Many of you know that I visited Cuba last year, and were disappointed that I didn't blog about it. Unfortunately, I just couldn't figure out how to say anything that was really meaningful without endangering the people we went to visit.
But I thought I could at least give some generalities. First of all, it is actually possible to travel legally, as long as you obtain a license from the U.S. Department of treasury. A church or religious organization can obtain such a license.
The answer to many questions about Cuba is "it's complicated." People have asked me if Christianity is legal. It is legal to be a Christian, and to go to church, but it is not legal to build a church. We wanted to support and encourage the pastors without calling attention to them.
The faith of the pastors was astounding and humbling. Meeting them made me understand how circumstantial our faith is in the American church. What I mean by this is that we may hope for something, or pray about something, but if circumstances throw up obstacles, we say that God closed the door, and we give up. And we think that is faith. The pastors in Cuba handle things totally differently. They pray about things, and hear from the Lord, and they are not dissuaded even if circumstances look totally impossible.
Please don't comment and ask about the politics. My visit was not for the sake of politics, and I don't want to get distracted by issues that are outside of our control.
