Dear brothers and sisters, by the grace of God, a group of 6 brothers from Minnesota, Oregon, Washington and California made a second trip to Cuba for the purpose of evangelism. Thanks to everyone who prayed for our trip and for the work of evangelism. We felt the blessing and guidance of God throughout the trip, starting with preparation, although we also encountered difficulties – tests of our faith. And also sincere gratitude to all churches, brothers and sisters, to everyone who took part financially. We thank God that He has disposed your hearts to help spread the good news in Cuba.
Last August, God allowed us to visit Cuba for the first time. On that trip, we managed to establish contacts with some believers of Cuban churches, as well as with Russian-speaking women believers living in this country.
    From January 7 to January 13, 2016, we visited Cuba for the second time. Our desire to share some impressions and thoughts about this trip. The purpose of the trip was to visit some faith groups, deliver Bibles and other spiritual literature in Spanish and Russian, since Bibles are not published in this country, and also to become better acquainted with the situation in the country for further evangelization. To do this, we requested in advance from the Cuban government to open special religious visas for us to enter a country where religious freedom is somewhat limited. By the grace of God, we received these visas in a short time, although this process usually takes a long time. Having such visas, we could freely evangelize and perform ministries.
    At the very beginning of the trip we encountered some difficulties. Considering that the group members live in different states, we agreed to get to Miami on our own and meet at an agreed place and time at the airport for further travel. But it didn’t work out that way because the plane was delayed, and so the 2 brothers arrived in Cuba a day later. The rest of the brothers departed on schedule, but on the approach to Cuba with a Cuban airline plane, something happened, and the captain of the ship decided to return to America, because there are no mechanics in Cuba. When the plane was about to land, the brothers saw through the porthole window that fire and police cars were meeting them at the landing strip. It was somehow alarming; some of the passengers began to cry. But thank God, the landing went without complications. Everyone was dropped off back at the terminal, and then everyone waited while the plane was repaired. Someone became indignant, the pilot came out and explained that they did not have another plane, so there was no choice. We were put on the same plane again, some passengers got scared and decided not to fly. The second attempt to fly to Cuba was successful. 
    Upon arrival, we were met by a woman who had our visas. The brothers who had literature and gifts arrived a day later. When receiving their luggage, they were detained and their bags with literature were carefully checked, but thank God they missed everything. After going through customs, we went outside. The weather was wonderful, +25 Celsius, the coolest weather in January in Cuba.
    Thank God that He arranged all our paths; we saw His blessing hand in everything. He sent us the necessary people to meet us,
who could be translators and who would help us find accommodation for the night. During our stay, we traveled only by taxi: cars, carts and bicycles. 
    During this trip we visited five cities where we held services, some of the cities were Varadero, Matanzas, Havana and Pinar Del Rio. With God’s help, we held four services among the Cuban people with the help of local Baptist churches. Considering that almost everyone there speaks Spanish, translators accompanied us throughout the trip. In the meetings we preached and sang songs in Russian, Spanish and sometimes English. After the services, Christian literature was distributed: large print Bibles for the elderly, Gospels, the Gospel of John and tracts. We also talked with people, had personal conversations with the minister who participated in this trip. Someone asked to be prayed for him, parents asked to be prayed for their children, and some during the service prayed a prayer of repentance.
    In one village we went from house to house and invited people, as well as children, to evening worship. People responded to the invitation and gathered in the church at the appointed time. We were pleasantly surprised by the number of people who gathered; the children responded especially willingly to the invitation. They were told about the great love of God, about the Gift that God gave to the whole world, about the birth of Jesus Christ and about eternal life. In conclusion, it was suggested to pray, the children prayed. Considering that our arrival
coincided with the Christmas holiday according to the Eastern calendar, we brought with us gifts for Cuban children from children from America. But since there were many more children than expected, the bags of candy had to be opened and a few candies simply given to each child. One boy said that he did not remember the last time he ate candy. Many families in this area live extremely poorly. Thank God that He has caused some churches in America to donate money for gifts to the children in Cuba. We purchased candy, chocolate, pencils, notepads, toothbrushes and other necessary items in advance in America. Although for each pound you had to pay two dollars for transportation, it was nice to see how children and adults rejoiced at these small gifts.
    The Cuban pastors expressed gratitude for the visits to their churches and especially for the living and effective Word of God that was preached. They also invited them to visit their churches and small groups to preach the Gospel and asked them to pray for them. 
    We spent the second half of our stay among
Russian-speaking people. We also visited 3 small Russian-speaking groups where they held services. Some of them have already heard and know about the Savior Jesus Christ, and some are completely unbelievers. People asked questions and prayed the prayer of repentance. We also had personal conversations with the minister who was among us, and distributed spiritual literature and gifts to children. These are mainly women from the former Soviet Union who came to Cuba in the 80s. The fate of many of these people is sad and the people need a Savior. There is a great desire that, especially among the Russian-speaking people, the pure, undistorted word of God would be preached, which would lead people to God.  
    The brothers went out into the city, sang to the accordion, and handed out tracts on the streets. We met with disadvantaged people, beaten by sin. In conversations they tried to point to the Savior of the world Jesus Christ. They asked us who we were and where our church was located. Some said that they had been looking for such believers for a long time. We have become even more convinced that there is a great need there to spread the Gospel, the message of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. 
    Most Cubans consider themselves devout Catholics, but at the same time participate in the rituals of African cults. After the Cuban revolution, many of the previously banned African cults received equal status with other churches. From time to time we saw people dressed all in white. These people profess the black Santeria religion. Local residents claim that this African “plague” is gaining more and more adherents. However, the most common religion in Cuba is Catholicism. Over the past 25 years, various Christian denominations have also spread throughout the country and are gaining momentum, unfortunately these are mostly denominations with a distorted concept. Our desire is for the pure, undistorted Word of God to be preached in Cuba, so that healthy churches can be formed where people can find peace for their souls. 
    We pray that God will bless this work and stir the hearts of many to be partners in the work of saving perishing souls. Our desire is to move a couple of families there to carry out this work. We ask you to pray that God would send workers to His field and place the hearts of those who could perform this ministry. If God moves your heart to this sacrificial work, please contact the staff of the Awakening Mission.