all other average citizens) make all year? You get the picture. Even though you may be allowed to do something, it doesn’t mean you can.
Two years ago when the US dollar was the main “hard currency” in Cuba, my Cuban friends would accompany me to the “dollar stores” where imported goods and produce were sold for good old American “greenbacks” which Cubans had to purchase with their salaries that were paid in pesos. At first I found it humorous that they referred to these stores as “museums” but I soon realized how this pet name demonstrated the irony in being “allowed” to look but never even hope to buy one of the high priced items on display, like a pop up toaster. Not to sound cynical but today my friends have the freedom and right to visit even more “museums” and see even more high priced items than ever before! (OK, maybe just a hint of cynicism there).
Still, I do believe these are truly good and worthwhile steps to take, but these changes will only become relevant to the average Cuban when they are “able” (even with sacrifice) to obtain what they are now “allowed”.
…It’s so tempting to end there. Sounds like a neat and clean wrap up encapsulating my current thoughts on a nicely packaged presentation. But my conscience won’t let me do that, trust me, I tried. It’s messier in my mind than the words let on. Economic or political commentaries don’t mean a thing to my friends in Pinar del Rio suffering with giardia and dengue fever. There’s more in the mix. There’s the body of Christ, the Word of God, His divine providence for Cuba, the World at large and my respectively tiny, quiet, nebulous current job description of “serving the Cuban Church”. The bottom line question I have to ask is: “How does the Gospel of Jesus Christ inform the way I approach this (or any other) problem?” What hope does Calvary bring to the Caribbean and the Church in Cuba? If I’m not willing to apply the Gospel to the problems of Cuba, be they political, social, economic or otherwise, then I’m ignoring God’s one and only answer to the very foundational problem that Cuba faces…sin. Which ironically is the very same problem the United States as a whole, and I as an individual face. We just put different names on what God simply and clearly calls “sin”. So as I go about my work I find myself repeating the plea of a father asking the Lord to heal his son in
Mark 9, “Lord I believe! Help my unbelief!”
Lord; I do believe you gave your final and definitive answer to suffering, death and sin in Christ’s sacrifice,
-help my unbelief as I encourage my friend who sees no other way to feed his family but though the black market.
Lord, I do believe and hope in things unseen, in Your Kingdom come,
-help my unbelief as I see husbands and wives, parents and children torn apart by earthly kingdoms.
Lord I do believe You have conquered sin,
-help my unbelief as I proclaim that truth over my own angry, spiteful, unforgiving heart.
Lord, Your Grace is amazing! Let it amaze me as I look at how You continuously love and care for me and my family, and how You love and care for Your Bride, the Church in Cuba…
Amen.
